The motion and control technologies company posted record adjusted EPS, expanding margins and backlog growth, and later drew a Truist Financial price-target increase to $1,358, implying 25.78% upside.
Parker Hannifin shares rose 6.47% to $1061.35 on Thursday, reaching a new 52-week high after the company reported fiscal fourth-quarter results that beat Wall Street expectations and issued a stronger-than-expected fiscal 2027 earnings outlook. Fourth-quarter sales climbed 9.8% year over year to $5.755 billion, ahead of the $5.572 billion consensus estimate, while organic sales increased 8%. GAAP diluted earnings rose 19% to $8.54 per share and adjusted earnings increased 21% to a record $9.27 per share, topping the $8.27 analyst estimate. Net income rose to $1.091 billion from $923 million, adjusted net income increased 20% to $1.186 billion, and adjusted segment operating margin expanded to 28.0% from 26.9%. Growth was broad across segments, with North America industrial sales up 7.0% to $2.221 billion, international sales up 9.5% to $1.634 billion, and Aerospace Systems sales up 13.4% to $1.900 billion. Aerospace backlog reached $8.5 billion and total backlog rose to a record $12.8 billion. Orders also strengthened, with quarterly order growth of 19% and a 12% increase on a rolling 12-month basis. For fiscal 2027, Parker projected adjusted EPS of $34.25 to $35.25, above the $34.04 estimate, and GAAP EPS of $30.00 to $31.00 versus the $30.33 estimate. Based on fiscal 2026 sales, its reported growth forecast of 5.5% to 8.5% implies fiscal 2027 sales of about $22.681 billion to $23.326 billion, compared with the $22.734 billion estimate. The outlook excludes the pending Filtration Group and CIRCOR aerospace acquisitions. Parker also highlighted record fiscal 2026 operating cash flow of $4.364 billion, free cash flow of $3.9 billion, nearly $2 billion returned through buybacks and dividends, and an 11% dividend increase. Truist Financial later raised its price target on the shares to $1,358, implying 25.78% upside. Adjusted results excluded an $84 million tariff-refund benefit after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled certain IEEPA tariffs unauthorized, which Parker said was discrete, nonoperating and not expected to recur.