Barclays Upgrades Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) to Equal Weight

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Barclays from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage presently has a $290.00 target price on the industrial products company’s stock, up from their previous target price of $255.00. Barclays‘s price target indicates a potential downside of 1.82% from the company’s previous close.

ROK has been the subject of several other research reports. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Rockwell Automation in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $313.00 target price for the company. Bank of America upped their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Mizuho lifted their target price on Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Rockwell Automation from $320.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $289.47.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

NYSE:ROK opened at $295.38 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $277.18 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $268.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 1.08. Rockwell Automation has a 52-week low of $242.81 and a 52-week high of $312.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.35 billion, a PE ratio of 35.67, a P/E/G ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 1.36.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.07. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 11.53% and a return on equity of 30.42%. The company had revenue of $2.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.06 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.64 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 20.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Rockwell Automation will post 9.44 EPS for the current year.

Rockwell Automation announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, September 5th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the industrial products company to purchase up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Rockwell Automation

In other news, VP John M. Miller sold 467 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.07, for a total value of $132,660.69. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 4,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,363,536. This represents a 8.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Scott Genereux sold 279 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $296.13, for a total value of $82,620.27. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 2,891 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $856,111.83. The trade was a 8.80 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 34,070 shares of company stock worth $10,142,408 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Rockwell Automation

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Richardson Financial Services Inc. grew its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 96 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Rockwell Automation in the third quarter worth about $26,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Rockwell Automation during the 3rd quarter worth about $34,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new position in Rockwell Automation during the 2nd quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Cultivar Capital Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation in the 2nd quarter valued at about $46,000. 75.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Rockwell Automation

Rockwell Automation, Inc provides industrial automation and digital transformation solutions in North America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Asia Pacific, and Latin America. The company operates through three segments, Intelligent Devices, Software & Control, and Lifecycle Services. Its solutions include hardware and software products and services.