ITT (NYSE:ITT) Cut to “Hold” at StockNews.com

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

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on ITT. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of ITT from $150.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of ITT in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of ITT from $183.00 to $181.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on ITT from $180.00 to $179.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price objective on ITT from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $168.38.

ITT Price Performance

Shares of ITT stock opened at $146.07 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $147.84 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $144.82. 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 has a one year low of $118.58 and a one year high of $161.13. The company has a market capitalization of $11.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.41.

ITT (NYSE:ITT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The conglomerate reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.48 by $0.02. ITT had a return on equity of 17.98% and a net margin of 13.67%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that ITT will post 5.84 EPS for the current year.

ITT Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 6th will be paid a $0.351 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 6th. This is a positive change from ITT’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.96%. ITT’s payout ratio is currently 22.22%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ITT

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ITT. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of ITT in the fourth quarter worth about $73,762,000. Eagle Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of ITT in the third quarter valued at approximately $67,503,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in ITT during the fourth quarter worth approximately $19,345,000. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in ITT by 34.0% during the fourth quarter. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC now owns 198,550 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $28,369,000 after buying an additional 50,384 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Erste Asset Management GmbH purchased a new position in shares of ITT during the 3rd quarter worth $7,075,000. 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.