...Summary: This report is the inaugural edition of Fitch Ratings' U.S. Diversified Industrials and Capital Goods Handbook. It provides an overview of the operating environment and describes developments affecting issuers in the sector. The report contains Fitch's assessment of each company's business and financial profiles, including a detailed debt structure and, for certain high-yield issuers, a covenant analysis. Shareholder-Focused Cash Deployment: A slow-growth environment and shareholder activism, or defensive actions related to activism, are contributing to large share repurchases by numerous companies, including Caterpillar Inc. (CAT), Cummins Inc. (CMI), Eaton Corporation plc, Parker-Hannifin Corp. (PH) and United Technologies Corporation (UTC). Fitch downgraded UTC by one notch to `A¡' in the third quarter of 2015 due to the company's increased focus on shareholder returns. Cyclical Downturn: Fitch's 2016 Outlook Report for the diversified industrials and capital goods sector includes...
