Shares of Mettler-Toledo International Inc (MTD) reached a 52-week high of $306.92 on Dec 29 and closed at $305.89. This represents a healthy year-to-date return of approximately 27%, better than the S&P 500’s return of 13.1% over the same period.
Mettler-Toledo’s third-quarter earnings of $2.95 per share comfortably beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.86. On an average, the company has outperformed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by approximately 2% over the last four quarters.
This Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) stock has a market cap of $8.69 billion and a long-term expected earnings growth rate of 12.6%.
Key Growth Catalysts
In the third quarter, sales increased 6% year over year to $629.1 million, which managed to beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $616 million. The revenue growth was primarily driven by improved performance in Europe (up 4%), America (7%) and Asia/Rest of the World (7%).
Sales growth in China (4%) improved on the back of 2 large projects and was better than the company expected. Mettler-Toledo believes that sales in China will improve in the fourth quarter and 2015, but at the same time anticipates the growth path to be sensitive to macro-economic volatilities.
Mettler-Toledo reiterated full-year 2014 guidance based on margin enhancement programs and cost-control initiatives, which are expected to fully offset any negative currency headwind.
In our view, Mettler-Toledo’s initial 2015 guidance is positive. Adjusted earnings are expected to be in the range of $12.80-$13.05 per share, while sales growth is anticipated in the range of 4-5%.
Mettler-Toledo expects good performance from the laboratory business in the fourth quarter and into 2015 as well. The retail business is also expected to improve on the back of a couple of European orders.
Estimate Revisions
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2014 and 2015 has remained steady at $11.64 and $13.00, respectively, over the last 7 days.
Other Stocks to Consider
Better-ranked stocks in the industry are Fluidigm (FLDM), Inogen (INGN) and RTI Surgical (RTIX). All three stocks sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).
Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report
To read this article on Zacks.com click here.
Get all Zacks Research Reports and be alerted to fast-breaking buy and sell opportunities every trading day.
Be the first to comment