Pentair (NYSE:PNR) shares are down nearly 30% YTD, with fears regarding near-term Pool downside more than offsetting solid demand trends/secular runway in Water Solutions, substantial medium-term upside from Pentair’s now-closed Manitowoc Ice acquisition, and early-stage transformation benefits across operations.
With the normalization of Pool channel inventory now underway, analysts at Oppenheimer believe investors should have visibility to materially less-than-feared 2023 Pool weakness over the coming quarters, lessening the primary overhang on the company’s shares.
All in, the analysts believe Pool angst will prove overdone and view Pentair’s other value-creation levers as meaningfully underappreciated at current valuation (with pro forma Commercial Water Solutions perhaps the most overlooked/undervalued of non-Pool assets). The analysts reiterated their outperform rating and $68 price target.