Benchmark Co. Upgrades Cubic Corp. to “Buy” (CUB)

Cubic Corp. (NYSE:CUB) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Benchmark Co. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday, TheFlyOnTheWall.com reports. The firm currently has a $60.00 price target on the stock, up from their previous price target of $46.00. Benchmark Co.’s price target indicates a potential upside of 17.65% from the stock’s previous close.

The analysts wrote, “Sales and EPS were $340 million and $0.69 vs. consensus estimates of $349 million and $0.65. Revenue was down 8% y/y (Organic growth was -11%). Transportation sales increased 6% y/y to $134 million. Mission Support Services (MSS) sales increased 1% to $124 million. (down 8% excluding NEK) Defense Systems revenue decreased 29% to $83 million. We are encouraged by Cubic’s Defense backlog improvement in a challenging DoD environment. MSS funded backlog was $250 million, down 19% y/y, but up 26% from last quarter. Cubic’s expansion into the Intelligence and Special Forces training should position the company into higher barriers to entry areas and leveraging its international footprint to expand could offset US budget pressure.”

Shares of Cubic Corp. (NYSE:CUB) traded up 1.52% during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $51.776. Cubic Corp. has a 52 week low of $40.61 and a 52 week high of $52.60. The stock’s 50-day moving average is currently $50.06. The company has a market cap of $1.384 billion and a P/E ratio of 15.61.

Cubic Corp. (NYSE:CUB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter, beating the Thomson Reuters consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $340.45 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $349.55 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.79 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Cubic Corp. will post $3.00 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

A number of other firms have also recently commented on CUB. Analysts at Credit Suisse initiated coverage on shares of Cubic Corp. in a research note to investors on Monday, June 24th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $53.00 price target on the stock. Separately, analysts at Canaccord Genuity initiated coverage on shares of Cubic Corp. in a research note to investors on Tuesday, June 11th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Finally, analysts at Needham & Company reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Cubic Corp. in a research note to investors on Tuesday, May 28th. They now have a $53.00 price target on the stock.

Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. The stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $53.25.

Cubic Corporation (NYSE:CUB), is an international provider of systems and solutions that address the mass transit and global defense markets.