Citi Raises Price Target On Thor After Earnings Beat (THO)

Citi is recognizing the mighty power of Thor. Citi Investment Research has raised its price target on Thor Industries, Inc. THO to $38 from $36, and is keeping its Buy/High Risk rating, after the company reported better than expected earnings. In the research note, Citi writes, "Backlogs are a gauge of future order demand—consensus is for 21% growth in 1Q11 sales, though this likely includes sales for the recently acquired Heartland RV which generated $400mm LTM sales. We were expecting a sequential deceleration in backlogs given the co has been running high backlogs for several quarters and has been fulfilling orders. Our recent checks indicate that RV retail sales likely slowed down from July to August but may have picked up in September, though trends are volatile month to month given volatility in the stock market and consumer concerns about the economy. We think THO continues to gain share within the overall category." Shares of Thor Industries gained 49 cents yesterday to close at $28.98, a gain of 1.7%.