Manitowoc (MTW) Plans To Relocate Corporate Headquarters

Recently, The Manitowoc Company, Inc. (NYSE:MTW) announced plans to relocate its corporate headquarters to Milwaukee from Manitowoc in Wisconsin. The repositioning will likely complete by the end of first-quarter 2018.

Per the announcement, Manitowoc will lease around 16,000 square feet of space at One Park Place in the Park Plaza office park for its new office. The company has already begun shifting its employees. The new location will provide easy access to customers, shareholders and employees.

Notably, Manitowoc continues to focus on consolidating its manufacturing footprint and reducing cost of organizational structure. The company’s relocation of crawler crane manufacturing in the United States is also complete. This move will optimize its manufacturing footprint, reduce costs and broaden margins.

The company remains focused on cost controls, reducing headcount, boosting productivity and eliminating waste as well. Its focus on investment in new products and sales initiatives will propel sustainable and long-term growth. Continued rise in demand levels will translate into brighter prospects for increased manufacturing efficiencies and additional operating leverage.

However, Manitowoc has underperformed the industry with respect to price performance over the past year due to elevated steel prices, and slowdown in mobile cranes and commercial construction projects. The stock has rallied nearly 68.5%, while the industry has recorded growth of 79.9%.

Zacks Rank & Stocks to Consider

Currently, Manitowoc carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Some better-ranked stocks in the sector are H&E Equipment Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:HEES) , Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE) and Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) . While H&E Equipment sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), Astec and Caterpillar carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

H&E Equipment Services has a long-term earnings growth rate of 18.6%. Its shares have rallied 89.1%, over the past six months.

Astec has a long-term earnings growth rate of 10%. The company’s shares have been up 15.8% during the same time frame.

Caterpillar has a long-term earnings growth rate of 10.3%. The stock has gained 56.4% in six months’ time.

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