Why 50% of Mead Johnson Analysts Say ‘Hold’
Mead Johnson: Upgrades, Target Prices, and Upcoming 1Q16
Consensus rating for Mead Johnson
As of April 21, 2016, Mead Johnson (MJN) was trading at $83.01. In this part of the series, we’ll see what Wall Street analysts have recommended for Mead Johnson before its earnings release. We’ll also see what the assigned price target is for MJN over the next 12 months. Approximately 38% of analysts rate Mead Johnson a “buy,” 50% rate it a “hold,” and 12% rate it a “sell.”
Analysts’ target prices for Mead Johnson
The average broker target price for Mead Johnson is $84.36. This is 1.6% higher than the closing price of $83.01 on April 21, 2016. Kellogg (K), Flowers Foods (FLO), and Campbell Soup (CPB) have average broker target prices of $77.80, $18.60, and $61.07, respectively. These figures imply returns of ~4%, -15%, and 14%, respectively, in the next 12 months. Mead Johnson is part of the Guggenheim S&P Equal Weight Consumer Staples ETF (RHS). RHS invests 2.3% of its portfolio in Mead Johnson and 2.7% in Campbell Soup.
Mead Johnson’s individual recommendations
As for individual recommendations, Credit Suisse gave Mead Johnson the highest target price of $100. This is ~20% higher than the closing price of $93.01 on April 21, 2016. On March 16, Credit Suisse upgraded the stock to “outperform” from “neutral.” It also raised the price from $76 to $100 due to takeover offers.
Goldman Sachs and BMO Capital Markets also gave optimistic price targets of $88 and $89, respectively. This implies returns of 6% and 7%, respectively, in the next 12 months. Goldman Sachs rated the stock a “hold,” and BMO Capital Markets gave it a “strong buy.” Others who rated the stock a “strong buy” are William Blair, Société Générale, and Wells Fargo Securities.
Susquehanna Financial assigned Mead Johnson the lowest target price of $77. This is ~7% lower than the closing prices of $83.01 on April 21. William Blair, Wells Fargo Securities, Morningstar, First Global Stockbroking, and Gabelli didn’t provide a target price. However, the first two rated Mead Johnson a strong “buy,” and the last three rated it a “hold.”
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