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Rising Energy Water And Industrial Demand Will Drive Future Expansion

Published
22 Aug 24
Updated
09 Oct 25
AnalystConsensusTarget's Fair Value
US$193.00
10.8% undervalued intrinsic discount
09 Oct
US$172.14
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Author's Valuation

US$19310.8% undervalued intrinsic discount

AnalystConsensusTarget Fair Value

Last Update09 Oct 25
Fair value Increased 1.45%

The analyst price target for ITT has increased from $190.25 to $193.00. This change reflects analysts' expectations for continued strength in end markets, robust backlog visibility, and growing confidence in the company's margin expansion opportunities.

Analyst Commentary

Recent analyst activity has highlighted both strengths and near-term uncertainties for ITT. The prevailing sentiment remains largely positive, with price targets moving higher as a result of improving business fundamentals and robust growth drivers. Below is a summary of the latest analyst perspectives.

Bullish Takeaways
  • Bullish analysts point to accelerating growth in key end markets, such as data centers, aerospace and defense, and automotive. These factors support heightened confidence in ITT's outlook.
  • Recent increases in price targets reflect strong visibility provided by record backlog levels, which are seen as enhancing revenue predictability and margin potential.
  • Operational excellence, including innovation and manufacturing differentiation, is viewed as positioning ITT for sustainable margin expansion even amid macroeconomic uncertainty.
  • Ongoing development of M&A capabilities and a disciplined approach to capital allocation are expected to drive additional growth opportunities and value creation.
Bearish Takeaways
  • Some analysts note a bifurcation in demand trends, with certain end markets such as industrials showing mixed signals compared to areas experiencing rapid acceleration.
  • The uncertain macroeconomic backdrop could temper the pace of growth in some segments, potentially impacting forecasts if market conditions fail to improve.
  • Despite a favorable margin outlook, sustained execution will be required to realize full potential and meet elevated valuation expectations.

What's in the News

  • ITT completed the repurchase of 6,227,292 shares, representing 7.66% of the company, for $830.52 million under its buyback program announced in October 2023. The latest tranche took place between March 30, 2025 and June 28, 2025, totaling 3,007,441 shares for $400 million (Key Developments).
  • ITT revised its full year 2025 guidance and now projects total revenue of $3,850 million with 5% to 7% growth, organic revenue growth of 3% to 5%, operating margin between 17.5% and 18.1%, and GAAP EPS of $5.95 to $6.15, reflecting 8% to 11% earnings growth (Key Developments).
  • ITT's Svanehoj business secured its first agreement to supply deepwell fuel, cargo, and stripping pumps for two next-generation Ultra Large Ethane Carriers, each with a capacity of 40 million gallons, with deliveries set to begin in early 2026 for a major European maritime customer. This builds on Svanehoj's established role in previous generations of ethane carriers (Key Developments).

Valuation Changes

  • Consensus Analyst Price Target has risen slightly from $190.25 to $193.00, reflecting greater confidence in the company's outlook.
  • Discount Rate has increased marginally, moving from 8.12% to 8.23%, which may indicate a modest reassessment of risk factors.
  • Revenue Growth estimates are virtually unchanged, rising minimally from 6.59% to 6.59%.
  • Net Profit Margin expectations remain effectively flat, with a negligible shift from 14.84% to 14.84%.
  • Future P/E ratio has increased from 24.60x to 25.03x, suggesting a slightly higher valuation is being assigned to future earnings.

Key Takeaways

  • Continued demand in energy, water, and industrial sectors, combined with innovation and service expansion, positions ITT for sustained revenue and margin growth.
  • Strategic acquisitions and operational enhancements drive competitive advantage, recurring earnings, and strong cash flow prospects through industry cycles.
  • Growing reliance on project work, competitive pressures, acquisition risks, and global supply chain challenges threaten ITT's earnings stability and long-term margin performance.

Catalysts

About ITT
    Manufactures and sells engineered critical components and customized technology solutions for the transportation, industrial, and energy markets.
What are the underlying business or industry changes driving this perspective?
  • Strong, sustained order growth and backlog-driven by demand in energy (including decarbonization projects), water solutions, and industrial upgrades-supports the expectation for ongoing revenue acceleration in coming years, as heightened global investment in green infrastructure and efficiency persists.
  • Market share gains and pricing power in high-growth segments like aerospace/defense, connectors, and fluid technologies-enabled by execution, innovation, and differentiation-suggest increased net margins and revenue outperformance versus peers as urbanization and manufacturing expansion continue globally.
  • Expansion of high-margin aftermarket and services business, along with new technologies (geopolymer brake pads, advanced fuel pumps, digital monitoring), positions ITT to benefit from industry digitalization and energy efficiency standards, supporting margin expansion and stable, recurring earnings streams.
  • Recent and future bolt-on acquisitions (e.g., Svanehøj, kSARIA, Habonim) are exceeding targets and integrating quickly, forecasted to deliver significant incremental revenue and annual margin improvement, accelerating both top line and EPS growth.
  • Operational improvements-such as automation, productivity initiatives, and strategic pricing-combined with visibility from a $2B backlog and resilient end markets, are expected to drive further gains in operating margins, free cash flow conversion, and EPS over the medium and long term.

