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Investing.com - Citi has raised its price target on Fortive (NYSE:FTV) to $59.00 from $51.98 while maintaining a Neutral rating on the stock following the company’s spin-off of its Precision Technologies segment. The industrial technology company, currently valued at $18.07 billion, is trading near its 52-week low of $50, with InvestingPro analysis suggesting the stock is undervalued at current levels.
The price target increase reflects Citi’s updated model for Fortive’s go-forward portfolio after the recent corporate restructuring. The new target represents approximately 21 times Citi’s projected 2026 earnings per share for the company.
Citi views Fortive as having a portfolio of well-positioned businesses with potential for healthy growth, improving profitability, and strong free cash flow generation over time. The company’s impressive gross profit margin of 60% and moderate debt levels support this outlook. The firm also expressed optimism that a seemingly more stringent capital deployment approach could contribute to more consistent shareholder returns.
For deeper insights into Fortive’s financial health and growth prospects, InvestingPro subscribers can access exclusive analysis and 8 additional ProTips. Despite the positive long-term outlook, Citi noted near-term challenges including relatively mixed end market demand, with second-quarter core revenues expected to be flat to slightly down. The firm also cited Fortive’s "still somewhat complicated portfolio of businesses" as a potential concern.
These near-term factors could result in investors taking a "wait and see approach" to the new Fortive, according to Citi, explaining the firm’s decision to maintain its Neutral rating despite the higher price target. The stock currently trades at a P/E ratio of 23.13, with technical indicators suggesting oversold conditions.
In other recent news, Fortive Corporation has completed the 100% spin-off of its Precision Technologies segment, now trading as Ralliant Corporation on the NYSE. Fortive shareholders received one share of Ralliant for every three shares held. Alongside the spin-off, Olumide Soroye has taken over as President and CEO, succeeding James Lico, who will remain as a senior advisor until the end of the year. Despite recent challenges, Fortive expects its second-quarter earnings per share to remain near the mid-point of its previous guidance, although it anticipates that revenue will be flat to slightly down due to tariff-related pricing pressure and uncertainties in trade, healthcare, and government spending policies. The spin-off aims to create two focused companies, with Fortive continuing to trade under its existing symbol. Raymond (NSE:RYMD) James has lowered its price target for Fortive to $65, citing trade concerns but maintaining an Outperform rating, while BNP Paribas (OTC:BNPQY) Exane has raised its price target to $75, maintaining a Neutral rating. BNP Paribas Exane noted that Fortive’s long-term targets seem aligned with investor expectations. Both firms emphasized the importance of Fortive demonstrating strong organic growth and disciplined capital allocation post-spin-off.
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