Timken (NYSE:TKR) Shares Gap Up Following Earnings Beat

The Timken Company (NYSE:TKR)’s stock price gapped up before the market opened on Tuesday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock had previously closed at $86.70, but opened at $91.53. Timken shares last traded at $93.54, with a volume of 328,216 shares trading hands.

The industrial products company reported $1.77 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.27. The firm had revenue of $1.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.15 billion. Timken had a net margin of 7.99% and a return on equity of 17.98%. The firm’s revenue was down 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.09 EPS.

Timken Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 20th were paid a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 16th. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.51%. Timken’s payout ratio is 25.14%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on TKR. Loop Capital upped their target price on shares of Timken from $78.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. DA Davidson began coverage on shares of Timken in a report on Tuesday, January 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $92.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Timken from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Timken from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $100.00 target price (up from $97.00) on shares of Timken in a report on Thursday, March 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Timken currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $86.73.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of TKR. CWM LLC raised its holdings in Timken by 50.0% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 906 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $67,000 after buying an additional 302 shares during the period. AE Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Timken in the third quarter valued at approximately $290,000. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in Timken by 47.4% in the third quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 15,297 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,124,000 after buying an additional 4,919 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its holdings in Timken by 19.6% in the third quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 7,599 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $559,000 after buying an additional 1,245 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Timken by 8.1% in the third quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 26,954 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,981,000 after buying an additional 2,026 shares during the period. 89.08% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Timken Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.87 and a quick ratio of 0.96. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $85.62 and its 200-day simple moving average is $79.72. The company has a market cap of $6.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.51.

About Timken

The Timken Company designs, manufactures, and sells engineered bearings and industrial motion products, and related services in the United States and internationally. The company's Engineered Bearings segment provides various bearing products, including tapered, spherical, and cylindrical roller bearings; plain bearings, metal-polymer bearings, and rod end bearings; radial, angular, and precision ball bearings; thrust and specialty ball bearings; journal bearings; and housed or mounted bearings.