United Technologies Rises on Solid Earnings and Huge Buyback Plan

United Technologies Corp. (NYSE: UTX) released its third-quarter earnings report before the markets opened on Tuesday. The company had $1.67 in earnings per share (EPS) on $13.79 billion in revenue. That compared to Thomson Reuters consensus estimates of $1.55 EPS on revenue of $14.56 billion. The same period from the previous year had EPS of $2.04 and $16.17 billion in revenue.

In terms of guidance, the company expects full-year EPS to be in the range of $6.15 to $6.30 and for revenues to be in the range of $57 billion to $58 billion. Consensus estimates call for EPS of $6.21 on $57.62 billion in revenue.

The board of directors has authorized a new $12 billion share repurchase program, which includes the $6 billion accelerated share repurchase using the net proceeds from the Sikorsky sale to Lockheed Martin. United Tech expects the Sikorsky sale to close in the fourth quarter of 2015. Shares repurchased in this quarter totaled $1.0 billion and increased the year-to-date total to $4.0 billion.

Gregory Hayes, president and CEO, said:

United Technologies is executing the strategic plan set forth earlier this year and is focused on maximizing the performance of our core building and aerospace systems businesses under a flatter and more transparent organizational structure.

He added:

Our long-term growth outlook remains strong and we are well-positioned to continue creating value for our shareholders. UTC has world class, industry-leading franchises that provide differentiated technologies to very attractive end markets, create a strong base of recurring revenues, and generate a reliable stream of cash flow through cycles. Our approach to capital allocation remains balanced as we successfully reinvest in our business, evaluate M&A opportunistically and return cash to shareholders.

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Cash flow from operations was $1.0 billion and capital expenditures were $390 million in the quarter. On the books, the company had cash and cash equivalents that totaled $5.48 billion at the end of the third quarter, compared to $5.23 billion at the end of December 2014.

Shares of United Tech closed Monday down 1% to $92.05, with a consensus analyst price target of $108.24 and a 52-week trading range of $85.50 to $124.45. In early trading indications Tuesday, shares were up 2.6% at $94.77.

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