TE Connectivity (NYSE:TEL) Raised to Buy at Citigroup

TE Connectivity (NYSE:TEL - Get Free Report) was upgraded by research analysts at Citigroup from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note issued on Friday, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage presently has a $200.00 price objective on the electronics maker's stock, up from their prior price objective of $150.00. Citigroup's price objective points to a potential upside of 14.34% from the stock's previous close.

TEL has been the subject of several other reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on TE Connectivity from $190.00 to $170.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on TE Connectivity from $156.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Vertical Research raised TE Connectivity from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $170.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Hsbc Global Res raised TE Connectivity from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on TE Connectivity from $147.00 to $153.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $171.70.

TE Connectivity Trading Up 1.3%

Shares of TEL opened at $174.92 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $163.29 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $150.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.51. TE Connectivity has a 52-week low of $116.30 and a 52-week high of $179.00. The company has a market cap of $51.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.44, a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.23.

TE Connectivity (NYSE:TEL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The electronics maker reported $2.10 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.96 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $4.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.97 billion. TE Connectivity had a return on equity of 19.40% and a net margin of 8.67%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.86 EPS. Analysts predict that TE Connectivity will post 8.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at TE Connectivity

In other TE Connectivity news, EVP John S. Jenkins sold 30,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.39, for a total value of $4,481,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 24,625 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,678,728.75. The trade was a 54.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Heath A. Mitts sold 53,306 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.21, for a total value of $8,486,848.26. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 45,503 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,244,532.63. This trade represents a 53.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 187,775 shares of company stock valued at $29,596,059. Insiders own 0.90% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of TE Connectivity

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new stake in TE Connectivity during the fourth quarter worth about $909,598,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in TE Connectivity by 17.0% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 37,881,410 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $5,353,401,000 after acquiring an additional 5,502,415 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in TE Connectivity during the fourth quarter worth about $508,199,000. Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its holdings in TE Connectivity by 72.1% during the fourth quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 4,064,822 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $581,148,000 after acquiring an additional 1,702,825 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in TE Connectivity during the first quarter worth about $174,700,000. 91.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About TE Connectivity

TE Connectivity Ltd., together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells connectivity and sensor solutions in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the AsiaPacific, and the Americas. The company operates through three segments: Transportation Solutions, Industrial Solutions, and Communications Solutions.

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