AG Edwards Reduces Polaris Rating

Tim Conder, analyst for AG Edwards, has reduced his rating on Polaris Industries from BUY to HOLD. The move, he said, is based “solely” on the fact that Polaris common stock is trading near his $59/share fair value estimate. Polaris has been trading near $58 recently. “We continue to admire the consistent solid execution of management and employees,” he said, “along with opportunities for accelerated revenue growth” in the European ATV market, and the redeployment of resources previously devoted to the unprofitable PWC business.
Conder also raised his estimates for Polaris’ earnings per share this year from $2.98 to $3.00, and for 2005 from $3.38 to $3.49. Near-term considerations, he said, include increasing commodity costs, the highly weather-dependent snowmobile business, and the possibility that recent factory promotions on 2004 models could hurt 2005 model sales.