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Why Is Donaldson (DCI) Up 6% Since the Last Earnings Report?

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It has been about a month since the last earnings report for Donaldson Company, Inc. (DCI - Free Report) . Shares have added about 6% in that time frame, outperforming the market.

Will the recent positive trend continue leading up to the stock's next earnings release, or is it due for a pullback? Before we dive into how investors and analysts have reacted as of late, let's take a quick look at the most recent earnings report in order to get a better handle on the important drivers.

Donaldson's Q4 Earnings Miss, Revenues Beat Estimates

Donaldson reported fourth-quarter fiscal 2017 adjusted earnings of 51 cents per share, which missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 53 cents by 3.8%. This ended the premium filtration products provider’s earning streak of three quarters. However, the bottom line was up 10.9% from the prior-year quarter figure of 46 cents.

For fiscal 2017, the company’s adjusted earnings per share rose 11.2% to $1.69 on a year-over-year basis. The bottom-line improvement can primarily be attributed to successful strategic initiatives and improving market conditions in Engine segment.

Quarter in Detail

Donaldson reported total sales of $660.1 million, up 11.2% on a year-over-year basis. Further, revenues surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $634.4 million comfortably. Impressive performance in Engine Products segment boosted the top line.

For fiscal 2017, Donaldson reported revenues of $2,371.9 million, up 6.8% from the prior-year figure.

Coming to the segments, Engine Products revenues increased 17.8% year over year in the fiscal fourth quarter to $ 431.9 million. Three of the four sub-segments under Engine Products — Off-Road, On Road and Aftermarket — recorded a jump in sales, which led to the overall strong performance. Sales in Aftermarket, On-road and Off-Road business increased by 19.1%, 4.4% and 28.3%, respectively. However, sales in Aerospace and Defense recorded a marginal decline of 0.1%.

Revenues at the Industrial Product segment were up 0.4% year over year to $228.2 million. Sales in Industrial Filtration Solutions and Special Applications business increased by 5.3% and 0.8%, respectively. However, sales in Gas Turbine Systems were down by 15.4%.

Donaldson’s fourth quarter adjusted operating margin declined to 14.3%, compared with its value of 15.8% recorded a year ago. Margins were negatively impacted by adverse sales mix, higher raw material costs and other charges. The company’s Earnings before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization (“EBITDA”) came in at $116.2 million compared with $106.4 million recorded a year ago.

Liquidity

As of Jul 31, 2017, Donaldson had cash and cash equivalents of $308.4 million compared with $243.2 million recorded a year ago. The company had long-term debt of $537.3 million as on Jul 31, 2017, compared with $350.2 million as on Jul 31, 2016.

2018 Guidance

Concurrent with the earnings release, the company provided guidance for fiscal 2018. Donaldson expects fiscal 2017 GAAP earnings in the range of $1.79-$1.93 per share compared with fiscal 2017 adjusted earnings of $1.69. Based on the current market scenario, the company expects a 4-8% year-over-year increase in full-year sales.

In terms of segments, Donaldson expects Engine Products sales to increase in the range of 6-10% compared with the prior year. While robust Aftermarket, Off-Road and On-Road sales are expected to act as tailwinds, poor sales of Aerospace and Defense are anticipated to restrict growth to some extent for Engine Products.

Donaldson anticipates Industrial Products sales to be a range of flat to 4% increase compared with the prior year, mirroring strong performance from Industrial Filtration Solutions.

How Have Estimates Been Moving Since Then?

Analysts were quiet during the last two month period as none of them issued any earnings estimate revisions.

VGM Scores

At this time, Donaldson's stock has a nice Growth Score of B, though it is lagging a lot on the momentum front with an F. However, the stock was allocated a grade of C on the value side, putting it in the middle 20% for this investment strategy.

Overall, the stock has an aggregate VGM Score of C. If you aren't focused on one strategy, this score is the one you should be interested in.

Our style scores indicate that the stock is more suitable for growth investors than value investors.

Outlook

The stock has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). We are expecting an inline return from the stock in the next few months.


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