Goldman Sachs Hits the Panic Sell Button on Kellogg and Campbell Soup

Companies and Brands

Published: July 15, 2014 11:35 am

Historically, food and the prepared food markets were supposed to be recession proof. Now it turns out that consumer shifts are changing this longstanding rule. Consumers remain value conscious, and they are also changing their buying habits for things such as canned soup and cereal. On Tuesday comes a key Goldman Sachs downgrade of Campbell Soup Co. (NYSE: CPB) and Kellogg Co. (NYSE: K).

These companies often appear as defensive stocks when investors get worried about lofty market valuations. The downgrade on Tuesday was from an already cautious Neutral rating on each stock to the dreaded Sell rating. If you wonder if Goldman Sachs really means it, the price targets are predicting further drops in the value of these stocks.

Campbell Soup Co. (NYSE: CPB) now has a Sell rating, and the price target was cut from an already lower-than-market price of $41 down to an even lower $39 price target. Campbell shares closed at $45.27 on Monday, and shares were down an additional 1.2% at $44.73 in late morning trading on Tuesday after the downgrade was seen. While Campbell’s 52-week range is $38.30 to $48.08, the consensus price target is just under $42. Campbell Soup is valued at more than 17 times expected 2015 consensus earnings per share.

Kellogg Co. (NYSE: K) also now has the dreaded Sell rating. Goldman Sachs lowered its target price to $59, also lower than the already under-market prior target of $64 before the downgrade. Kellogg shares were down less than Campbell with a 0.9% drop to $65.59 in late-morning trading. With its 52-week trading range of $55.69 to $69.50, the consensus price target is down at $64.64. Kellogg is still valued at 15.5 times expected 2015 consensus earnings per share.

What is amazing here is that the drop is not more. It seems as though the bull market mentality is keeping investors from believing that these stocks will drop too much. Goldman Sachs is a key firm rating companies, and it believes the valuations are still excessive. Stay tuned.

ALSO READ: Tuesday’s Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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