Imperial Capital Starts Anixter With $70 Price Target, In-Line Rating On Industrial Strength

In a report published Thursday, Imperial Capital analyst Jeff Kessler initiated coverage of Anixter International Inc. (NYSE: AXE) with an In-Line rating and price target of $70. The analyst believes that the management should now be have greater focus on the core business, with the divestiture of the fasteners business, while operating performance should improve ass headwinds ease.

"We believe that ongoing global infrastructure investment across a wide range of verticals and increased production rates at Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) provide the opportunity for continued sales growth, particularly in the industrial and OEM portions of Anixter's business," Kessler stated.

According to the Imperial Capital report, the company is an "expert" at providing support for security projects in data centers, especially for and multi-site and mobile installation teams and project staging. Anixter's broad product portfolio has helped the company become the leading consultant in the supply chain management segment, with the capacity to provide global project support, as well as on-site training and engineering support, among other services.

"We believe this is a company that should benefit from the growth in data centers and from the increase in home and commercial security systems, particularly as currency and commodity headwinds improve," the Imperial Capital report said.