Yahoo Finance Manitowoc (MTW) Declines 35% YTD: What's Ailing the Stock?
The Manitowoc Company MTW has failed to impress investors as it has been witnessing declines in its top and bottom lines for the past two consecutive quarters. This decline is mainly due to the ongoing weakness in the Europe and Africa (EURAF) segment, and supply-chain, labor and logistic constraints.
This Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell) company has a market capitalization of $387 million. The company’s shares have lost 34.7% so far this year against the industry’s 6.7% growth.
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Let us discuss the factors that are taking a toll on the company.
Top & Bottom Lines Dip Y/Y in Last 2 Quarters: Manitowoc’s revenues declined 2.6% to $495 million in the first quarter of 2024. This follows a 4.2% decline in revenues to $596 million in the fourth quarter of 2023. The decline is mainly attributed to lower new and non-new machine sales in the EURAF segment. The segment has been witnessing a downward trend in revenues since the first quarter of 2023. Weak housing permits in France & Germany have impacted demand.
The company has also reported year-over-year declines in adjusted gross profit and adjusted operating profit in the past two quarters. The decline is primarily attributable to decreasednet sales, unfavorable product mix and lower absorbed costs due to reduced manufacturing volume in EURAF.
Manitowoc’s adjusted earnings per share plunged 69.6% year over year in the first quarter to 14 cents . The company’s earnings per share plunged 87.8% to 9 cents. Increasing labor costs, raw material and component costs, logistic costs, unfavorable absorption of overhead costs due to inefficiencies from supply-chain constraints, and energy costs have impacted its results. The company has also missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings in the past two quarters.
MTW’s total backlog as of Mar 31, was $971.3 million, which marked a 9.7% decrease from the backlog of $1,075.7 million as of Mar 31, 2023.
Lower Outlook for 2024: Net sales are expected to range between $2.275 billion and $2.375 billion. The midpoint of the range indicates year-over-year growth of 4%. Adjusted EBITDA is likely to be between $150 million and $180 million. Compared with the adjusted EBITDA of $175 million reported for 2023, the midpoint of the range implies a 6% decline. Manitowoc expects adjusted earnings per share in the range of 95 cents to $1.55. The midpoint of the guided range indicates a year-over-year decline of 17.8%.
Downward Revision Activity in Estimates: The earnings estimates for the current year have been revised downward by 3% over the past 30 days. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2024 earnings is currently pegged at $1.25, which indicates year-over-year growth of 17.8%.
Supply-Chain & Logistic Constraints: Supply-chain, labor and logistics constraints impacted MTW’s ability to source parts, complete and ship units, and service cranes in 2023 and the first quarter of 2024. Even though the company has experienced some relief recently in the supply-chain and logistics constraints, supply chains for certain key components remain impacted.
Additionally, there has been a delay in the realization of price increases and provisional pricing strategies due to longer lead times of orders in its backlog, exacerbated by supply-chain, labor and logistics constraints that have impacted its ability to convert backlog into revenues, and shipping constraints that have resulted in delays in shipments in certain regions.
Stocks to Consider
Some better-ranked stocks from the Industrial Products sector are Brady BRC, Crane Company CR and Eaton Corporation ETN, each carrying a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) at present. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Brady’s 2024 earnings is pegged at $4.13 per share, which indicates year-over-year growth of 13.5%. The consensus estimate has moved up 3% in the past 30 days. The company has a trailing four-quarter average earnings surprise of 6.7%. BRC shares have gained 11.4% so far this year.
Crane has an average trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 15.2%. The consensus estimate for CR’s 2024 earnings is pinned at $4.99 per share, which indicates year-over-year growth of 16.3%. Estimates have moved 1% north in the past 30 days. The company’s shares have gained 18% year to date.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for ETN’s 2024 earnings has moved up 1% over the past 30 days and is pegged at $10.56 per share. The consensus estimate indicates year-over-year growth of 15.8%. The company has a trailing four-quarter average earnings surprise of 4.7%. Eaton’s shares have gained 32.5% since the beginning of this year.
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The Manitowoc Company, Inc. (MTW) : Free Stock Analysis Report
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