Stanley Black & Decker Backs 2018 Adj. EPS Outlook - Quick Facts

(RTTNews) - Stanley Black & Decker, Inc. (SWK) on Friday raised its reported earnings forecast range for the full year 2018, while reiterating adjusted earnings guidance.

For fiscal 2018, the company now projects earnings in a range of $7.40 to $7.60 per share, up from the prior guidance range of $7.80 to $8.00 per share, reflecting the charges associated with the Nelson Fastener Systems acquisition and one-time tax charge.

Meanwhile, the company reiterated adjusted earnings guidance in the range of $8.30 to $8.50 per share and its free cash flow conversion estimate of about 100 percent.

On average, 20 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected earnings of $8.43 per share for the year. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

The company said it successfully completed the acquisition of Nelson Fastener Systems for about $440 million in cash on April 2.

Further, the company executed a Equity Derivative Transaction during the first quarter to lock repurchase pricing on 3.2 million shares through March 2021 as part of its long-term strategy to return about 50 percent of free cash flow to shareholders via dividends and opportunistic share repurchases.