Investing

Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: Garmin, Micron, US Steel, Urban Outfitters, Williams Companies, Hormel and More

Jon C. Ogg

Published: August 22, 2016 9:05 am

Last Updated: January 13, 2020 4:24 am

Stocks are still quite close to all-time highs, but the markets were indicated to open marginally lower on Monday, August 22. The bull market is now seven and a half years old, but investors keep proving that they will buy any market sell-off. Those same investors are looking for new ideas to generate income or gains.

24/7 Wall St. reviews dozens of analyst research reports each morning of the week. The goal is to find new investing and trading ideas. Some of these analyst reports cover stocks to buy. Others feature stocks to sell or to avoid.

These are the top analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations seen on Monday morning:

Garmin Ltd. (NASDAQ: GRMN) was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Raymond James. The stock closed most recently at $54.38, and it has a 52-week trading range of $30.93 to $56.19, with a consensus analyst price target of $48.83.

Micron Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: MU) was reiterated as Buy but the price price target was raised to $20 from $16 (versus a $16.25 prior close) at Mizuho. It has a 52-week range of $9.31 to $19.30 and a consensus price target of $16.00.

United States Steel Corp. (NYSE: X) was started with a Buy rating and assigned a $27 price target (versus a $20.38 close) at Citigroup. The stock has a 52-week range of $6.15 to $27.64 and a consensus price target of $21.46.

Urban Outfitters Inc. (NASDAQ: URBN) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy but the price target was raised to $35 from $33 (versus a $37.81 close) at Goldman Sachs. The 52-week range is $6.15 to $27.64, and the consensus price target is $21.46.

Williams Companies Inc. (NYSE: WMB) was reiterated as Buy and the price target was raised to $31 from $27 at Argus. Shares closed at $27.68 on Friday, and the firm noted a 33% run-up since its Energy Transfer merger was terminated. Argus believes it remains at a deep value discount versus its old $60 high. Williams has a 52-week range of $10.22 to $49.50 and a consensus price target of $27.33.

Hormel Foods Corp. (NYSE: HRL) was raised to Outperform from Neutral with a $43 price target (versus a $38.66 close) at Credit Suisse. The 52-week range is $29.18 to $45.72, and the stock has a consensus price target of $41.00.

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Other key analyst upgrades and downgrades were seen as follows:

AK Steel Holding Corp. (NYSE: AKS) was started as Neutral with a $5.40 price target (versus a $4.67 close) at Citigroup.

Bancolombia S.A. (NYSE: CIB) was raised to Buy from Hold with a $47 price target (versus a $38.94 close) at Deutsche Bank.

Foot Locker Inc. (NYSE: FL) was reiterated as Buy and the price target was raised from $73 to $80 at Jefferies.

Kadmon Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: KDMN) was started as Buy with a $12 price target (versus a $9.97 close) at Jefferies. It was started as Market Outperform and a $16 price target at JMP Securities.

L Brands Inc. (NYSE: LB) was raised to Buy from Neutral and the price target was raised to $94 from $73 (versus a $77.76 close) at Goldman Sachs.

Nucor Corp. (NYSE: NUE) was started as Neutral with a $55 price target (versus a $50.05 close) at Citigroup.

Pinnacle Entertainment Inc. (NYSE: PNK) was started with a Buy rating and was given a $15 price objective at Merrill Lynch.

Public Storage (NYSE: PSA) was raised to Hold from Sell with a $228 price target (versus a $224.03 close) at Evercore ISI.

Relypsa Inc. (NASDAQ: RLYP) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Stifel.

Senior Housing Properties Trust (NYSE: SNH) was reiterated as Buy and the price target was raised from $24 to $25 at Jefferies.

Select Income REIT (NASDAQ: SIR) was started with an Outperform rating and was given a $35 price target (versus a $26.42 close) at FBR Capital Markets.

Southern Copper Corp. (NYSE: SCCO) was reiterated as Outperform and the price target was raised to $38 from $33 (versus a $26.01 close) at FBR Capital Markets.

Steel Dynamics Inc. (NASDAQ: STLD) was started with a Buy rating and was given a $33 price target (versus a $24.79 close) at Citigroup.

Texas Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ: TXN) was reiterated as Outperform and the price target was raised to $80 from $75 at RBC Capital Markets.

The latest data from S&P show the following for second-quarter earnings season: The S&P 500 is trading at 18 times the forward 12 month price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio. Aggregate S&P 500 earnings are estimated at $29.16 and down 2.1% year over year, much better than the 5.2% decline expected at the start of earnings season. Excluding the oil and gas (energy) drag, S&P 500 EPS growth would be a gain of 2.9%. The earnings beat rate is currently 65%, with 93% of the S&P having reported earnings so far.

Friday’s key analyst calls were in AK Steel, Allergan, ArcelorMittal, Symantec, Teck Resources, U.S. Steel, Emerson, Hormel and over a dozen more.