Degroof Petercam ups Aalberts to 'buy' on growth and M&A prospects

Aalberts

18/03/2024 13:33

** Degroof Petercam raises Aalberts  AALB.AS  to "buy" from
"hold", saying the industrial engineering group should return to
growth in 2025 while potential M&A deals should boost earnings
    ** Aalberts' 2023 results showed it can protect margins even
in tough conditions, the broker says, adding investments in new
products and services bode well for outpacing the market, while
diversification of its offer "dampens cyclical swings"
    ** It says Aalberts' organic sales and margins should be
"quite stable" this year, before a return to growth in 2025
    ** New CEO Stéphane Simonetta should resume Aalberts'
successful acquisition strategy, the broker says, citing the
head's "ample experience" at previous companies
    ** "The company has a war chest of up to EUR 1.2bn ($1.31
billion), allowing it to add roughly 25% to EBITA through
takeovers," it adds
    ** It raises PT by 27.9% to 55 euros; Aalberts closed at
43.53 euros on Friday
    ** The shares are up about 2% in afternoon trade
    ** Out of 10 analysts that cover Aalberts, six rate the
stock "strong buy"/"buy", ​three "hold" and one "sell"
    ($1 = 0.9182 euros)

 (Reporting by Olivier Sorgho)
 ((Olivier.Sorgho@thomsonreuters.com))