Shares of BorgWarner Inc. (BWA) touched new 52-week high of $87.66 on Jun 28, which is above its previous level of $87.29 on Jun 18, and closed at $86.15 on the same date. The closing price represented a solid one-year return of 33.5% and year-to-date return of 15.6%.
The leading manufacturer of powertrain products for the world’s major automakers has a market cap of $10.0 billion. Average volume of shares traded over the last three months stood at approximately 952.65K.
Shares of BorgWarner started escalating following its impressive 2013-first quarter results on Apr 25, improving fundamentals in the automobile parts market and a bright future for turbochargers produced by the company.
BWA posted a 1.6% increase in adjusted earnings to $1.30 per share (excluding non-recurring items) in the first quarter of 2013 from $1.28 in the first quarter of 2012. Earning per share surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 8 cents.
However, revenues dipped 3.2% to $1.85 billion, but were marginally ahead of the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.84 billion. The decrease in revenues was driven by 9% decline in light vehicle production in Europe, which accounts for over half of the company’s sales.
For 2013, BorgWarner anticipates that annual sales will improve between 2% and 6%. Excluding the impact of 2012 dispositions, net sales are expected to increase between 3% and 7%. The company also expects net earnings between $5.15 and $5.45 per share for the year and operating margin to be higher than 11.5% in 2013.
Not only BorgWarner, shares of other auto parts maker such as Magna International Inc. (MGA), Johnson Controls Inc. (JCI) and Lear Corp. (LEA) are also reaching 52-week highs due to continuous improvements in the market. Investors believe that the recessionary conditions in the market no longer exist.
Further, stricter emissions standards imposed by the governments will lead to burgeoning demand for turbochargers, as automakers will be forced to design more and more fuel-efficient vehicles.
BWA operates in 57 locations in 19 countries. The company’s products are manufactured and sold worldwide, primarily to original equipment manufacturers of passenger cars, SUVs, trucks and commercial transportation products. It currently retains a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
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