Oppenheimher Has Perform Rating On Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers (RBA)

Oppenheimer & Co. has a Perform rating on shares of Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers RBA following earnings. In a note to clients, Oppenheimer writes, "1Q11 EPS of $0.13 (+7% y/y) exceeded our $0.11 estimate, while matching consensus. GAP trended favorably to $851M (+17% y/y excluding 1x 1Q10 yacht sale), which exceeded our $806M estimate. 1Q11 auction revenue of $88.5M topped our $87.8M estimate, but was below consensus of $90.4M as auction revenue rate (ARR) of 10.4% was low vs. sentiment expectations. In aggregate, the year started well and we're increasing our 2011E GAP to $3.65B from $3.6B. RBA cited persistent growth in April as momentum appears favorable, though it maintained 2011 guidance and noted construction activity remains uncertain. Although RBA's growth appears to be building, we're maintaining our Perform as 33x our 2012E EPS of $0.88 is well in excess of RBA's historical valuation." Shares of RBA lost 35 cents yesterday to close at $29.78, a loss of 1.16%.