Manitowoc (NYSE:MTW) Shares Up 11% on Analyst Upgrade

The Manitowoc Company, Inc. (NYSE:MTW)’s share price traded up 11% during mid-day trading on Monday after Wall Street Zen upgraded the stock from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating. The company traded as high as $24.39 and last traded at $24.8650. Approximately 27,646 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 91% from the average daily volume of 313,619 shares. The stock had previously closed at $22.41.

MTW has been the subject of several other reports. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Manitowoc from $16.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Manitowoc from $12.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Manitowoc from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Manitowoc currently has a consensus rating of “Sell” and a consensus price target of $17.50.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Manitowoc

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Front Street Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Manitowoc during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $44,547,000. Goldstein Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Manitowoc by 3,280.8% in the 3rd quarter. Goldstein Advisors LLC now owns 652,493 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $14,002,000 after acquiring an additional 633,193 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Manitowoc in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,717,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in shares of Manitowoc by 37.0% in the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 401,100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,673,000 after acquiring an additional 108,347 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in shares of Manitowoc by 100.2% in the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 126,284 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,754,000 after acquiring an additional 63,215 shares during the last quarter. 78.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Manitowoc Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $885.86 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.82 and a beta of 1.78. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $21.89 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $15.78. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 2.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65.

Manitowoc (NYSE:MTW) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 3rd. The industrial products company reported $0.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.20 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $613.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $577.00 million. Manitowoc had a net margin of 1.10% and a return on equity of 4.75%. The firm’s revenue was up 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.14 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that The Manitowoc Company, Inc. will post 1.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Manitowoc Company Profile

The Manitowoc Company, Inc (NYSE: MTW) is a global manufacturer of cranes and lifting equipment. Its product portfolio includes crawler cranes, tower cranes, mobile telescopic cranes, boom trucks and industrial cranes used in construction, infrastructure, energy and other heavy-lifting applications.

The company markets its equipment under brands including Manitowoc, Potain, Grove, National Crane and Shuttlelift. In addition to new equipment, Manitowoc provides replacement parts, technical support, maintenance services, operator training and other aftermarket solutions intended to support customers throughout the life of their cranes.

Founded in 1902, Manitowoc has historical roots in shipbuilding and marine engineering and later expanded into crane manufacturing and other industrial businesses.