AIMC - Altra Industrial Motion downgraded to Neutral at Baird after takeover bid

Altra Industrial Motion ( NASDAQ: AIMC ) on Tuesday was downgraded to Neutral from Outperform by analysts at Baird who said the company’s stock is trading near the offer price in a recent acquisition bid.

Regal Rexnord ( RRX ) last week agreed to buy Altra for about $4.95 billion in cash, or $62 a share. The offer was 54% greater than Altra's closing price of $40.25 a share the day before the deal announcement.

“We view the transaction as a good outcome for shareholders, with a fair price paid,” Michael Halloran, analyst at Baird, said in a Nov. 1 report. “We do not see competing offerings and have a high degree of confidence the transaction will close.”

Altra, whose industrial brands include Ameridrives, Wichita Clutch and Lamiflex Couplings, this week reported adjusted EPS of $0.80, beating the consensus estimate by a penny.

Its revenue was little changed from last year, slipping less than 1% to $466.3 million to miss estimates by $6.3 million.

Altra’s stock had declined this year but swung to a gain after the announcement of the Regal Rexnord takeover. Its year-to-date gain is about 16%, contrasting with a 14% decline for the S&P 400 mid-cap index ( SP400 ).

For further details see: