Notable Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades for Week of January 22, 2018



Upgrades


AFLAC (NYSE:AFL) was upgraded by stock analysts at Citigroup to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday. The brokerage currently has a $100.00 price target on the financial services provider’s stock, up from their prior price target of $88.00. Citigroup’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 15.18% from the stock’s current price. Several other analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Janney Montgomery Scott reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of AFLAC in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. Zacks Investment Research raised shares of AFLAC from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 11th. Wells Fargo & Co reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $90.00 price objective (up previously from $84.00) on shares of AFLAC in a report on Tuesday, January 9th. ValuEngine raised shares of AFLAC from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Sunday, December 31st. Finally, B. Riley reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of AFLAC in a report on Monday, November 6th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $82.21. Read more …

Guggenheim upgraded shares of Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a report released on Monday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Piper Jaffray Companies set a $52.00 price objective on shares of Halliburton and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, December 14th. Wells Fargo & Co reiterated an outperform rating and set a $56.00 price objective (up from $51.00) on shares of Halliburton in a research note on Thursday, December 21st. Zacks Investment Research upgraded shares of Halliburton from a hold rating to a buy rating and set a $54.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 26th. FBR & Co dropped their price objective on shares of Halliburton from $61.00 to $55.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 24th. Finally, Deutsche Bank started coverage on shares of Halliburton in a research note on Tuesday, October 10th. They set a buy rating and a $54.00 price objective on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. The stock presently has an average rating of Buy and an average price target of $59.73. Read more …

Scotiabank upgraded shares of Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) from a sector perform rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Monday. Scotiabank currently has $60.00 price target on the cell phone carrier’s stock. VZ has been the subject of several other research reports. Nomura raised shares of Verizon Communications from a neutral rating to a buy rating and increased their price objective for the company from $47.00 to $61.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 12th. KeyCorp reaffirmed a hold rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Saturday, October 21st. Macquarie reaffirmed a hold rating and issued a $52.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Sunday, October 22nd. ValuEngine raised shares of Verizon Communications from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report on Friday, December 1st. Finally, HSBC downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a buy rating to a hold rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $54.83 to $42.80 in a research report on Thursday, December 14th. They noted that the move was a valuation call. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eighteen have assigned a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Verizon Communications presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $53.02. Read more …


Wells Fargo & Co upgraded shares of Dollar General (NYSE:DG) from a market perform rating to an outperform rating in a research note published on Tuesday, MarketBeat reports. They currently have $117.00 price target on the stock, up from their prior price target of $102.27. Several other research firms also recently issued reports on DG. Oppenheimer started coverage on shares of Dollar General in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. They set an outperform rating and a $112.00 price objective for the company. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a hold rating on shares of Dollar General in a research note on Wednesday, September 27th. UBS Group reiterated a buy rating and set a $99.00 price objective (up from $85.00) on shares of Dollar General in a research note on Monday, December 4th. Moffett Nathanson started coverage on shares of Dollar General in a research note on Monday, December 4th. They set a neutral rating for the company. Finally, Deutsche Bank boosted their price objective on shares of Dollar General to $97.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, December 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company. The company presently has an average rating of Buy and a consensus price target of $91.31. Read more …

Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) (TSE:CNR) was upgraded by investment analysts at Macquarie from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday. A number of other brokerages also recently commented on CNI. Zacks Investment Research raised Canadian National Railway from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 6th. Raymond James Financial cut Canadian National Railway from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 25th. Desjardins upgraded Canadian National Railway from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 25th. Deutsche Bank assumed coverage on Canadian National Railway in a report on Wednesday, November 1st. They issued a “sell” rating and a $73.00 target price on the stock. Finally, CIBC upgraded Canadian National Railway from a “neutral” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. The company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $79.67. Read more …

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) was upgraded by William Blair from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report issued on Thursday, The Fly reports. A number of other research firms have also commented on ABT. ValuEngine lowered shares of Abbott Laboratories from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 1st. Barclays reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $66.00 price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Monday, January 8th. BTIG Research lowered shares of Abbott Laboratories from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday. They noted that the move was a valuation call. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $58.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 19th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Thursday, October 19th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. The stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $61.29. Read more …

W W Grainger (NYSE:GWW) was upgraded by stock analysts at Robert W. Baird from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued on Thursday. Several other equities analysts also recently commented on GWW. Stephens reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $264.00 target price on shares of W W Grainger in a report on Thursday. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of W W Grainger in a report on Tuesday. They issued a “sell” rating and a $215.00 target price on the stock. Zacks Investment Research raised shares of W W Grainger from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of W W Grainger from $145.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an “underweight” rating and issued a $178.00 target price (up previously from $172.00) on shares of W W Grainger in a report on Monday, October 2nd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. W W Grainger has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $220.69. Read more …

