Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) Earns Outperform Rating from Analysts at BNP Paribas

Equities researchers at BNP Paribas initiated coverage on shares of Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage set an “outperform” rating and a $345.00 price target on the industrial products company’s stock. BNP Paribas’ price objective would indicate a potential upside of 20.45% from the stock’s current price.

ROK has been the topic of several other reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Rockwell Automation from $293.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Mizuho increased their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $288.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. TD Cowen dropped their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $220.00 to $215.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, UBS Group began coverage on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research note on Wednesday. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $313.00 price objective for the company. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Rockwell Automation presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $285.13.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

Shares of ROK opened at $286.43 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 1.17. The company has a market capitalization of $32.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.36. The business’s 50-day moving average is $267.96 and its 200-day moving average is $266.69. Rockwell Automation has a fifty-two week low of $242.81 and a fifty-two week high of $312.76.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.07. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 11.53% and a return on equity of 30.42%. The company had revenue of $2.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.06 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.64 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 20.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Rockwell Automation will post 9.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, September 5th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the industrial products company to repurchase up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Rockwell Automation

In related news, SVP Veena M. Lakkundi sold 579 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $266.86, for a total transaction of $154,511.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 4,576 shares in the company, valued at $1,221,151.36. This trade represents a 11.23 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ROK. CreativeOne Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 3.0% during the first quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 1,277 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $372,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc lifted its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 0.9% in the third quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 4,033 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,083,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. grew its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 5.9% during the 2nd quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 680 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $198,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the period. Pure Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,613 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $444,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 1,928 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $518,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. 75.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Rockwell Automation

Rockwell Automation, Inc provides industrial automation and digital transformation solutions in North America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Asia Pacific, and Latin America. The company operates through three segments, Intelligent Devices, Software & Control, and Lifecycle Services. Its solutions include hardware and software products and services.