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Roper (ROP) to Benefit From Acquisitions Despite Headwinds
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On Apr 20, we issued an updated research report on Roper Technologies, Inc. (ROP - Free Report) .
The company is one of the leading designers, manufacturers and distributors of engineered products and solutions as well as software. Roper currently has a $34.2-billion market capitalization. In the past three months, this Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) stock has lost 14.9% compared with the industry’s decline of 22.3%.
Factors Favoring Roper
Business Strength: The company has been benefiting from strength across its network software and medical products businesses. Also, its Application Software segment has been experiencing solid momentum from its strong Aderant, Data Innovations and Strata business units. For 2020, the company anticipates organic revenue growth in mid-single digits for both Application Software, and Measurement & Analytical Solutions segments, while that of the Network Software & Systems segment is projected to grow in mid-teens.
Acquired Assets: The company has been investing in acquisitions over time. Notably, it anticipates the buyout of iPipeline Holdings (completed in August 2019) to help it generate significant revenues and free cash flow in 2020. Also, in the same month, the company completed the acquisition of ComputerEase Software, which has been strengthening its Deltek business unit. Notably, in 2019, Roper used $2.4 billion for making acquisitions, surging 87% from the previous year.
Rewards to Shareholders: The company believes in rewarding shareholders handsomely through dividend payouts. In 2019, it distributed $191.7 million as dividends. It is worth mentioning here that Roper increased the quarterly dividend rate by 11% or 5 cents per share to 51.25 cents in November 2019. We believe that healthy cash flow will support it to return more value to shareholders in the quarters ahead.
Factors Working Against Roper
High Operating Expenses: The company has been witnessing high cost of sales and operating expenses over time. For instance, from 2017 to 2019, its cost of sales grew 3.6% (CAGR) and operating expenses jumped 5.2% (CAGR). Also, in 2019, the company’s cost of sales expanded 1.5% year over year to $1,939.7 million and operating expenses rose 2.4% to $1,928.7 million.
High Debts Level: High debts increase financial obligations and, in turn, hurt profitability. Roper’s long-term debts increased 2.4% (CAGR) in the last three years (2017-2019). Exiting 2019, the metric stood at $4,673.1 million. Also, net interest expenses in the year were $186.6 million, up 2.5% year over year.
Earnings Estimate Revision: The company’s earnings estimates have been lowered in the past 30 days. Currently, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for its earnings is pegged at $12.82 for 2020 and $13.44 for 2021, reflecting declines of 3.2% and 2.4% from the respective 30-day-ago numbers.
Tennant delivered a positive earnings surprise of 26.60%, on average, in the trailing four quarters.
Broadwind delivered a positive earnings surprise of 10.42%, on average, in the trailing four quarters.
Acco Brands delivered a positive earnings surprise of 19.04%, on average, in the trailing four quarters.
Breakout Biotech Stocks with Triple-Digit Profit Potential
The biotech sector is projected to surge beyond $775 billion by 2024 as scientists develop treatments for thousands of diseases. They’re also finding ways to edit the human genome to literally erase our vulnerability to these diseases.
Zacks has just released Century of Biology: 7 Biotech Stocks to Buy Right Now to help investors profit from 7 stocks poised for outperformance. Our recent biotech recommendations have produced gains of +50%, +83% and +164% in as little as 2 months. The stocks in this report could perform even better.
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Roper (ROP) to Benefit From Acquisitions Despite Headwinds
On Apr 20, we issued an updated research report on Roper Technologies, Inc. (ROP - Free Report) .
The company is one of the leading designers, manufacturers and distributors of engineered products and solutions as well as software. Roper currently has a $34.2-billion market capitalization. In the past three months, this Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) stock has lost 14.9% compared with the industry’s decline of 22.3%.
Factors Favoring Roper
Business Strength: The company has been benefiting from strength across its network software and medical products businesses. Also, its Application Software segment has been experiencing solid momentum from its strong Aderant, Data Innovations and Strata business units. For 2020, the company anticipates organic revenue growth in mid-single digits for both Application Software, and Measurement & Analytical Solutions segments, while that of the Network Software & Systems segment is projected to grow in mid-teens.
Acquired Assets: The company has been investing in acquisitions over time. Notably, it anticipates the buyout of iPipeline Holdings (completed in August 2019) to help it generate significant revenues and free cash flow in 2020. Also, in the same month, the company completed the acquisition of ComputerEase Software, which has been strengthening its Deltek business unit. Notably, in 2019, Roper used $2.4 billion for making acquisitions, surging 87% from the previous year.
Rewards to Shareholders: The company believes in rewarding shareholders handsomely through dividend payouts. In 2019, it distributed $191.7 million as dividends. It is worth mentioning here that Roper increased the quarterly dividend rate by 11% or 5 cents per share to 51.25 cents in November 2019. We believe that healthy cash flow will support it to return more value to shareholders in the quarters ahead.
Factors Working Against Roper
High Operating Expenses: The company has been witnessing high cost of sales and operating expenses over time. For instance, from 2017 to 2019, its cost of sales grew 3.6% (CAGR) and operating expenses jumped 5.2% (CAGR). Also, in 2019, the company’s cost of sales expanded 1.5% year over year to $1,939.7 million and operating expenses rose 2.4% to $1,928.7 million.
High Debts Level: High debts increase financial obligations and, in turn, hurt profitability. Roper’s long-term debts increased 2.4% (CAGR) in the last three years (2017-2019). Exiting 2019, the metric stood at $4,673.1 million. Also, net interest expenses in the year were $186.6 million, up 2.5% year over year.
Earnings Estimate Revision: The company’s earnings estimates have been lowered in the past 30 days. Currently, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for its earnings is pegged at $12.82 for 2020 and $13.44 for 2021, reflecting declines of 3.2% and 2.4% from the respective 30-day-ago numbers.
Key Picks
Some better-ranked stocks are Tennant Company (TNC - Free Report) , Broadwind Energy, Inc. (BWEN - Free Report) and Acco Brands Corporation (ACCO - Free Report) . While Tennant currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), Broadwind and Acco Brands carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Tennant delivered a positive earnings surprise of 26.60%, on average, in the trailing four quarters.
Broadwind delivered a positive earnings surprise of 10.42%, on average, in the trailing four quarters.
Acco Brands delivered a positive earnings surprise of 19.04%, on average, in the trailing four quarters.
Breakout Biotech Stocks with Triple-Digit Profit Potential
The biotech sector is projected to surge beyond $775 billion by 2024 as scientists develop treatments for thousands of diseases. They’re also finding ways to edit the human genome to literally erase our vulnerability to these diseases.
Zacks has just released Century of Biology: 7 Biotech Stocks to Buy Right Now to help investors profit from 7 stocks poised for outperformance. Our recent biotech recommendations have produced gains of +50%, +83% and +164% in as little as 2 months. The stocks in this report could perform even better.
See these 7 breakthrough stocks now>>