Jefferies Financial Group Upgrades Timken (NYSE:TKR) to Buy

Timken (NYSE:TKR) was upgraded by investment analysts at Jefferies Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report issued on Friday, MarketBeat.com reports. The firm presently has a $95.00 price target on the industrial products company’s stock, up from their prior price target of $80.00. Jefferies Financial Group’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 24.44% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. DA Davidson dropped their target price on shares of Timken from $103.00 to $99.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Oppenheimer dropped their price objective on shares of Timken from $102.00 to $97.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Evercore ISI upgraded Timken from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the company from $87.00 to $91.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Citigroup initiated coverage on Timken in a research note on Monday, October 14th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $90.00 price target on the stock. Finally, KeyCorp restated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Timken in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $91.00.

Timken Stock Performance

NYSE:TKR opened at $76.34 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $80.28 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $81.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 1.62 and a current ratio of 3.00. Timken has a fifty-two week low of $72.35 and a fifty-two week high of $94.71. The company has a market capitalization of $5.35 billion, a PE ratio of 15.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.38.

Timken (NYSE:TKR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The industrial products company reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.38 by ($0.15). Timken had a net margin of 7.41% and a return on equity of 14.82%. The firm had revenue of $1.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.12 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.55 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Timken will post 5.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Timken

In related news, Director Richard G. Kyle sold 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.59, for a total value of $2,297,700.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 194,485 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,895,606.15. The trade was a 13.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 8.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Timken

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC bought a new position in shares of Timken during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $4,363,000. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG bought a new stake in shares of Timken in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,863,000. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in Timken by 4.8% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,817,294 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $225,750,000 after purchasing an additional 128,791 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its holdings in Timken by 102.5% during the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 12,186 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $979,000 after purchasing an additional 6,167 shares during the period. Finally, D.A. Davidson & CO. increased its position in Timken by 14.5% in the third quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 58,588 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,938,000 after buying an additional 7,406 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.08% of the company’s stock.

Timken Company Profile

The Timken Company designs, manufactures, and sells engineered bearings and industrial motion products, and related services in the United States and internationally. The company's Engineered Bearings segment provides various bearing products, including tapered, spherical, and cylindrical roller bearings; plain bearings, metal-polymer bearings, and rod end bearings; radial, angular, and precision ball bearings; thrust and specialty ball bearings; journal bearings; and housed or mounted bearings.