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Fortive Corporation (FTV), with a market cap of $24.2 billion, operates in the diversified industrial sector, offering advanced industrial technology and professional instrumentation solutions globally. The Everett, Washington-based company is organized into three segments: Intelligent Operating Solutions; Precision Technologies; and Advanced Healthcare Solutions.
Shares of this industrial conglomerate have significantly underperformed the broader market over the past 52 weeks. FTV has declined nearly 14% over this time frame, while the broader S&P 500 Index ($SPX) has gained 19.7%. In 2024 alone, FTV has fallen 7.2%, compared to SPX’s 12.1% increase on a YTD basis.
Zooming in further, FTV also lagged behind the S&P 500 Industrial Sector SPDR’s (XLI) 13.6% returns over the past 52 weeks and an 8.5% gain on a YTD basis.
Fortive has underperformed over the past year due to its lack of standout growth and margins, along with exposure to economically pressured cyclical end markets. Moreover, the stock dipped 8.2% on Jul. 24 due to a revenue miss for Q2, with reported revenue of $1.55 billion falling short of the $1.56 billion forecasted, despite EPS exceeding expectations. Additionally, concerns over a delayed recovery in certain end markets and a lower-than-anticipated Q3 guidance contributed to the decline.
For the current fiscal year, ending in December, analysts expect FTV to report EPS growth of 11.4% year over year to $3.82. The company's earnings surprise history is mixed. It beat the consensus estimates in three of the last four quarters while missing on another occasion.
The consensus view on the stock is overall moderately bullish. Among the 16 analysts covering the stock, the consensus rating is a “Moderate Buy.” That’s based on nine “Strong Buys” and seven “Holds.”
This configuration is slightly more bullish than three months before, with eight “Strong Buy” ratings.
On Jul. 25, Seaport Research analyst Scott Graham lowered Fortive's price target to $88 while maintaining a “Buy” rating, citing mixed results in the Q2 earnings report. This implies a potential upside of 28.8% from current levels.
The mean price target of $85.08 represents a premium of 24.5% to FTV's current levels. The Street-high price target of $93 suggests that the stock could rally as much as 36.1% from here.
On the date of publication, Sohini Mondal did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. For more information please view the Barchart Disclosure Policy here.
