ITT (NYSE:ITT) Upgraded at StockNews.com

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

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on the stock. TD Cowen increased their price objective 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. Citigroup raised their price objective on ITT from $176.00 to $183.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on ITT from $165.00 to $163.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on ITT in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of ITT from $171.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $166.75.

ITT Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of ITT opened at $143.45 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $150.07 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $141.57. The company has a market cap of $11.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.40. ITT has a one year low of $113.70 and a one year high of $161.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.09.

ITT (NYSE:ITT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The conglomerate reported $1.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.03. ITT had a return on equity of 17.98% and a net margin of 13.67%. The business had revenue of $885.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $884.50 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.37 EPS. ITT’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast 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 given a $0.319 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.89%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. ITT’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.67%.

Institutional Trading of ITT

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of ITT. Select Equity Group L.P. grew its stake in ITT by 11.7% in the second quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 3,340,392 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $431,512,000 after acquiring an additional 351,206 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its stake in ITT by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,437,674 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $364,457,000 after purchasing an additional 26,133 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in ITT by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,369,021 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $204,736,000 after purchasing an additional 8,223 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in ITT by 5.6% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 954,809 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $123,338,000 after buying an additional 50,329 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in shares of ITT by 0.4% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 828,000 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $106,961,000 after buying an additional 3,370 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.