While acknowledging that low commodity prices continue to dampen demand for new farm machinery, David Meyer, Titan Machinery’s chairman and CEO, noted that high crop yields had improved sentiment among the dealership group’s farm customer base in the third quarter.
While North American retail sales of ag equipment were weak overall in October, 4WD sales were strong in both the U.S. and Canada, according to the latest numbers released by the Assn. of Equipment Manufacturers.
Although a few more dealers say their early equipment orders are up compared to this time last year, overall, new farm machinery order books continue on a downward slide that began 3 years ago.
In a surprise move, on March 4, analysts at RW Baird upgraded Titan Machinery shares to “outperform” from “neutral” and raised its share price target to $16 from $12.
In RW Baird’s “2016 Outlook” report (Dec. 22, 2015), analyst Mircea (Mig) Dobre, summarized his thoughts on the year ahead. "2016 likely marks the bottom in NA large ag equipment declines, but excess channel inventory is still an issue limiting a potential rebound in 2017..."
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In this episode of On the Record, brought to you by Associated Equipment Distributors, we take an initial look at the Dealer Business Outlook & Trends Report and what dealers are forecasting for 2025.