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) was upgraded by analysts at Jefferies Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report released on Friday, The Fly reports. Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on GILD. BMO Capital Markets restated a “hold” rating and set a $82.00 price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research report on Friday, October 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. set a $85.00 price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 25th. Morgan Stanley restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $83.00 price objective (up previously from $77.00) on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research report on Friday, October 6th. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $87.00 to $86.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 4th. Finally, Vetr cut shares of Gilead Sciences from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $90.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Gilead Sciences presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $85.53. Read more …

Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) was upgraded by Credit Suisse Group from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report released on Friday, The Fly reports. A number of other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Intel from $41.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 20th. Barclays reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $55.00 price target on shares of Intel in a research note on Monday, November 13th. Vetr raised shares of Intel from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $44.36 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 11th. Goldman Sachs Group set a $43.00 price target on shares of Intel and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 12th. Finally, BidaskClub cut shares of Intel from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 27th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and twenty-nine have issued a buy rating to the company. The stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $45.53. Read more …


Downgrades


General Electric (NYSE:GE) was downgraded by equities researchers at Bank of America from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report released on Monday. Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Vetr downgraded shares of General Electric from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $23.72 price target for the company. in a research note on Monday, September 25th. Credit Suisse Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $30.00 price target (down from $33.00) on shares of General Electric in a research note on Thursday, October 5th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of General Electric from $26.00 to $25.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 2nd. Deutsche Bank set a $21.00 price target on shares of General Electric and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, October 23rd. Finally, UBS Group downgraded shares of General Electric from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $31.00 to $24.00 in a research note on Monday, October 23rd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $22.94. Read more …

Sanofi (NYSE:SNY) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Barclays from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating in a note issued to investors on Tuesday. SNY has been the topic of several other reports. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Sanofi in a research report on Monday, January 15th. Bank of America downgraded Sanofi from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Sanofi in a research report on Thursday, December 14th. Zacks Investment Research downgraded Sanofi from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Friday, October 6th. Finally, Cowen set a $48.00 price target on Sanofi and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, December 18th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. The company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $51.50. Read more …

Southern (NYSE:SO) was downgraded by stock analysts at Mizuho from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday. Other research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and set a $52.00 price target on shares of Southern in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Zacks Investment Research upgraded Southern from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $56.00 price target for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 10th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “buy” rating on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, December 22nd. Finally, SunTrust Banks restated a “hold” rating and set a $52.00 price target on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, October 20th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. The stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $51.00. Read more …

Citigroup lowered shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a report issued on Thursday. The brokerage currently has $625.00 price objective on the asset manager’s stock. Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Zacks Investment Research raised BlackRock from a hold rating to a buy rating and set a $501.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 3rd. Argus reissued a buy rating and issued a $620.00 target price (up previously from $520.00) on shares of BlackRock in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. Wells Fargo & Co reissued a market perform rating and issued a $555.00 target price (up previously from $535.00) on shares of BlackRock in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a hold rating and issued a $500.00 target price on shares of BlackRock in a research note on Thursday, October 12th. Finally, Credit Suisse Group reissued an outperform rating on shares of BlackRock in a research note on Thursday, October 12th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The stock presently has an average rating of Buy and an average target price of $547.92. Read more …

Omnicom Group (NYSE:OMC) was downgraded by research analysts at Bank of America from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research note issued on Thursday, The Fly reports. OMC has been the topic of several other research reports. Credit Suisse Group decreased their price target on Omnicom Group from $79.00 to $78.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 11th. Zacks Investment Research cut Omnicom Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Argus upgraded Omnicom Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 31st. Macquarie cut Omnicom Group from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $83.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Co reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $75.00 price target (down previously from $81.00) on shares of Omnicom Group in a report on Thursday, January 18th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Omnicom Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $83.71. Read more …

Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Telsey Advisory Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note issued on Thursday, MarketBeat reports. They currently have a $83.00 price objective on the specialty retailer’s stock, up from their prior price objective of $62.00. Telsey Advisory Group’s target price points to a potential upside of 6.14% from the stock’s current price. The analysts noted that the move was a valuation call. Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. BidaskClub cut Tractor Supply from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $88.00 price target on shares of Tractor Supply in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. Zacks Investment Research upgraded Tractor Supply from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $89.00 price target for the company in a research note on Monday, January 8th. Stephens set a $79.00 price target on Tractor Supply and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. Finally, Wedbush cut Tractor Supply from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price target for the company from $72.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. The company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $70.45. Read more …

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