Flowserve (NYSE:FLS) Upgraded by Wall Street Zen to "Strong-Buy" Rating

Key Points

• Flowserve (NYSE:FLS) has been upgraded from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating by Wall Street Zen, indicating increased confidence in the stock's performance.
• Several analysts have raised their price targets for Flowserve, with Citigroup setting a target at $65.00, suggesting positive market sentiment around the company.
• Flowserve reported earnings of $0.91 per share for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations, and has a market capitalization of $7.04 billion.

Flowserve (NYSE:FLS - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note issued on Saturday.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on the stock. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Flowserve from $58.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Mizuho set a $60.00 price target on shares of Flowserve in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Flowserve from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on shares of Flowserve from $71.00 to $70.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Flowserve from $64.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Flowserve presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $65.78.

Flowserve Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of FLS stock traded up $0.70 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $54.47. 490,218 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,113,667. The business's fifty day moving average is $51.43 and its two-hundred day moving average is $51.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 2.10 and a quick ratio of 1.50. Flowserve has a 12-month low of $37.34 and a 12-month high of $65.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.28.

Flowserve (NYSE:FLS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The industrial products company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.78 by $0.13. Flowserve had a net margin of 6.28% and a return on equity of 18.25%. The firm had revenue of $1.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.22 billion. As a group, research analysts expect that Flowserve will post 3.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Murphy Pohlad Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Flowserve by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. Murphy Pohlad Asset Management LLC now owns 65,590 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $3,434,000 after buying an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. Strs Ohio increased its position in Flowserve by 9.3% during the 2nd quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 38,105 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,995,000 after purchasing an additional 3,242 shares in the last quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama increased its position in Flowserve by 50.5% during the 2nd quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 240,681 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $12,600,000 after purchasing an additional 80,780 shares in the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its position in Flowserve by 149.8% during the 2nd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 697 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 418 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Peregrine Capital Management LLC increased its position in Flowserve by 44.2% during the 2nd quarter. Peregrine Capital Management LLC now owns 255,307 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $13,365,000 after purchasing an additional 78,317 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.93% of the company's stock.

About Flowserve

Flowserve Corporation designs, manufactures, distributes, and services industrial flow management equipment in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. It operates through Flowserve Pump Division (FPD) and Flow Control Division (FCD) segments. The FPD segment offers custom and pre-configured pumps and pump systems, mechanical seals, auxiliary systems, replacement parts, upgrades, and related aftermarket services; and equipment services, including installation and commissioning services, seal systems spare parts, repairs, advanced diagnostics, re-rate and upgrade solutions, retrofit programs, and machining and asset management solutions, as well as manufactures a gas-lubricated mechanical seal for use in high-speed compressors for gas pipelines and in the oil and gas production and process markets.