01:00 AM EDT, 04/24/2024 (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 maintain our 12-month target at $230, valuing shares at 25.6x our 2025 EPS forecast of $8.97 (down from $9.00; 2024 EPS trimmed by $0.23 to $8.15), below IEX's long-term historical forward average given the slowing overall demand environment amid a cyclical downturn. IEX posted Q1 operating EPS of $1.88 (-10% Y/Y), beating the $1.76 consensus expectation. Q1 revenues fell 5% Y/Y (organic, down 6%), primarily driven by slumping volumes in Health & Science Tech (HST) on continued inventory correction. We scale back our full-year growth assumptions somewhat following Q1 and now expect a modest decline in 2024 EPS, though we still look for IEX to stage a recovery in the back half of the year that extends into 2025. Excluding HST, EBITDA margins achieved modest expansion due to favorable operational productivity and lower discretionary spending.