AMETEK (AME) Hits 52-Week High On Solid Product Portfolio

Shares of AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME) have rallied to a new 52-week high of $66.64, eventually closing a shade lower at $66.40 on Sep 20. The outperformance can be attributed to the company’s expanding product portfolio, driven by acquisitions and consistent execution, which is giving a boost to top-line growth and profitability.

We note that AMETEK has topped the Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings in three of the trailing four quarters, with an average positive surprise of 2.98%.

AMETEK has a market cap of $15.32 billion. The stock has had an impressive run on the bourse year to date. AMETEK gained 36.6%, significantly outperforming the S&P 500’s rally of 11.8%.

Key Growth Factors

AMETEK manufactures and sells electronic instruments and electromechanical devices. The company continues to reap benefits from the execution of its four core growth strategies of operational excellence, global market expansion, investments in product development and strategic acquisitions.

Moreover, the company’s strong business portfolio serves as a growth driver. In fact, AMETEK has been consistently introducing new and improved products that add to its vastly differentiated product pipeline. Some of the recent launches include Custom Cooling Systems, the new DC power supply and high-speed camera.

The consistent product introductions help the company to create customer loyalty and facilitate market share gains, thereby boosting revenues.

Also, MOCON Inc. acquisition, which was completed by the company in June this year, will complement its existing gas analysis instrumentation business. MOCON’s products will create opportunities for AMETEK to further expand into the growing food and pharmaceutical package testing market.

Also, the company has gained momentum from strong fundamentals and better-than-expected second-quarter 2017 results reported on Aug 2. Since then, the stock has moved up 3.5%.

AMETEK’s top line increased 8.9% from the year-ago period to $1.06 billion. Also, non-GAAP earnings of 65 cents per share came ahead of the Zacks Consensus Estimate. The company’s revenues were positively impacted by robust organic growth and input from recently completed acquisitions.

For third-quarter 2017, AMETEK projects revenues to be up 10% year over year. Earnings are expected to be in the range of 60-62 cents per share, up 7-11% year over year. For the third quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate is pegged at 62 cents.

AMETEK’s strong revenue growth, solid financial conditions, increasing market share and strong long-term growth potential position it favorably.

AMTEK, Inc. Price and Consensus

AMTEK, Inc. Price and Consensus | AMTEK, Inc. Quote

Zacks Rank & Key Picks

Currently, AMETEK holds a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). A few better-ranked in the broader technology sector include Activision Blizzard, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATVI) , Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) and Lam Research Corporation (NASDAQ:LRCX) , each sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Long-term earnings per share growth rate for Activision, Applied Materials and Lam Research is projected to be 13.6%, 17.1% and 17.2%, respectively.

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