Vontier (NYSE:VNT) Shares Gap Up – Still a Buy?

Vontier Co. (NYSE:VNT)’s share price gapped up prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $34.08, but opened at $36.29. Vontier shares last traded at $37.06, with a volume of 57,028 shares traded.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on VNT. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on shares of Vontier from $45.00 to $40.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Argus lowered shares of Vontier from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of Vontier from $44.00 to $42.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Vontier from $50.00 to $44.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Vontier currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $44.25.

Vontier Trading Up 9.6 %

The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.14. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $33.85 and its 200-day moving average price is $36.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.27.

Vontier (NYSE:VNT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.71 by ($0.08). The business had revenue of $696.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $746.43 million. Vontier had a net margin of 13.43% and a return on equity of 49.17%. Vontier’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.67 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Vontier Co. will post 2.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Vontier Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 5th were paid a $0.025 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 5th. This represents a $0.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.27%. Vontier’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 3.62%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vontier

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of VNT. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Vontier by 10.9% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 4,171 shares of the company’s stock worth $141,000 after purchasing an additional 410 shares during the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management raised its holdings in shares of Vontier by 3.3% during the second quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 13,129 shares of the company’s stock worth $502,000 after purchasing an additional 420 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Vontier by 6.2% during the second quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 7,729 shares of the company’s stock worth $295,000 after purchasing an additional 448 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning raised its holdings in shares of Vontier by 2.8% during the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 17,918 shares of the company’s stock worth $684,000 after purchasing an additional 491 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ORG Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vontier during the first quarter worth $35,000. 95.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Vontier

Vontier Corporation provides mobility ecosystem solutions worldwide. The company operates through Mobility Technologies, Repair Solutions, and Environmental and Fueling Solutions segments. The Mobility Technologies segment provides digitally equipment solutions for mobility ecosystem, such as point-of-sale and payment systems, workflow automation, telematics, data analytics, software platform, and integrated solutions for alternative fuel dispensing.