Thursday, July 23, 2015

Seeking Alpha: Dover On The Defensive

I closed my last article on Dover (NYSE:DOV) with the admonition that "how much worse can it get?" are maybe the most dangerous words in investing (although "it's different this time" is a top contender). Dover hasn't been a disaster since then; the shares are down about 8% and on par with Emerson (NYSE:EMR), but investors are right to wonder why management has apparently misestimated the scope of the energy decline. What's more, it would seem that opportunities like "close the case" in refrigeration aren't quite what they were cracked up to be.

I don't think that Dover is a bad or broken company, but I do think it is at least fair to ask whether this is a particularly well-run conglomerate. Valuation isn't demanding at this level, but energy could be weaker for longer, and there are some areas of concern in multiple industrial markets. Patient investors will probably do alright with Dover, but General Electric (NYSE:GE), Eaton (NYSE:ETN), and Honeywell (NYSE:HON) all seem undervalued to varying degrees and are at least worth a look before committing to Dover.

Read the full article:
Dover On The Defensive

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