SSUMY or ITT: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now?

ITT announced that leading ratings agencies Moody's, S&P Global Ratings and Fitch Ratings have reaffirmed the company's current investment grade credit ratings with a stable outlook following the announcement of its agreement to acquire SPX FLOW and the closing of its underwritten public offering of $1.31B of common stock. The ratings agencies that reaffirmed ITT's credit ratings include: Moody's, which affirmed ITT's senior unsecured rating at Baa1 and commercial paper rating at Prime-2, both with a stable outlook. Moody's cited ITT's diversified operating model, consistent earnings and strong cash generation. S&P Global Ratings, which affirmed its BBB issuer credit rating and A-2 short-term rating for ITT. S&P noted that ITT's history of prudent capital management supports the stable outlook, despite a near-term rise in leverage. Fitch Ratings, which affirmed ITT's BBB+ long-term Issuer Default Rating and F1 short-term rating, both with a stable outlook. Fitch highlighted ITT's conservative capital structure, strong free cash flow and commitment to reducing leverage below 2x within two years post-acquisition.

BofA analyst Andrew Obin raised the firm's price target on ITT to $225 from $210 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares after a "strong beat and raise" report for Q3. Following the report, the firm raised its FY26 EPS estimate to $7.53 from $7.47 and raised its multiple to be a premium to peers, arguing this is warranted given above-peer EPS growth and continued positive earnings revisions that the firm expects given strong execution coupled with continued M&A.