Emerson Electric (NYSE:EMR) Upgraded by StockNews.com to “Buy” Rating

Emerson Electric (NYSE:EMR) was upgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report released on Friday.

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on EMR. KeyCorp boosted their price target on shares of Emerson Electric from $140.00 to $158.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Stephens downgraded shares of Emerson Electric from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $135.00 to $120.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Emerson Electric from $140.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Emerson Electric in a report on Thursday, December 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $160.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Emerson Electric from $117.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Emerson Electric presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $136.90.

Emerson Electric Stock Performance

EMR stock traded down $3.11 during trading on Friday, hitting $124.37. 3,012,374 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,148,547. The company has a quick ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 1.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. Emerson Electric has a 52 week low of $96.62 and a 52 week high of $134.85. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $126.68 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $116.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $70.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.34.

Emerson Electric (NYSE:EMR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $1.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.10. Emerson Electric had a net margin of 11.25% and a return on equity of 11.73%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Emerson Electric will post 5.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Emerson Electric

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Emerson Electric by 6.2% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 25,810,167 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,822,858,000 after buying an additional 1,507,980 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in Emerson Electric by 4.2% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 14,552,544 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,591,612,000 after purchasing an additional 581,102 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Emerson Electric by 1.4% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,453,075 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,247,570,000 after purchasing an additional 162,985 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in Emerson Electric by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 7,013,550 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $871,083,000 after purchasing an additional 375,470 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in shares of Emerson Electric by 107.2% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 3,896,889 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $422,852,000 after acquiring an additional 2,016,075 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.30% of the company’s stock.

Emerson Electric Company Profile

Emerson Electric Co, a technology and software company, provides various solutions for customers in industrial, commercial, and consumer markets in the Americas, Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and Europe. It operates in six segments: Final Control, Control Systems & Software, Measurement & Analytical, AspenTech, Discrete Automation, and Safety & Productivity.