ITT Earnings and Revenue Growth

ITT Future Earnings and Revenue Growth

Assumptions

How have these above catalysts been quantified?
  • Analysts are assuming ITT's revenue will grow by 6.3% annually over the next 3 years.
  • Analysts assume that profit margins will increase from 14.0% today to 14.6% in 3 years time.
  • Analysts expect earnings to reach $651.2 million (and earnings per share of $7.81) by about September 2028, up from $516.5 million today.
  • In order for the above numbers to justify the analysts price target, the company would need to trade at a PE ratio of 24.7x on those 2028 earnings, down from 26.0x today. This future PE is about the same as the current PE for the US Machinery industry at 24.7x.
  • Analysts expect the number of shares outstanding to decline by 4.29% per year for the next 3 years.
  • To value all of this in today's terms, we will use a discount rate of 8.12%, as per the Simply Wall St company report.

ITT Future Earnings Per Share Growth

ITT Future Earnings Per Share Growth

Risks

What could happen that would invalidate this narrative?
  • ITT's increasing reliance on project-based revenue, now comprising 58% of its industrial process backlog versus 40% two years ago, creates less short-cycle visibility and introduces risks of project delays, pushouts, or cancellations-potentially causing revenue and earnings volatility if market conditions soften.
  • The company's above-market growth in highly competitive end-markets like energy (oil & gas) and automotive is attributed largely to market share gains and performance differentiation, but aggressive competitor pricing and the cyclicality of these markets could pressure ITT's margins and lead to unpredictable revenue streams.
  • Recent acquisitions (Svanehøj, kSARIA) are currently outperforming expectations, but increased M&A activity and 'ramping' of associated corporate costs raise integration, execution, and dilution risks that could compress margins and impact future earnings if synergies underdeliver or business cycles reverse.
  • Margin improvement is currently offsetting headwinds from unfavorable mix, FX impacts, and rising M&A-related costs, yet a reversal in pricing power, commodity input inflation, or inability to sustain strategic pricing (especially in CCT) may cause net margin compression, impacting long-term EPS growth.
  • ITT is exposed to ongoing geopolitical and supply chain risks, including tariffs and import dependencies (especially from Asia and Europe), which-while currently mitigated by pricing-could escalate and disrupt operations, inflate costs, or erode global competitiveness, negatively impacting both revenues and margins over time.

Valuation

How have all the factors above been brought together to estimate a fair value?
  • The analysts have a consensus price target of $187.083 for ITT based on their expectations of its future earnings growth, profit margins and other risk factors. However, there is a degree of disagreement amongst analysts, with the most bullish reporting a price target of $202.0, and the most bearish reporting a price target of just $141.0.
  • In order for you to agree with the analyst's consensus, you'd need to believe that by 2028, revenues will be $4.4 billion, earnings will come to $651.2 million, and it would be trading on a PE ratio of 24.7x, assuming you use a discount rate of 8.1%.
  • Given the current share price of $171.93, the analyst price target of $187.08 is 8.1% higher. The relatively low difference between the current share price and the analyst consensus price target indicates that they believe on average, the company is fairly priced.
  • We always encourage you to reach your own conclusions though. So sense check these analyst numbers against your own assumptions and expectations based on your understanding of the business and what you believe is probable.

How well do narratives help inform your perspective?

Disclaimer

AnalystConsensusTarget is a tool utilizing a Large Language Model (LLM) that ingests data on consensus price targets, forecasted revenue and earnings figures, as well as the transcripts of earnings calls to produce qualitative analysis. The narratives produced by AnalystConsensusTarget are general in nature and are based solely on analyst data and publicly-available material published by the respective companies. These scenarios are not indicative of the company's future performance and are exploratory in nature. Simply Wall St has no position in the company(s) mentioned. Simply Wall St may provide the securities issuer or related entities with website advertising services for a fee, on an arm's length basis. These relationships have no impact on the way we conduct our business, the content we host, or how our content is served to users. The price targets and estimates used are consensus data, and do not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and they do not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Note that AnalystConsensusTarget's analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.

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