Tower International Inc. (NYSE:TOWR)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reiterated by equities research analysts at FBR & Co in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday.
The analysts wrote, “Heading into COLM’s Q2 results on Thursday, July 28, AMC, we are projecting an EPS loss of 17c (in line with consensus). We are modeling 3% sales growth, negatively impacted by a ~$7-$8M (~2%) shift out of Q2 into Q1 and lower EMEA distributor sales. That said, we believe domestic spring sell-throughs were solid. By region, we expect North America and Europe outperformed Korea and Russia, which likely remained under pressure in Q2. In North America, we believe the spring business benefited from strong performance of PFG and OutDry Extreme in the Columbia brand, an expanded spring offering in Sorel, and momentum in prAna, partially offset by the continued weakness in Mountain Hardwear. We are projecting gross margin expansion of 44bps and SG&A deleverage of ~200bps. Looking forward, we believe incremental risk to 2H sales from the TSA bankruptcy will limit any potential for an increase in guidance.””
A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of TOWR. Smith Asset Management Group LP raised its stake in shares of Tower International by 1.1% in the second quarter. Smith Asset Management Group LP now owns 115,760 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,382,000 after buying an additional 1,250 shares in the last quarter. Boothbay Fund Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Tower International by 111.5% in the first quarter. Boothbay Fund Management LLC now owns 19,165 shares of the company’s stock worth $521,000 after buying an additional 10,102 shares in the last quarter. Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. NY raised its stake in shares of Tower International by 3.5% in the first quarter. Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. NY now owns 16,034 shares of the company’s stock worth $436,000 after buying an additional 535 shares in the last quarter. Prudential PLC raised its stake in shares of Tower International by 12.3% in the first quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 302,600 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,231,000 after buying an additional 33,100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Tower International by 6.4% in the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 441,849 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,018,000 after buying an additional 26,472 shares in the last quarter.
Tower International (NYSE:TOWR) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 26th. The company reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, topping the Zacks’ consensus estimate of $0.71 by $0.10. The firm earned $505.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $504.70 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.05 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Tower International will post $3.19 earnings per share for the current year.
The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 8th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.67%.
A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on TOWR. Zacks Investment Research upgraded shares of Tower International from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Co. downgraded shares of Tower International from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, April 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $27.00 target price on shares of Tower International in a report on Friday, April 29th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. The company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $29.25.
In related news, CFO James C. Gouin acquired 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 28th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $19.66 per share, for a total transaction of $49,150.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer now directly owns 110,212 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,166,767.92. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Thomas K. Brown acquired 6,390 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 28th. The shares were bought at an average price of $19.70 per share, for a total transaction of $125,883.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 6,390 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $125,883. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here.
Tower International, Inc is a global manufacturer of engineered automotive structural metal components and assemblies, serving automotive original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). The Company operates in two segments: the Americas and International. The International segment consists of Europe and Asia, and the Americas segment consists of North and South America.
