There were a lot of Investment Firm rating changes in May. I expect to see more valuation based downgrades from noteworthy firms in June. Here are few upgrades and downgrades on dividends stocks I follow since the last analyst rating post for May. Its interesting to see Proctor and Gamble get upgraded by UBS and downgraded by Standpoint on the same day because of the new CEO. The jury is still out on that move.
Upgrades
Two Harbors Investment (TWO) – Upgraded by Compass Point to Buy on 5/22 based on valuation. They think book value is around $12 per share. This is a REIT with a 11% yield trading under $11.
Molson Coors Brewing (TAP) – Upgraded by Stifed to Buy on improving earnings and competitive advantage that will play out this fall. TAP yields 2.6%.
Cisco Systems (CSCO) – Upgraded by FBR Capital due to less threats to Cisco’s switch business and future cloud growth. CSCO yields 2.8%.
Procter & Gamble (PG) – Upgraded by UBS to Buy after the return of Lafely as CEO. PG yields 3.1%.
Sherwin-Williams (SHW) – Upgraded by Robert Baird to Outperform due to strong earnings growth expected in the future after recent earning report. SHW yields just 1.1%.
Seagate Technology (STX) – Upgraded by Deutsche Bank to Buy due to better growth and revenue. STX yields 3.5%.
Downgrades
Chesapeake Utilities (CPK) – Downgraded by Robert Baird to Neutral.
Computer Sciences (CSC) – Downgraded by Deutsche Bank to hold over lower margins and higher risk.
Applied Materials (AMAT) – Downgraded by DA Davidson to Neutral over valuation concerns.
Carnival (CCL) – Downgraded by UBS to Nuetral over poor guidance possibly more bad news to come.
Delta Air Lines (DAL) – Downgraded by Standpoint Research to hold over debt concerns and shrinking EPS growth.
Guess? (GES) – Downgraded byStandpoint Research to hold because it is currently trading at 14x earnings which is fair valuation in their opinion.
Procter & Gamble (PG) – Downgraed by Standpoint Research to sell saying that the new CEO will not move the needle and that the company will continue to under perform and is currently over valued.
Very interesting to see Procter & Gamble on both the upgrade and downgrade list!
I don’t put too much weight into analyst ratings. I like to look at the long term viability and profitability of a company when making my investing decisions. Analyst seem to mostly look at short term effects.
I completely agree. I just like to know what they are thinking. Sometimes I gain a little insight into areas of the stock’s performance that I had not considered.
I take analysts ratings with a grain of salt. I can’t help but think of them as dirty self serving entities who rate only for personal gains. Of course this isn’t true but I can’t help but feel that way sometimes.