StockNews.com Upgrades Allegion (NYSE:ALLE) to “Buy”

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Allegion (NYSE:ALLE) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Saturday.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Allegion from $113.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Allegion from $125.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on Allegion from $112.00 to $117.00 and gave the company an underweight rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Allegion currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $125.40.

Allegion Price Performance

Allegion stock opened at $139.34 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 1.66. Allegion has a one year low of $95.94 and a one year high of $141.10. The business has a fifty day moving average of $120.86 and a two-hundred day moving average of $125.52. The company has a market cap of $12.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.22 and a beta of 1.13.

Allegion (NYSE:ALLE) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.84 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $965.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $953.63 million. Allegion had a return on equity of 47.21% and a net margin of 15.08%. Allegion’s revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.76 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Allegion will post 7.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Tracy L. Kemp sold 2,194 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.98, for a total value of $267,624.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 11,103 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,354,343.94. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Allegion

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ALLE. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA acquired a new position in shares of Allegion in the 4th quarter worth approximately $120,959,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Allegion during the fourth quarter worth approximately $110,740,000. APG Asset Management US Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Allegion in the 4th quarter worth $66,449,000. Brown Advisory Inc. raised its holdings in Allegion by 33.0% during the 4th quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 1,895,352 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $240,122,000 after buying an additional 470,104 shares during the period. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in shares of Allegion by 15.9% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 3,215,649 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $407,391,000 after acquiring an additional 441,882 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.21% of the company’s stock.

About Allegion

Allegion plc manufactures and sells mechanical and electronic security products and solutions worldwide. The company offers door controls and systems and exit devices; locks, locksets, portable locks, and key systems and services; electronic security products and access control systems; time, attendance, and workforce productivity systems; doors, accessories, and other.