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This commentary was issued recently by money managers, research firms, and market newsletter writers and has been edited by Barron's.
Kirby -- KEX-NYSE Buy -- $133.91 on July 8 by BofA Global Research We believe Kirby's Marine Transportation and Power Generation segments continue to show revenue growth upside versus targets. Last month, in our Transport & Shipping conference call series, Kirby CEO David Grzebinski and CFO Raj Kumar noted that inland rates continue to climb steadily, and Power Gen revenues would double its installed base within the next 18 months. Management noted that the Power Gen (18% of revenues, 9% of EBIT) backlog has grown to more than $1 billion. It should provide an annuity of service revenues, and beyond-the-meter growth is skyrocketing with power demands (KEX benefits as Kawasaki's exclusive dealer in the U.S.).
Power Gen is emerging as a key growth engine, given behind-the-meter demand from data centers and industrial customers. As the backlog has built, management noted 50% is tied to higher-margin natural-gas solutions, supporting a mix shift that should drive margins toward double digits over time from 6% in 1Q 2026. We reiterate our Buy and raise our price objective to $182 from $169, on 21 times our 2027 earnings estimate (from 24x our 2026 estimate).
Liberty Formula One -- FWONK-Nasdaq Overweight -- $98.50 on July 2 by Morgan Stanley Last week we spent time with Liberty Media Formula One management in the U.K. around the Silverstone GP, which featured 570,000 fans over three days. We came away with greater conviction in FWONK as our top pick across Media & Entertainment, offering exposure to a truly global sport/league.
We believe the sport is still underpenetrated and undermonetized in the most lucrative sports market in the world -- the U.S., where most people can't name three drivers. FWONK financials are underpinned by highly visible & contracted revenue streams (media rights and race promotion fees) with clear upside drivers around partnerships/sponsorships and increasingly, licensing.
We see a rare trophy asset with a strong growth and best-in-class free cash flow conversion. This is alongside attractive valuation, with shares trading at 22 times our fiscal 2027 FCF/share of $4.27 (versus historical range of 25x to 30x). Price target: $120
Equifax -- EFX-NYSE Outperform -- $171.94 on July 7 by Mizuho Securities EFX signed a definitive agreement to acquire Círculo de Crédito, Mexico's No. 2 and fastest-growing credit bureau, for $750 million. We see this acquisition as a strong positive since Círculo 1) provides EFX expansion into the underpenetrated, fast-growing Mexico bureau market, where Círculo holds a 33% market share as the only bureau with consumer and commercial operations, 2) is well positioned with proprietary data (e.g., gig-economy transactions, utility payment history), 3) has strong growth and margins with last 12 months revenue of $134 million (+31% year over year, +23% three-year CAGR) and 46% adjusted Ebitda margins, with high-double-digit percentage growth and mid-40s % margins expected in 2026, and 4) is expected to be adjusted EPS accretive in the first year.
Constellation Brands -- NYSE-STZ Buy -- $136.88 on July 1 by UBS STZ reported a strong 1Q beat driven by better than expected top-line growth/margin performance while also reiterating their fiscal 2027 guidance. Even though management emphasized trends have improved, we think many are still uncertain as to whether this is sustainable or simply a function of unique external events (i.e., World Cup, 250th anniversary of the U.S., NBA playoffs, etc.).
We understand that sentiment is going to continue to hinge on near-term demand trends, but we think the company has demonstrated the durability of the margin, and as such we continue to view fiscal 2027 EPS guidance as achievable. We do not believe this is fully appreciated, and with shares trading at 11.6 times our revised next-12-months EPS estimates, we continue to believe the risk/reward skews to the upside from here. Price target: $168.
Palo Alto Networks -- PANW-Nasdaq Outperform -- $337.04 on July 8 by Evercore ISI We are changing our price target to $415 from $320, reflecting 52x calendar 2027 free cash flow. The updated price target is supported by the initial positive read-throughs from our latest cyber channel checks, which reinforced our thesis that PANW is positioned at the center of identity, observability, and AI-powered security operations. We believe vendor consolidation and continued platform expansion should support durable growth and long-term free cash flow expansion.
Midera Food Processing -- MF-Nasdaq Neutral -- $36.60 on July 8 by Baird Equity Research Initiating coverage with a Neutral rating. After 20 years as a segment of Middleby, Midera recently spun off as a pure-play food-processing equipment manufacturer focused on processing in the protein, bakery, and snack verticals. We highlight the company's successful M&A track record and solid pipeline of future deals, healthy 2026-2028 financial targets, and current solid business momentum (1Q26 organic sales growth +25%; backlog +52% year/year). The shares are trading near our price target; we will look to get more aggressive down the road.
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July 10, 2026 19:31 ET (23:31 GMT)
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