Shares of Donaldson rise on analyst upgrades

Shares of Donaldson rise as analyst upgrades company on strengthening aftermarket

• On 10:40 am EDT, Thursday October 15, 2009

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) -- Shares of Donaldson Corp. jumped Thursday as an analyst upgraded shares of the filtration systems maker, citing a stronger repair and maintenance market and other factors. Its shares rose more than 4 percent.

Credit Suisse analyst Hamzah Mazari upgraded the Minneapolis company to "Outperform" from "Underperform" and raised his price target to $41 from $28.

"We believe end markets are at a sequential bottom and that the market is not baking in higher engine aftermarket profits driven by a sequential improvement in equipment utilization rates and bottoming out of freight volumes," he said in a client note.

Higher engine aftermarket growth could be stronger than expected in 2010, he said.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expect, on average, earnings of $1.51 per share next year and $1.87 per share for 2011.

Donaldson has said it expects fiscal 2010 earnings per share to be between $1.32 and $1.52, including restructuring costs of $12 million to $17 million. Excluding charges, the company forecasts fiscal 2010 earnings at between $1.44 per share and $1.64 per share.

Shares rose $1.46, or 4.3 percent, to $35.27 in morning trading.