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Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: Anadarko, Dollar General, Encana, FedEx, Teva, UBS and Many More
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Stocks were indicated lower again on Wednesday with a weak ADP payrolls number and continued selling pressure in broader markets. The Dow is now down what is nearing 500 points from the April 20 peak. Investors had been buying the dips and sell-offs, but perhaps the S&P 500 being valued at 17.7 times forward earnings is just too steep of a premium for the market.
24/7 Wall St. reviews dozens of analyst research reports each morning of the week in an effort to find new investing and trading ideas. Some of these analyst reports cover stocks to buy, while others cover stocks to sell or avoid.
These are top analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations seen on Wednesday morning:
Anadarko Petroleum Corp. (NYSE: APC) posted a narrower loss than expected. It was downgraded to Neutral from Outperform with a $55 price target (versus a $50.10 prior close) at Credit Suisse. BMO Capital Markets lowered its rating to Market Perform from Outperform with a same $50 price target. Anadarko has a consensus analyst price target of $59.10 and a 52-week trading range of $28.16 to $91.75.
Dollar General Corp. (NYSE: DG) was raised to Buy from Neutral and the price objective was raised to $100 from $98 (versus an $82.93 close) at Merrill Lynch. The firm said that Dollar General is now a stock for all seasons, and the upgrade was based on valuation and improved earnings visibility. The consensus target price is $94.14 and the 52-week range is $59.75 to $87.42.
FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX) was raised to Overweight from Equal Weight at Barclays. It has a consensus price target of $176.11 and a 52-week range of $119.71 to $185.19.
Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (NYSE: TEVA) was started as Neutral with a $60 price target at Credit Suisse, which is still about 13% upside from the $54.20 close, if you include the 2.5% dividend yield. The consensus price target is $74.60. The 52-week trading range is $52.62 to $72.31.
UBS Group A.G. (NYSE: UBS) was downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight at Morgan Stanley. UBS closed most recently at $15.91 and has a consensus analyst target of $13.79 and a 52-week range of $14.01 to $23.19.
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Other key analyst upgrades and downgrades were seen in the following:
American Campus Communities Inc. (NYSE: ACC) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Argus, losing its price target. Shares closed at $45.63 and have a consensus price target of $46.17.
Children’s Place Inc. (NASDAQ: PLCE) was downgraded to Perform from Outperform and the price target was cut to $72 from $82 (versus a $75.49 close) at Oppenheimer.
Chimera Investment Corp. (NYSE: CIM) was downgraded to Underperform from Market Perform at Wells Fargo.
Community Health Systems Inc. (NYSE: CYH) was downgraded to Sector Perform from Outperform at RBC Capital Markets. Oppenheimer lowered its target to $26 from $35.
Crestwood Equity Partners L.P. (NYSE: CEQP) was raised to Buy from Hold at Stifel.
Finish Line Inc. (NASDAQ: FINL) was reiterated as Buy with a $24 price target (versus a $19.98 close) at Jefferies. The firm had management meetings and came away more confident that its actions will improve execution, vendor relationships and the customer experience.
Glu Mobile Inc. (NASDAQ: GLUU) was downgraded to Hold from Buy and the price target was cut to $2.70 from $3.68 (versus a $2.67 close) at Benchmark.
KB Home (NYSE: KBH) was downgraded to Sell from Neutral and the price target was cut to $11 from $13 (versus a $13.39 close) at UBS.
Kennametal Inc. (NYSE: KMT) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Stifel.
RSP Permian Inc. (NYSE: RSPP) was raised to Strong Buy from an already positive Outperform rating with a price target of $45 (versus a $29.62 close) at Raymond James.
Tenet Healthcare Corp. (NYSE: THC) was downgraded to Neutral from Outperform with a $33 price target (versus a $31.95 close) at Mizuho.
TransAlta Corp. (NYSE: TAC) was downgraded to Underperform from Sector Perform at RBC Capital Markets. TD Securities downgraded it to Hold from Buy.
Zillow Group Inc. (NASDAQ: Z) was raised to Market Perform from Underperform and the price target was raised to $23 from $12 (versus a $25.06 close) at Cowen.
Tuesday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included CenturyLink, International Paper, Kroger, On Deck Capital, Phillips 66, United Technologies and more than a dozen others.
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