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Valued at a market cap of $12.5 billion, Nordson Corporation (NDSN) engineers, manufactures, and markets products and systems to dispense, apply, and control adhesives, coatings, polymers, sealants, biomaterials, and other fluids. The Westlake, Ohio-based company's product line includes single-use components, stand-alone units for low-volume operations, and microprocessor-based automated systems for high-speed, high-volume production lines. It is expected to announce its fiscal Q1 earnings results on Wednesday, Feb. 19.
Ahead of this event, analysts project the specialty industrial machinery company to report a profit of $2.08 per share, down 5.9% from $2.21 per share in the year-ago quarter. The company’s earnings surprise history is promising. It has surpassed Wall Street's earnings estimates in all of the last four quarters. In Q4 2024, NDSN’s adjusted EPS of $2.78 outpaced the consensus estimates by a notable margin of 7.3%.
For fiscal 2025, analysts expect Nordson to report an EPS of $10.20, up 4.8% from a profit of $9.73 in fiscal 2024.
Shares of NDSN have declined 13.7% over the past 52 weeks, significantly underperforming both the S&P 500 Index's ($SPX) 25.5% gain and the Industrial Select Sector SPDR Fund’s (XLI) 25.1% rise over the same time frame.
Shares of NDSN plunged 8.2% following its Q4 earnings release on Dec. 11, despite delivering rosier-than-expected Q4 adjusted EPS of $2.78 and revenues of $744.5 million. Moreover, the top line figure grew 3.5% from the year-ago quarter. However, organic sales declined 3% yearly due to softness in the polymer processing and precision agriculture product lines. The revenue growth was primarily fueled by acquisitions and favorable currency translation.
Additionally, Nordson’s operating margin dropped 170 bps from the year-ago period, but the company’s adjusted EPS of $2.78 increased 2.6% year over year. What disappointed investors the most was Nordson’s Q1 guidance. The company projects Q1 EPS between $1.95-$2.15 and revenues between $615-655 million, which came in below analysts’ estimates.
Wall Street analysts are moderately optimistic about NDSN’s stock, with a "Moderate Buy" rating overall. Among eight analysts covering the stock, four recommend "Strong Buy," and four indicate “Hold.” This configuration is slightly more bullish than three months ago, with three analysts suggesting a “Strong Buy” rating.
The mean price target for Nordson is $258.83, which indicates a 17.9% potential upside from the current levels.
