Lindsay (NYSE:LNN) Shares Gap Up After Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Key Points

• Lindsay shares jumped 5.5% after the company reported quarterly EPS of $1.10, beating analysts’ $0.98 consensus estimate, while revenue increased 5.2% year over year.
• Analysts maintain a generally neutral view, with three Hold ratings and a consensus price target of $121; recommendations included a Zacks upgrade to Hold and a Weiss Ratings downgrade.
• Institutional ownership is high at 89.94%, with major investors including BlackRock, Legal & General, Nuance Investments, Amundi and Bank of New York Mellon adding or initiating positions.

Lindsay Corporation (NYSE:LNN - Get Free Report)'s share price gapped up before the market opened on Thursday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $106.59, but opened at $112.39. Lindsay shares last traded at $112.54, with a volume of 32,463 shares changing hands.

The industrial products company reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.12. Lindsay had a net margin of 8.79% and a return on equity of 10.73%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.99 earnings per share. Lindsay's revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on LNN shares. Stifel Nicolaus set a $121.00 target price on shares of Lindsay in a research report on Thursday, September 24th. Zacks Research raised Lindsay from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Lindsay from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a report on Friday, October 16th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $121.00.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lindsay

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Lindsay during the second quarter valued at approximately $219,361,000. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new position in Lindsay in the second quarter worth approximately $23,537,000. Nuance Investments LLC bought a new position in Lindsay in the second quarter worth approximately $22,195,000. Amundi raised its position in Lindsay by 64.4% in the second quarter. Amundi now owns 423,312 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $52,376,000 after acquiring an additional 165,745 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in shares of Lindsay during the 2nd quarter worth $11,869,000. Institutional investors own 89.94% of the company's stock.

Lindsay Stock Up 5.5%

The company's 50 day moving average price is $115.00 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $113.65. The company has a current ratio of 2.93, a quick ratio of 2.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The firm has a market cap of $1.14 billion, a PE ratio of 21.68 and a beta of 0.69.

About Lindsay

Lindsay Corporation is a U.S.-based manufacturer of irrigation and infrastructure products. The company's irrigation business provides center-pivot and lateral-move irrigation systems, water-management technologies, and related equipment used by agricultural producers to improve the application and conservation of water.

Lindsay's irrigation portfolio includes Zimmatic irrigation systems and digital tools such as FieldNET, which helps growers monitor and manage irrigation operations remotely.

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