Berwyn, Pennsylvania-based AMETEK, Inc. (AME) manufactures and sells electronic instruments and electromechanical devices. It operates through the Electronic Instruments Group (EIG) and the Electromechanical Group (EMG) segments. With a market cap of $44.7 billion, AMETEK operations span the Americas, Asia, Europe, and internationally.
The industrial sector giant is expected to announce its Q4 results on Tuesday, Feb. 4. Ahead of the event, analysts expect AMETEK to report a profit of $1.84 per share, up 9.5% from $1.68 per share reported in the year-ago quarter. Furthermore, the company has consistently surpassed Wall Street’s adjusted EPS projections in each of the past four quarters. Its adjusted EPS for the last reported quarter increased 1.2% year-over-year to $1.66, exceeding the consensus estimates by 2.5%.
For the full fiscal 2024, analysts expect AMETEK to deliver an adjusted EPS of $6.80, up 6.6% from $6.38 in fiscal 2023. While in fiscal 2025, its earnings are expected to increase 7.5% year-over-year to $7.31 per share.
AME has gained 7.6% over the past 52 weeks, substantially underperforming the S&P 500 Index’s ($SPX) 21.8% gains and the Industrial Select Sector SPDR Fund’s (XLI) 16.9% returns during the same time frame.
AMETEK’s stock prices soared over 8.5% after the release of its Q3 results on Oct. 31 as the company’s earnings and revenues surpassed Wall Street’s expectations. Driven by the strong performance of its Electromechanical segment, its overall net sales increased 5.3% year-over-year to $1.7 billion. The company had done a commendable job at navigating through the macro uncertainties while delivering double-digit orders growth. Furthermore, its aggregated operating cash flows for the past three quarters have surged more than 7% year-over-year to $1.3 billion.
However, the Electronic Instrument segment has observed a marginal decline in revenues and while the Electromechanical segment revenues observed a massive surge, the segment’s operating margin contracted by 329-basis points compared to the year-ago quarter to 22.9% which led to a comparatively modest 1.8% year-over-year growth in overall operating income to $445.9 million.
The consensus opinion on AME stock is moderately bullish, with an overall “Moderate Buy” rating. Out of the 14 analysts covering the stock, nine recommend “Strong Buy,” one advises “Moderate Buy,” three suggest “Hold,” and one advocates a “Strong Sell” rating. Its mean price target of $201.08, represents a 14.2% potential upside from current price levels.
On the date of publication, Aditya Sarawgi did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. For more information please view the Barchart Disclosure Policy here.