Tuesday's Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: Allstate, ADP, Baker Hughes, Hyatt, Lemonade, Robinhood, Suncor Energy and More

Investing

Published: August 17, 2021 8:40 am

Last Updated: August 20, 2021 10:48 am

The futures were lower across the board on Tuesday, after starting the week with the Dow Jones industrials and the S&P 500 once again hitting new all-time highs, with only the Nasdaq closing lower. The biggest item on Monday was the stunning and swift fall of Afghanistan over the weekend as many across Wall Street were concerned about the effects of the withdrawal on growth after 20 years of another nation-building effort that has proven to be a failure. The volatility and concern over the forced evacuation had buyers of U.S. Treasury debt anxious to get in as yields fell across the curve after a week of selling reversed to the buy side.

Despite worries and the potential for a “taper tantrum” like we saw in 2013, the Federal Reserve is vowing to keep interest rates contained. This comes as some of the Fed governors and media pundits are hinting that a tapering of the $120 billion per month purchase of government and mortgage debt known as quantitative easing could be in the works sooner rather than later.

With major Wall Street firms still warning of the potential for impending 5% to 10% correction across the board, it makes sense for investors to continue building some cash reserves into the market strength while repositioning portfolios for the rest of 2021.

24/7 Wall St. reviews dozens of analyst research reports each day of the week with a goal of finding new ideas for investors and traders alike. Some of these daily analyst calls cover stocks to buy. Other calls cover stocks to sell or avoid. Remember that no single analyst call should ever be used as a basis to buy or sell a stock. Consensus analyst target data is from Refinitiv.

These are the top analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations seen on Tuesday, August 17, 2021.

Alliant Energy Corp. (NYSE: LNT): Wells Fargo downgraded the stock to Equal Weight from Overweight and has a $66 price target. The consensus target is $61.56. Monday’s last trade came in at $61.64 a share.

Allstate Corp. (NYSE: ALL): Wolfe Research started coverage on the insurance giant with a Peer Perform rating and a $130 price target. The consensus target is up at $147.58. The stock closed Monday at $136.54.