ITT (NYSE:ITT) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of ITT (NYSE:ITT - Free Report) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report published on Thursday.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the company. KeyCorp upped their price objective on ITT from $164.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. TD Cowen increased their target price on ITT from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. UBS Group increased their target price on ITT from $165.00 to $168.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on ITT from $180.00 to $179.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on ITT from $165.00 to $163.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $168.38.

ITT Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of ITT stock traded down $0.37 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $147.58. 331,974 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 353,160. ITT has a 1 year low of $121.01 and a 1 year high of $161.13. The stock's fifty day moving average is $146.88 and its 200 day moving average is $145.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.40. The firm has a market cap of $12.03 billion, a PE ratio of 23.43, a PEG ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.41.

ITT (NYSE:ITT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The conglomerate reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.48 by $0.02. ITT had a return on equity of 18.03% and a net margin of 14.27%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that ITT will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current year.

ITT Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.351 per share. This is an increase from ITT's previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 6th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.95%. ITT's dividend payout ratio is 20.32%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ITT

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV boosted its stake in shares of ITT by 86.5% during the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 4,383 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $626,000 after buying an additional 2,033 shares during the period. Freestone Grove Partners LP acquired a new stake in shares of ITT during the fourth quarter worth about $27,614,000. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda acquired a new stake in shares of ITT during the fourth quarter worth about $59,000. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of ITT by 197.8% during the fourth quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 207,974 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $29,715,000 after buying an additional 138,132 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of ITT by 33.3% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 755,915 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $108,005,000 after buying an additional 188,794 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.59% of the company's stock.

About ITT

ITT Inc, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells engineered critical components and customized technology solutions for the transportation, industrial, and energy markets in the United States and internationally. The Motion Technologies segment manufactures brake pads, shims, shock absorbers, and energy absorption components; and sealing technologies primarily for the transportation industry, including passenger cars, trucks, light- and heavy-duty commercial and military vehicles, buses, and trains.