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AMETEK (AME) Hits 52-Week High on Bullish Growth Trends

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Shares of AMETEK (AME - Free Report) hit a new 52-week high of $73.06 on Dec 29, closing a shade lower at $72.47. Barring minor hiccups, AMETEK’s share price has steadily been on an uptrend. This Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) stock has the potential for further price appreciation with long-term earnings growth expectation of 11.9%.

The company’s surprise history has been pretty impressive. It beat estimates in three of the trailing four quarters, with an average positive surprise of 4.14%.

Over the last one year, the company’s shares have gained 47.2%, outperforming the industry’s 45.9% rally.

Key Factors

AMETEK’s top-line growth is benefiting from improved end-market demand and market share gains. The company continues to reap benefits from the execution of its four core growth strategies of operational excellence, global market expansion, investments in product development and strategic acquisitions.

Also, the diversification in end markets like aerospace, defense, medical, automation and other industrial markets, with consistent focus on technology innovation and customer support through all phases of the economic cycle, has enabled the company post solid results over the past few quarters. A sustained drive toward geographic and market diversification has further helped AMETEK expand its customer base.

Despite the uncertainties prevailing in the global economy, AMETEK has bullish revenue and earnings expectations. The ongoing revolution in electronic appliances and electromechanical devices enables the company to capitalize on the opportunities and strengthen its position in the market. It also expects to leverage on the solid growth potential of the acquired companies to drive robust performance in the future.

For 2017, AMETEK raised its revenue growth forecast to low-double digits from the previous expectation of high-single digits over 2016. Earnings are expected to be in the range of $2.57-$2.58 per share, up 12% year over year from its previous expectations of $2.46 to $2.52. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2017 is pegged at $2.58.

Such a bullish outlook with continued growth impetus and core focus perhaps gave a boost to investors’ confidence and catapulted its share price to a new 52-week high.

 

AMTEK, Inc. Price and Consensus

AMTEK, Inc. Price and Consensus | AMTEK, Inc. Quote

Stocks to Consider

A few other top-ranked stocks in the broader technology sector are NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA - Free Report) , SMART Global Holdings, Inc. (SGH - Free Report) and Applied Materials, Inc. (AMAT - Free Report) , each sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Long-term earnings per share growth rate for NVIDIA Corporation, SMART Global and Applied Materials is projected to be 10.3%, 15.0% and 12.7%, respectively.

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