Machinery Stocks Feel Pain of Weak Orders

Dividend yields ranging from 2.67% for Parker-Hannifin to a shade under 5% for Eaton help boost the appeal of these mid-American industrial firms. (Eaton and Parker Hannifin are based in Cleveland, and Illinois Tool's headquarters is in the Chicago exurb of Glenview, Ill.)

Relatively modest forward price-to-earnings ratios -- less than 10, based on current-year estimated net for Eaton and Parker Hannifin -- also help maintain the "hold-recommended" status of the stocks.

CAUTION: MACHINERY CAN BE DANGEROUS Company EATON ILLINOIS TOOL WORKS PARKER-HANNIFIN Ticker ETN ITW PH Industry Machinery Machinery Machinery TheStreet.com Ratings Reward Grade B     B     B     TheStreet.com Ratings Risk Grade D     D+    D     TheStreet.com Ratings Overall Grade C     C     C     TheStreet.com Ratings Recommendation Hold Hold Hold Recent price 40.28 30.71 37.47 Market Cap ($Mil.) 6,642.2 15,327.4 6,020.2 Total Assets ($Mil.) 16,655.0 15,213.1 10,386.9 Total Debt ($Mil.) 4,271.0 3,677.2 2,071.3 Latest Fisc. Yr. Revenue ($Mil.) 15,376.0 15,869.4 12,145.6 Cash Flow from Operations ($Mil.) N/A N/A 1,316.6 Earnings Before Interest & Taxes ($Mil.) 1,255.0 2,435.4 1,448.1 EPS - Latest Fiscal Year 6.50 3.04 5.53 EPS - Curr. Year Consensus 4.17 2.00 3.98 EPS - Next Yr. Consensus 4.80 2.25 3.63 Price/Book Ratio 1.1x 2.1x 1.3x Ret'n on Equity (%) 15.1 20.7 19.9 P/E - Current Year 9.7x 15.4x 9.4x P/E - Next Year 8.4x 13.6x 10.3x Dividend Yield (%) 4.97 4.04 2.67 Source: TheStreet.com Ratings (data as of 2/20/2009). For an explanation of our ratings, click here.