Notable Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades for Week of April 23, 2018

Upgrades:

BP (NYSE:BP) was upgraded by analysts at Goldman Sachs from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report released on Monday, The Fly reports. Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. TheStreet lowered shares of BP from a “b” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 13th. Vetr lowered shares of BP from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $44.43 price target on the stock. in a research note on Monday, March 12th. Zacks Investment Research lowered shares of BP from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 9th. Piper Jaffray reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $51.00 price target on shares of BP in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Societe Generale upgraded shares of BP from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. The company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $42.54. Read more …

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) was upgraded by equities researchers at Citigroup from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday, The Fly reports. A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on CAT. Buckingham Research began coverage on Caterpillar in a research note on Wednesday, April 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $170.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo set a $180.00 target price on Caterpillar and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 16th. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $168.00 target price on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Friday, April 13th. Cleveland Research reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Thursday, April 5th. Finally, Vetr raised Caterpillar from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $164.34 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. The company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $171.95. Read more …

BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Kansas City Southern Railway (NYSE:KSU) from a market perform rating to an outperform rating in a research report released on Monday, Marketbeat reports. BMO Capital Markets currently has $120.00 price target on the transportation company’s stock. Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the company. Cowen reissued a hold rating and set a $116.00 price objective on shares of Kansas City Southern Railway in a research note on Monday. Zacks Investment Research raised Kansas City Southern Railway from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note on Friday, April 6th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Kansas City Southern Railway from $102.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research note on Friday, April 6th. Seaport Global Securities reissued a neutral rating on shares of Kansas City Southern Railway in a research note on Friday, March 23rd. Finally, Credit Suisse Group reissued an outperform rating and set a $121.00 price objective (down previously from $126.00) on shares of Kansas City Southern Railway in a research note on Thursday, March 8th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. The company currently has a consensus rating of Buy and a consensus target price of $117.57. Read more …

Goldman Sachs upgraded shares of Merck & Co. (NYSE:MRK) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Monday, Marketbeat reports. Goldman Sachs currently has $58.83 target price on the stock, down from their previous target price of $60.15. MRK has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Jefferies Group set a $55.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co. and gave the company a hold rating in a report on Friday, March 23rd. ValuEngine downgraded shares of Merck & Co. from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. DZ Bank raised shares of Merck & Co. from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Merck & Co. from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Finally, Credit Suisse Group cut their target price on shares of Merck & Co. from $67.00 to $66.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. The stock has a consensus rating of Buy and a consensus target price of $65.82. Read more …

Week's Most Significant Insider Trades: February 19 - 23, 2018

Disposals:

AFLAC Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) Chairman Daniel P. Amos sold 24,983 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.77, for a total transaction of $2,242,723.91. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Shares of AFLAC Incorporated (AFL) traded down $0.71 on Tuesday, reaching $88.92. 2,280,000 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,780,000. AFLAC Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $70.34 and a fifty-two week high of $91.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $34,960.00, a PE ratio of 8.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.07 and a quick ratio of 0.07. Read more …

C.H. Robinson Worldwide Inc (NASDAQ:CHRW) insider James Lemke sold 4,346 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.75, for a total value of $403,091.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. C.H. Robinson Worldwide Inc (NASDAQ:CHRW) traded down $2.65 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $89.97. The stock had a trading volume of 1,204,381 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,810,855. The stock has a market capitalization of $12,820.00, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.78, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.46. C.H. Robinson Worldwide Inc has a 52-week low of $63.41 and a 52-week high of $100.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 1.26. Read more …

Tyson Foods, Inc. (NYSE:TSN) Director Gaurdie E. Jr. Banister sold 7,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.56, for a total transaction of $589,368.00. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Shares of Tyson Foods, Inc. (NYSE:TSN) traded up $0.03 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $76.04. 640,657 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,213,056. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The stock has a market cap of $27,830.00, a P/E ratio of 15.34, a P/E/G ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 0.17. Tyson Foods, Inc. has a 52 week low of $57.20 and a 52 week high of $84.65. Read more …

Michael Kors Holdings Ltd (NYSE:KORS) Director M William Benedetto sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.94, for a total transaction of $255,760.00. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Michael Kors Holdings Ltd (NYSE KORS) traded up $0.07 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $63.97. 3,731,451 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,561,981. The stock has a market cap of $9,740.00, a P/E ratio of 18.54, a P/E/G ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 0.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 2.00 and a quick ratio of 1.06. Michael Kors Holdings Ltd has a fifty-two week low of $32.38 and a fifty-two week high of $69.95. Read more …