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Sandvik a Must Buy on Consolidation Efforts, Solid Products

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We believe Sandvik AB (SDVKY - Free Report) is a solid choice for investors, seeking exposure in the machinery space. Solid order intake, divestment initiatives to strengthen core business and a focus on innovative products will bode well for the company.

The stock, with roughly $23.8-billion market capitalization, was upgraded to a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) on Mar 22.

In the last three months, the company’s shares have rallied 6.3%, outperforming 3.8% decline of the industry.



Why the Upgrade?

Sandvik delivered better-than-expected earnings in the fourth quarter of 2017 with earnings of 27 cents per share, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 19 cents by 42.11%. Profitability improved on the back of higher demand for products, focus on product innovation and initiatives to control costs. Revenues grew 15% year over year while order growth of 15% clearly signifies growing customers’ preferences for its products.

For 2018, Sandvik anticipates capital expenditures to be approximately SEK 4 billion. Favorable metal prices are likely to be in excess of SEK 100 million on Sandvik Materials Technology’s operating profit in the first quarter of the year. Also, the company proposed a dividend of SEK 3.50 per share to be paid for 2017. This represents an increase of 27% over the year-ago dividend rate.

Sandvik’s consolidation efforts will help to strengthen its core businesses. Notably, it closed the divestment of its Mining Systems in November 2017 while some of its businesses in South Africa were sold in March 2018. Also, it sold off the welding wire business in January 2018 while divested its Process Systems business in December 2017. The company reached an agreement of divesting Hyperion; closure is anticipated in the first half of 2018. Hyperion divestment will generate capital gain upon closing.

Offering new and innovative products to its customers as well as investing in leverage benefits from new business opportunities has been a priority for Sandvik over time. In February 2018, it invested SEK 200 million in a plant for the development of titanium and nickel powders. In the future, it anticipates a large market for these metal powers in additive manufacturing. The company also set up a new manufacturing facility in South Africa, which will assist in the production of Sandvik LH115L five-ton LHDs for local markets. New products, including Ranger DXi and the new screening media, Sandvik WX6500 titanium and nickel fine metal were introduced in August 2017.

In the last 60 days, the company’s earnings estimates for 2018 was revised upward by two brokerage firms while that for 2019 was revised upward by one brokerage firm. The Zacks Consensus Estimate currently stands at $1.11 for 2018 and $1.13 for 2019, reflecting an increase of 12.1% and 11.9%, respectively, from their tallies 60 days ago.

Sandvik AB Price and Consensus
 

Sandvik AB Price and Consensus | Sandvik AB Quote

Other Stocks to Consider

Some other key players in the machinery space worth considering are Dover Corporation (DOV - Free Report) , Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (AIT - Free Report) and Graco Inc. (GGG - Free Report) . While Dover sports a Zacks Rank #1, both Applied Industrial and Graco carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

In the last 60 days, earnings estimates for each of these stocks improved for the current year and the next year. Also, average positive earnings surprise for the last four quarters was 7.26% for Dover, 10.97% for Applied Industrial and 18.54% for Graco.

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