Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) has earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the sixteen research firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $282.80.

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on ROK shares. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $250.00 to $245.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Rockwell Automation in a report on Friday, September 6th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $320.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $227.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Oppenheimer decreased their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $295.00 to $270.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on Rockwell Automation in a report on Monday, July 8th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $256.00 target price on the stock.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

ROK stock opened at $262.08 on Tuesday. Rockwell Automation has a 1-year low of $242.81 and a 1-year high of $312.76. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $265.79 and a 200-day moving average price of $270.57. The firm has a market cap of $29.88 billion, a PE ratio of 25.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.57 and a beta of 1.37.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.08 by $0.63. The business had revenue of $2.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.03 billion. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 34.09% and a net margin of 11.56%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.01 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Rockwell Automation will post 9.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Rockwell Automation declared that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Thursday, September 5th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the industrial products company to repurchase up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Rockwell Automation

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 951.4% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,532,949 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,611,915,000 after purchasing an additional 5,006,706 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 1,119.3% in the 2nd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 763,351 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $210,135,000 after acquiring an additional 700,745 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Rockwell Automation by 3.2% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,048,986 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,092,891,000 after acquiring an additional 438,356 shares during the period. Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in Rockwell Automation during the first quarter valued at about $118,345,000. Finally, Champlain Investment Partners LLC boosted its position in Rockwell Automation by 82.4% during the first quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 859,717 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $250,461,000 after purchasing an additional 388,400 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

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.