Sea: Barclays Raises PT to $214, Maintains Overweight Rating

Sea: Barclays Raises PT to $214, Maintains Overweight Rating

Barclays has increased its price target for Illinois Tool Works (NYSE: ITW) to $214, while maintaining an Overweight rating on the stock. The upgrade comes after the investment bank reassessed its outlook on the company's organic sales recovery, which it now believes is well embedded in investor expectations.

Illinois Tool Works, a leading industrial company with a market capitalization of $77.92 billion, has consistently demonstrated strong financial stability. The company reported record earnings per share of $2.58 in the second quarter of 2025, surpassing analysts' expectations, and announced a robust revenue figure of $4.1 billion, exceeding forecasts by $0.1 billion. Despite these positive results, Barclays expects ITW to lag behind the manufacturing industry average in organic growth next year, consistent with its typical performance pattern.

Barclays sees limited scope for further surprises in ITW’s performance unless there is a sharp improvement in residential construction or consumer spending, areas where the company has some exposure through its Construction Products segment. The investment bank expects even if the sales recovery materializes as anticipated, ITW will likely lag behind the manufacturing industry average in organic growth next year.

The recent upgrade by Barclays follows a downgrade by the same firm in April, when it downgraded ITW from Equalweight to Underweight, setting a price target of $243.00. The downgrade came as Barclays believed the expected recovery in organic sales was already factored into investor expectations, limiting potential upside for the stock.

In other recent news, Illinois Tool Works reported its financial results for the second quarter of 2025, surpassing analysts’ expectations with record earnings per share of $2.58, compared to the forecast of $2.56. The company also reported robust revenue figures, reaching $4.1 billion, exceeding the anticipated $4.02 billion. Following these results, Stifel raised its price target for Illinois Tool Works to $261 from $255, maintaining a Hold rating on the stock. However, Truist Securities downgraded the stock from Buy to Hold, citing valuation concerns, despite acknowledging the company’s improved financial performance across several metrics.

References:
[1] https://www.investing.com/news/analyst-ratings/illinois-tool-works-stock-downgraded-by-barclays-on-limited-upside-93CH-4190926
[2] https://www.ainvest.com/news/outlook-therapeutics-strategic-inflection-point-regulatory-commercial-catalysts-creation-4b-anti-vegf-market-2508/
[3] https://www.ib.barclays/our-insights/weekly-insights.html