My early May call on Ingersoll-Rand (IR) is about as close as I typically get to a “valuation doesn’t matter” call with industrials, as I thought the company’s strong execution and healthy underlying market exposures set the stage for good ongoing relative performance. Since then I wouldn’t say that Ingersoll-Rand’s performance has shot the lights out, though the stock has continued to outperform the wider industrial sector.
I continue to believe the merger of IR’s Industrial business with Gardner Denver (GDI) makes sense (and a more competitive player against Atlas Copco