ITT (NYSE:ITT) Stock Rating Upgraded by StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of ITT (NYSE:ITT) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday morning.

ITT has been the topic of a number of other reports. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on shares of ITT from $165.00 to $163.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of ITT from $176.00 to $183.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of ITT from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on ITT in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Finally, KeyCorp raised their target price on ITT from $155.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $166.75.

ITT Trading Down 0.7 %

NYSE ITT opened at $143.45 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $150.07 and a 200 day simple moving average of $141.57. ITT has a 12 month low of $113.70 and a 12 month high of $161.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.48, a PEG ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.40.

ITT (NYSE:ITT) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The conglomerate reported $1.46 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.03. ITT had a net margin of 13.67% and a return on equity of 17.98%. The company had revenue of $885.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $884.50 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.37 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that ITT will post 5.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ITT Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be issued a $0.319 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.89%. ITT’s payout ratio is 21.67%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ITT

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ITT. Eagle Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in ITT during the third quarter valued at about $67,503,000. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. bought a new position in ITT during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $49,043,000. Select Equity Group L.P. increased its stake in ITT by 11.7% in the 2nd quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 3,340,392 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $431,512,000 after purchasing an additional 351,206 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of ITT by 200.4% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 393,429 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $50,823,000 after purchasing an additional 262,470 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of ITT by 115.6% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 245,676 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $31,717,000 after purchasing an additional 131,708 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.59% of the company’s stock.

About ITT

ITT Inc, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells engineered critical components and customized technology solutions for the transportation, industrial, and energy markets in the United States and internationally. The Motion Technologies segment manufactures brake pads, shims, shock absorbers, and energy absorption components; and sealing technologies primarily for the transportation industry, including passenger cars, trucks, light- and heavy-duty commercial and military vehicles, buses, and trains.