Cowen reiterated an Outperform rating and $52.00 price target on ITT Corp. (NYSE: ITT) as the company makes move to supplement high-performance auto business. The announced $300 MM acquisition of Wolverine is the third deal since the ITT breakup in late 2011 (and 2nd this year) and is 50+% larger than the Bornemann deal done in 2012. Wolverine is a leading developer and manufacturer of high performance materials centered on specialty elastomer-coated metals that offer noise damping and sealing solutions to the automotive brake industry. The transaction will be funded from cash on hand and the company's revolving credit facility. Analyst Joseph Giordano expects additional activity as the company continues to execute.

Giordano commented, "We believe executing on high-quality M&A (this qualifies) is the single-best catalyst for ITT outside of an end-market surge. Mgmt has done a fine job operationally, and deals like these help build a track record for a relatively unproven team (from M&A perspective) that provides comfort to investors regarding LT capital deployment. Capacity for incremental deal of similar size remains."

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Shares of ITT Corp. closed at $37.41 yesterday.