Should I Buy CMCO? CMCO 2026 Analysis

Should You Buy Columbus McKinnon Corp (CMCO) Today? Analysis, Price Targets, and 2026 Outlook.

Conclusion

Hold

Latest Price

21.120

1 Day change

1.78%

52 Week Range

37.500

Analysis Updated At

2026/01/28

CMCO is not a good buy right now for a beginner, long-term investor who wants to enter immediately. The stock’s longer-term trend looks constructive (bullish moving averages), but momentum has turned down (MACD histogram negative and worsening) and the next major catalyst is the Feb 9 earnings report while profitability in the latest reported quarter fell sharply. With no proprietary buy signals today and elevated options implied volatility, the risk/reward favors holding off rather than buying now.

Technical Analysis

Price/Trend: Bullish structure on moving averages (SMA_5 > SMA_20 > SMA_200) suggests the broader trend is up. However, near-term momentum is weakening: MACD histogram is negative (-0.0221) and expanding lower, indicating bearish momentum building despite the uptrend. RSI(6)=57.9 is neutral (no oversold support). Key levels: Pivot 20.707 is very close to the current price (20.8). Immediate support: S1 20.008 then S2 19.576. Resistance: R1 21.406 then R2 21.838. This setup implies limited upside until a clean break above ~21.4, while a slip under ~20.0 could invite faster downside. Pattern-based short-term bias: Similar-pattern stats indicate ~60% chance of a small dip next day (-0.52%), but a positive skew over 1 week (+3.4%) and 1 month (+6.88%). **Intellectia Proprietary Trading Signals** - [AI Stock Picker](module://ai_stock_pick): No signal on given stock today. - [SwingMax](module://swingmax): No signal on given stock recently.

Options Data

Bullish

Open Interest Put-Call Ratio

Bullish

Option Volume Put-Call Ratio

Sentiment/positioning: Put/Call open interest ratio at 0.2 is strongly call-heavy (generally bullish positioning). Put volume is 0 today (put/call volume ratio 0.0), but total options volume is extremely low (only 4 contracts), so the signal is not very reliable. Volatility: 30D IV is very high (~83.98) with IV percentile 92.4, indicating the market is pricing in large moves (commonly around event risk like earnings). Elevated IV suggests higher uncertainty and can amplify post-earnings price swings.

Technical Summary

Sell

Buy

Positive Catalysts

1) Dividend reaffirmation: quarterly dividend of $0.07/share declared (supports shareholder-return narrative).
2) Potential upside catalyst: Q3 FY2026 earnings on Feb 9 (after hours). If margins/profitability rebound versus the weak latest quarter, the stock could re-rate.
3) Medium-term growth: latest reported quarter (2026/Q2) showed revenue up +7.75% YoY and gross margin improved to 31.59% (+13.88% YoY).

Neutral/Negative Catalysts

1) Profitability deterioration: 2026/Q2 net income and EPS both declined sharply YoY (net income 4.595M, EPS 0.16), which is a key red flag for long-term compounding.
2) Deal/financing risk: senior secured notes issuance (downsized to $900M) to fund the Kito Crosby acquisition increases leverage/financing sensitivity and introduces integration risk.
3) Near-term momentum weakening: MACD is negative and deteriorating; price is hovering near the pivot with meaningful downside to ~20.0 if support fails.
4) Event risk: elevated implied volatility into the Feb 9 earnings release increases the chance of a sharp move against an immediate buyer.

Financial Performance

Latest reported quarter: 2026/Q2. Revenue grew to $261.047M (+7.75% YoY) and gross margin improved to 31.59% (+13.88% YoY), showing healthier top-line demand and better gross profitability. However, bottom-line results weakened materially: net income fell to $4.595M and EPS to $0.16 (both down sharply YoY). Overall: growth is positive, but earnings quality/profit conversion is currently the problem to watch heading into the upcoming Q3 FY2026 earnings (Feb 9).

Growth

Profitability

Efficiency

Analyst Ratings and Price Target Trends

No analyst rating/price target change data was provided, so a verified recent trend cannot be summarized from this dataset. Wall Street-style pros would likely focus on revenue growth, improving gross margins, and long-term industrial demand plus acquisition synergy potential; cons would center on the sharp EPS/net income decline, leverage/financing and integration risk from the Kito Crosby deal, and heightened uncertainty into earnings.

1 Analyst Rating

Wall Street analysts forecast CMCO stock price to fall over the next 12 months. According to Wall Street analysts, the average 1-year price target for CMCO is 15 USD with a low forecast of 15 USD and a high forecast of 15 USD. However, analyst price targets are subjective and often lag stock prices, so investors should focus on the objective reasons behind analyst rating changes, which better reflect the company's fundamentals.

0 Buy

1 Hold

0 Sell

Hold

Current: 20.750

Low

Averages

High

Current: 20.750

Low

Averages

High

DA Davidson

Matt Summerville

Strong Buy

Hold

Downgrades

$35

AI Analysis

2025-02-11

Reason

DA Davidson

Matt Summerville

Price Target

$35

AI Analysis

2025-02-11

Downgrades

Strong Buy

Hold

Reason

Columbus McKinnon (CMCO) announced a definitive agreement under which Columbus McKinnon will acquire Kito Crosby from funds managed by leading global investment firm KKR (KKR) in an all-cash transaction valued at $2.7B subject to customary post-closing purchase price adjustments. The company expects the deal to close later this calendar year, subject to regulatory approvals and satisfactory completion of customary closing conditions. Kito Crosby is a "global leader" in lifting solutions with multiple manufacturing assembly plants and nearly 4,000 employees serving over 50 countries. The combined company will have a highly attractive financial profile, with meaningfully enhanced scale, increased margins and exceptional cash flow characteristics that are consistent with best-in-class industrial product manufacturers. On a pro-forma basis, the company is expected to have annual revenue of $2.1B, Adjusted EBITDA of $486M and an Adjusted EBITDA Margin of 23%, accelerating the achievement of the company's fiscal year 2027 financial targets established at its 2022 Investor Day. The transaction is expected to be accretive to the company's Adjusted Earnings Per Share1 in the first year after closing and grow over time as synergies are achieved. The company expects to achieve $70M in annual net cost synergies by year three. The combined significant cashflow generation will enable the company to de-lever in the near-term and expects to reduce its Net Leverage Ratio from approximately 4.8x pro forma Adjusted EBITDA post transaction closing to approximately 3.0x within two years post-closing. The company's enhanced scale, margin profile and free cash flow provides a strong foundation to continue to return cash to shareholders through its dividend, reinvest in long-term organic growth and, over time, pursue additional acquisitions as it continues to execute on its strategy of building the premier intelligent motion solutions provider.

CMCO Should I Buy

CMCO Should I Buy

Should You Buy Columbus McKinnon Corp (CMCO) Today? Analysis, Price Targets, and 2026 Outlook.

Technical Analysis

Options Data

Technical Summary

Positive Catalysts

Neutral/Negative Catalysts

Financial Performance

Growth

Profitability

Efficiency

Analyst Ratings and Price Target Trends

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