Jefferies Reports on Spirit AeroSystems (SPR)

Jefferies & Company released a report on Spirit AeroSystems

earlier today. In the report, Jefferies expressed optimism, but noted that the company was not progressing as well as it could be. Jefferies writes, “SPR's EPS of $0.24 fell short of our $0.29 estimate due to ongoing challenges in the Wing Systems business. The company reported EPS of $0.40 in the year-ago period. We are lowering our 2011 EPS estimate to $1.70 down from $1.75, but maintain our EPS estimate of $2.45 for 2012. The potential the company performance can be defined in two areas. First is in the Propulsion segment. Operating margins reached almost 15% vs. a reported 6.6% and an adjusted 9.7% rate. Second, the 787 costs continue to decline. Key investment risks include a more severe disruption in the civil jet market and manufacturing or development challenges related to the 787 and other programs.” Jefferies maintains a Buy rating on Spirit AeroSystems and a price target of $28.00. The stock closed down $1.37 yesterday to reach a price of $23.76.