Snap-on (NYSE:SNA) Raised to "Buy" at StockNews.com

Snap-on (NYSE:SNA - Get Free Report) was upgraded by StockNews.com from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note issued on Friday.

Several other brokerages have also commented on SNA. Barrington Research reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $350.00 price objective on shares of Snap-on in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Tigress Financial raised their price objective on Snap-on from $385.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Longbow Research raised Snap-on from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $400.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on Snap-on from $349.00 to $320.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Snap-on has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $350.83.

Snap-on Stock Performance

SNA stock traded down $4.50 during trading on Friday, hitting $322.23. 370,189 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 362,033. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $322.47 and its 200 day simple moving average is $338.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 4.15 and a quick ratio of 3.17. The company has a market cap of $16.85 billion, a PE ratio of 16.52, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.78. Snap-on has a 1 year low of $252.98 and a 1 year high of $373.90.

Snap-on (NYSE:SNA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The company reported $4.51 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.81 by ($0.30). The company had revenue of $1.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.20 billion. Snap-on had a net margin of 21.71% and a return on equity of 19.20%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $4.91 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Snap-on will post 19.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Snap-on news, CFO Aldo John Pagliari sold 5,553 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $326.84, for a total transaction of $1,814,942.52. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 109,560 shares in the company, valued at $35,808,590.40. This represents a 4.82% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Nicholas T. Pinchuk sold 22,700 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $335.32, for a total value of $7,611,764.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 793,932 shares in the company, valued at approximately $266,221,278.24. This trade represents a 2.78% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 35,113 shares of company stock worth $11,752,590 in the last ninety days. 3.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Alpine Bank Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Snap-on during the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in shares of Snap-on by 70.5% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 75 shares of the company's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Snap-on during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Snap-on during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Snap-on by 421.1% during the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 99 shares of the company's stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. 84.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Snap-on Company Profile

Snap-on Incorporated manufactures and markets tools, equipment, diagnostics, and repair information and systems solutions for professional users worldwide. It operates through Commercial & Industrial Group, Snap-on Tools Group, Repair Systems & Information Group, and Financial Services segments.