12:55 AM EDT, 04/26/2024 (MT Newswires) -- CFRA, an independent research provider, has provided MT Newswires with the following research alert. Analysts at CFRA have summarized their opinion as follows:

We keep our 12-month target of $76, applying a forward P/E multiple of 24x our 2025 EPS forecast of $3.15 (trimmed from $3.18; 2024 EPS reduced by $0.06 to $3.04), a discount to GGG's five-year forward P/E average given our outlook for muted sales and earnings growth as customers exercise greater caution amid the higher interest rate environment. GGG posted Q1 2024 operating EPS of $0.65 (down 11% Y/Y), missing the consensus estimate by $0.08. A worse-than-feared drop in Y/Y sales (down 7%) contributed to the EPS miss, in our view, with management conceding that Q1 was a weaker start to 2024 than it had hoped. Organic sales slipped broadly, led by a 10% decline in the Process segment as volumes trended lower for semiconductor and process transfer equipment. GGG is optimistic about traction on new product releases, though we are skeptical about how much this can move the needle amid a cyclical downshift in end-market demand. We keep GGG shares at Sell.