The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company (GT) is one of the largest tire manufacturing companies worldwide. Goodyear Tire is benefiting from a major restructuring program along with lower raw material costs and improved selling prices. However, weak tire volumes compel us to rate the shares a Hold with a target of $28.50.
On April 25, 2008, Goodyear Tire & Rubber reported 2007 first quarter results. In the quarter, excluding special items, net income from continuing operations was $0.60 per share, compared to a loss of $0.61 per share in the prior-year quarter. The company sales were $4.9 billion, a 10% increase from the same quarter in 2007, offsetting lower volumes with higher prices and a richer product mix with favorable currency translation ($341 million).
Revenue per tire rose 7%, but weak OEM volumes in North America and weak replacement volumes in North America and Europe offset some of this benefit. North American sales fell 1%, European sales rose 16%, Latin American sales rose 29%, and Asia Pacific sales rose 21%. The company is now two-thirds through its $2 billion cost-cutting program.
Currently, shares of the company are trading at 10.2x our 2008 EPS estimate of $2.67. We believe the emergence of a healthier balance sheet and noticeably better sales from emerging markets will help earnings. Further, the restructuring initiatives undertaken and the savings from the new labor agreement will boost the future earnings. However, we rate the stock a Hold, with a six-month target price of $28.50, which implies a P/E 11x our 2008 EPS estimate.
Read the full analyst report on GT.
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