Vontier (NYSE:VNT) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Vontier has been upgraded from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating by analysts at Wall Street Zen, reflecting increased confidence in the stock.
• Barclays and Evercore ISI recently raised their price targets for Vontier shares, with Barclays setting it at $48.00 and Evercore ISI at $47.00.
• In its latest earnings report, Vontier achieved an EPS of $0.79, exceeding analyst expectations and showing an 11.1% increase in revenue year-over-year.

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Vontier (NYSE:VNT - Free Report) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note published on Saturday.

Several other equities analysts have also recently commented on VNT. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Vontier in a research report on Thursday. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Vontier from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. Barclays increased their target price on Vontier from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Citigroup restated a "buy" rating and set a $45.00 target price (up from $37.00) on shares of Vontier in a report on Monday, July 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Vontier has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $47.14.

Vontier Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:VNT traded up $0.07 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $41.28. 675,802 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 980,236. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. Vontier has a 12 month low of $27.22 and a 12 month high of $42.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.31. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $37.55 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $35.69.

Vontier (NYSE:VNT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.72 by $0.07. Vontier had a return on equity of 41.96% and a net margin of 12.99%. The company had revenue of $773.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $734.23 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.63 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Vontier will post 3.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Vontier Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 5th were given a $0.025 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 5th. This represents a $0.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. Vontier's dividend payout ratio is currently 3.80%.

Insider Transactions at Vontier

In other Vontier news, SVP Kathryn K. Rowen sold 7,344 shares of Vontier stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.34, for a total transaction of $266,880.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 88,248 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,206,932.32. The trade was a 7.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.97% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Vontier

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Brooklyn Investment Group lifted its position in shares of Vontier by 586.2% in the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 844 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 721 shares in the last quarter. Olde Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Vontier during the first quarter worth approximately $36,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its stake in Vontier by 75.7% during the second quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,228 shares of the company's stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 529 shares during the last quarter. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH bought a new stake in Vontier during the second quarter worth approximately $53,000. Finally, Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new stake in Vontier during the first quarter worth approximately $64,000. Institutional investors own 95.83% of the company's stock.

About Vontier

Vontier Corporation provides mobility ecosystem solutions worldwide. The company operates through Mobility Technologies, Repair Solutions, and Environmental and Fueling Solutions segments. The Mobility Technologies segment provides digitally equipment solutions for mobility ecosystem, such as point-of-sale and payment systems, workflow automation, telematics, data analytics, software platform, and integrated solutions for alternative fuel dispensing.