Wall Street Zen Upgrades Ducommun (NYSE:DCO) to Buy

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded Ducommun (NYSE:DCO) from "hold" to "buy"; overall analyst coverage includes five Buy and two Hold ratings, giving a consensus "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $139.75.
• Quarterly results showed an EPS beat ($1.05 vs. $0.91) and revenue up 9.4% year-over-year, but the company reported a negative net margin and a trailing P/E of -59.61; the stock opened at $137.69, near the consensus target and close to its 52‑week high of $143.33.
• Director Richard A. Baldridge sold 10,440 shares (reducing his position by ~34%), while insiders own 5% and institutional investors control a substantial 92.15% of the company's stock.

Ducommun (NYSE:DCO - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a note issued to investors on Saturday.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on DCO. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Ducommun in a report on Monday, December 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Ducommun from $117.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. B. Riley Financial reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Ducommun in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Ducommun from $142.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, March 13th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Ducommun from $143.00 to $141.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $139.75.

Ducommun Price Performance

DCO opened at $137.69 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $128.09 and a 200 day moving average of $108.62. Ducommun has a 52-week low of $53.78 and a 52-week high of $143.33. The company has a quick ratio of 2.47, a current ratio of 3.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The stock has a market cap of $2.06 billion, a P/E ratio of -59.61 and a beta of 1.00.

Ducommun (NYSE:DCO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The aerospace company reported $1.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.14. Ducommun had a positive return on equity of 8.47% and a negative net margin of 4.11%.The company had revenue of $215.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $217.42 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.75 EPS. Ducommun's revenue was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ducommun will post 3.21 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ducommun

In other news, Director Richard A. Baldridge sold 10,440 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.83, for a total value of $1,365,865.20. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 20,100 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,629,683. This represents a 34.18% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 5.00% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ducommun

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its stake in shares of Ducommun by 1,993.3% during the 2nd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 302,969 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $25,034,000 after acquiring an additional 288,496 shares in the last quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P bought a new position in shares of Ducommun during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,028,000. Aberdeen Group plc bought a new position in shares of Ducommun during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $19,035,000. Thornburg Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Ducommun during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $12,953,000. Finally, Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Ducommun by 267.3% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 116,872 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $11,118,000 after acquiring an additional 85,056 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.15% of the company's stock.

About Ducommun

Ducommun Incorporated, through its Electronics and Structures segments, provides engineered products and integrated systems for the global aerospace, defense and space markets. The Electronics segment focuses on high-reliability electronic assemblies, cable and wire harnesses, connector systems and harsh environment electronics for flight-critical applications. In the Structures segment, Ducommun manufactures complex metallic and composite components such as flight control surfaces, skin panels, heat exchangers and other aerostructures for commercial and military platforms.

Founded in 1849 in California as a hardware and stagecoach parts supplier, Ducommun expanded into aerospace manufacturing during World War II and has since grown its capabilities through targeted acquisitions and organic investments.

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