Agilent rebounds from pandemic

Article Excerpt

AGILENT TECHNOLOGIES INC. $128 is a buy. The company (New York symbol A; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 295.4 million; Market cap: $37.8 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 5.4; Dividend yield: 0.7%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.agilent.com) makes specialized testing equipment for medical research laboratories and industrial clients. Demand for Agilent’s equipment from pharmaceutical firms, chemical makers and food producers remains strong as the economy recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic. In its fiscal 2023 second quarter, ended April 30, 2023, the company’s revenue rose 6.8%, to $1.72 billion from $1.61 billion a year earlier. If you factor out businesses that Agilent bought and sold, as well as currency rates, revenue improved 9.5%. Earnings rose 10.3%, to $377 million from $340 million. Due to fewer shares outstanding, per-share earnings gained 12.4%, to $1.27 from $1.13. Agilent’s earnings for all of fiscal 2023 should rise roughly 6% to $5.51 a share, and the stock trades at a reasonable 23.2 times that estimate. The $0.90 dividend yields…