Pentair (NYSE:PNR) Stock Moved Up to "Strong-Buy" by Jefferies Financial Group

Key Points

• Jefferies upgraded Pentair to “strong buy,” but broader analyst sentiment remains “hold,” with an average price target of $87.19 amid ratings ranging from strong buy to sell.
• Pentair shares opened at $52.17, near their 12-month low of $51.64 and well below the 200-day moving average of $71.45, reflecting significant recent weakness.
• The company exceeded quarterly EPS expectations ($1.14 versus $1.12), but revenue fell 17% year over year to $932.6 million, below estimates; institutional investors own 92.37% of the stock.

Pentair (NYSE:PNR - Get Free Report) was upgraded by stock analysts at Jefferies Financial Group to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, Zacks reports.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Zacks Research lowered Pentair from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. BNP Paribas Exane restated an "underperform" rating and set a $64.00 target price (down from $75.00) on shares of Pentair in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Mizuho dropped their price target on Pentair from $100.00 to $85.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on shares of Pentair from $91.00 to $72.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada downgraded shares of Pentair from an "outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $101.00 to $74.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Pentair currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $87.19.

Pentair Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:PNR opened at $52.17 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $60.21 and a 200-day moving average price of $71.45. The company has a market cap of $8.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.04. Pentair has a 12 month low of $51.64 and a 12 month high of $112.26.

Pentair (NYSE:PNR - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The industrial products company reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.02. Pentair had a return on equity of 20.62% and a net margin of 16.24%.The company had revenue of $932.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $943.24 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.39 earnings per share. Pentair's quarterly revenue was down 17.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Pentair will post 4.64 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pentair

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PNR. Corient Private Wealth LP bought a new stake in shares of Pentair during the 2nd quarter valued at $244,000. Alan B Lancz & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Pentair in the 2nd quarter worth about $43,000. Wedmont Private Capital bought a new position in shares of Pentair in the 2nd quarter worth about $56,000. HB Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Pentair during the 2nd quarter valued at about $91,000. Finally, Saudi Central Bank purchased a new position in Pentair during the 2nd quarter valued at about $141,000. 92.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Pentair Company Profile

Pentair plc NYSE: PNR is a water treatment and fluid management company that develops products and solutions for residential, commercial, industrial, and municipal customers. Its offerings are designed to help move, treat, filter, control, and conserve water across a range of applications.

The company's products include pool pumps, filters, heaters, cleaners, lighting, automation systems, and related equipment, as well as water softeners, filtration systems, pumps, valves, controls, and other water-treatment technologies.

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