This industrial name is down in 2026. Why Jefferies thinks it’s time to buy the dip
Emerson Electric is poised to rise as its shift toward industrial automation drives order volumes across its businesses, according to Jefferies. The investment firm upgraded the engineering services stock to buy from hold. It also hiked its price target on shares to $175 from $160, implying roughly 42% upside from Monday’s close. “Strong orders momentum across core growth verticals should support an acceleration in earnings growth from [low-single digits] in [the first half of the year] to [low-double digits] exiting FY26 and FY27,” analyst Stephen Volkmann said in a note to clients. “In addition, EMR has delivered 800 bps of margin improvement through operation and portfolio actions over the last decade which we believe will support higher valuation multiples.” EMR YTD mountain EMR in 2026 Emerson has repositioned its portfolio to focus on industrial automation, prioritizing five growth verticals: power generation, liquified natural gas, aerospace and defense, semi-hermetic compressors and life sciences, according to Jefferies. To that end, Emerson struck a deal earlier this year to automate on-site generation for a 1.7 gigawatts artificial intelligence data center in the U.S. In the first fiscal quarter, the firm’s move to automate its industrial businesses helped raise order growth 9% on a year-over-year basis, and those efforts could drive further increases in the coming months, according to Jefferies. “We see visibility into achieving and perhaps beating EMR’s 4% organic sales growth guide for FY26,” Volkmann wrote. The analyst noted that Emerson has a business that is “more steady than investor perceptions around oil & gas cyclicality suggest,” adding to the likelihood that its shares rally in the near future. Jefferies’ call is in line with consensus on Wall Street. Of the 31 analysts covering Emerson, 19 have a buy or strong buy on the stock, LSEG data shows. Shares have declined 7% this year.