Emerson Electric (NYSE:EMR) Upgraded to Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Emerson Electric (NYSE:EMR) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Wednesday morning.

Several other analysts have also commented on the company. KeyCorp boosted their price target on Emerson Electric from $125.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Stephens lowered Emerson Electric from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $135.00 to $120.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Barclays boosted their price target on Emerson Electric from $103.00 to $116.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on Emerson Electric from $139.00 to $138.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Emerson Electric from $128.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Emerson Electric has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $127.65.

Emerson Electric Price Performance

Shares of EMR stock opened at $126.86 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $107.50 and a two-hundred day moving average of $109.05. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. Emerson Electric has a 12 month low of $83.10 and a 12 month high of $127.74. The company has a market capitalization of $72.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.30.

Emerson Electric (NYSE:EMR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The industrial products company reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.42 by $0.01. Emerson Electric had a return on equity of 11.41% and a net margin of 10.12%. The company had revenue of $4.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.44 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.29 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Emerson Electric will post 5.48 EPS for the current year.

Emerson Electric Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a dividend of $0.5275 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $2.11 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.66%. This is an increase from Emerson Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. Emerson Electric’s payout ratio is presently 70.47%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Emerson Electric

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its stake in shares of Emerson Electric by 183.6% during the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 81,875 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $9,286,000 after purchasing an additional 53,003 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its stake in Emerson Electric by 55.0% in the second quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 8,619 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $931,000 after acquiring an additional 3,060 shares during the period. Montag A & Associates Inc. grew its stake in Emerson Electric by 122.4% in the first quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc. now owns 18,775 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,129,000 after acquiring an additional 10,333 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can grew its stake in Emerson Electric by 17.0% in the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,339,301 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $152,359,000 after acquiring an additional 194,944 shares during the period. Finally, Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC grew its stake in Emerson Electric by 8.5% in the third quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 69,285 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $7,578,000 after acquiring an additional 5,416 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 74.30% of the company’s stock.

About Emerson Electric

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.