ITT (NYSE:ITT) Upgraded by StockNews.com to Strong-Buy

StockNews.com upgraded shares of ITT (NYSE:ITT – Get Rating) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note released on Tuesday.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on ITT. DA Davidson raised their price target on shares of ITT from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Monday, February 13th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of ITT from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Friday, February 10th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of ITT from $94.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Monday, February 13th. KeyCorp raised their price target on shares of ITT from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Friday, February 10th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of ITT from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Friday, January 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $95.30.

ITT Price Performance

Shares of ITT opened at $90.89 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $7.52 billion, a PE ratio of 20.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.45. ITT has a one year low of $63.77 and a one year high of $95.18. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $87.70 and its 200 day moving average price is $80.03.

ITT (NYSE:ITT – Get Rating) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 9th. The conglomerate reported $1.29 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.24 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $774.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $766.82 million. ITT had a net margin of 12.28% and a return on equity of 17.63%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.06 EPS. Analysts anticipate that ITT will post 4.81 earnings per share for the current year.

ITT Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.29 per share. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.28%. This is a boost from ITT’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 8th. ITT’s dividend payout ratio is currently 24.15%.

Institutional Trading of ITT

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. bought a new stake in ITT during the second quarter worth about $26,000. Private Trust Co. NA acquired a new position in shares of ITT during the second quarter worth approximately $30,000. Bell Investment Advisors Inc lifted its position in shares of ITT by 449.4% during the fourth quarter. Bell Investment Advisors Inc now owns 445 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 364 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of ITT during the second quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of ITT during the fourth quarter worth approximately $40,000. 90.16% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About ITT

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ITT, Inc engages in the manufacture and sale of engineered components and customized technology solutions primarily for the transportation, industrial, and energy markets. It operates through the following segments: Motion Technologies, Industrial Process, Connect and Control Technologies, and Corporate and Other.