ITT (NYSE:ITT) Upgraded by StockNews.com to “Buy” Rating

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

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on ITT. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of ITT from $171.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of ITT from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of ITT from $150.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on ITT from $165.00 to $163.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on ITT from $176.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, ITT currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $166.75.

ITT Stock Performance

NYSE:ITT opened at $144.30 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $150.29 and a two-hundred day moving average of $141.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.09. The stock has a market cap of $11.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.62, a PEG ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.40. ITT has a 1-year low of $113.70 and a 1-year high of $161.13.

ITT (NYSE:ITT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The conglomerate reported $1.46 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.03. ITT had a return on equity of 17.98% and a net margin of 13.67%. The firm 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 business posted $1.37 earnings per share. ITT’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that ITT will post 5.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ITT Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be given a dividend of $0.319 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.88%. ITT’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.67%.

Institutional Trading of ITT

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Tidal Investments LLC grew its position in ITT by 12.4% in the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 6,487 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $970,000 after purchasing an additional 716 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in shares of ITT during the third quarter worth approximately $64,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC grew its holdings in ITT by 6.0% in the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 3,951 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $626,000 after buying an additional 225 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in ITT by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,369,021 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $204,736,000 after acquiring an additional 8,223 shares during the period. Finally, Resources Management Corp CT ADV bought a new stake in ITT during the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. 91.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

ITT Company Profile

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.