Zacks Research Upgrades Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) to Strong-Buy

Key Points

• Zacks Research upgraded Rockwell Automation from “hold” to “strong-buy” and also projected Q3 2028 earnings of $4.02 per share. The move adds to a generally positive analyst outlook on the stock.
• Rockwell Automation recently posted better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $3.30 versus the $2.88 consensus and revenue of $2.24 billion versus $2.16 billion expected. The company also reaffirmed FY 2026 EPS guidance of 12.5 to 13.1.
• The company announced a $1 billion share repurchase program that could buy back up to 2% of outstanding shares. The stock also has significant institutional ownership, with hedge funds and other investors holding about 75.75% of shares.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK - Get Free Report) was upgraded by research analysts at Zacks Research from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Rockwell Automation's Q3 2028 earnings at $4.02 EPS.

Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on ROK. KeyCorp lifted their target price on Rockwell Automation from $470.00 to $510.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and set a $525.00 price target on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. DA Davidson started coverage on Rockwell Automation in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $500.00 price target for the company. BNP Paribas Exane lifted their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $495.00 to $515.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, HSBC boosted their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $445.00 to $490.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $462.82.

Rockwell Automation Stock Down 2.2%

ROK stock opened at $471.99 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $450.93 and a 200 day moving average price of $414.32. Rockwell Automation has a 12 month low of $305.44 and a 12 month high of $497.36. The company has a market cap of $52.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 1.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 0.76.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The industrial products company reported $3.30 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.88 by $0.42. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 12.36% and a return on equity of 37.54%. The firm had revenue of $2.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.16 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.45 EPS. Rockwell Automation's quarterly revenue was up 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Rockwell Automation has set its FY 2026 guidance at 12.500-13.100 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Rockwell Automation will post 13.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Rockwell Automation declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Tuesday, June 9th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the industrial products company to repurchase up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP John M. Miller sold 1,054 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $426.02, for a total value of $449,025.08. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 5,615 shares in the company, valued at $2,392,102.30. The trade was a 15.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Christopher Nardecchia sold 2,538 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $446.43, for a total value of $1,133,039.34. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 14,232 shares in the company, valued at $6,353,591.76. This represents a 15.13% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 12,009 shares of company stock worth $5,232,471. Corporate insiders own 0.76% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Rockwell Automation

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ROK. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Rockwell Automation in the fourth quarter valued at $615,596,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 5,925.6% during the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 906,192 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $352,572,000 after buying an additional 891,153 shares during the last quarter. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. acquired a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation during the 4th quarter worth $156,017,000. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 25.0% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,545,104 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $601,154,000 after buying an additional 309,316 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 1,666.2% in the 3rd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 321,722 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $112,451,000 after buying an additional 303,506 shares in the last quarter. 75.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Rockwell Automation Company Profile

Rockwell Automation is a global industrial automation and digital transformation company headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The firm designs, manufactures and supports control systems, industrial control hardware and software, and related services that help manufacturers and industrial operators automate processes, improve productivity and enable data-driven decision making. Rockwell traces its heritage to the Allen-Bradley and Rockwell automation businesses and positions itself as a provider of integrated automation solutions across discrete and process industries.

The company's product portfolio includes programmable logic controllers (PLCs), human-machine interfaces (HMIs), variable frequency drives, sensors, safety components and other industrial control hardware, often marketed under the Allen-Bradley brand.

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