LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: LPLA): Barclays started coverage with an Overweight rating and a $275 price target. The consensus target is $263.67. The stock closed at $235.56 on Thursday.
McDonald’s Corp. (NYSE: MCD): Wells Fargo’s upgrade was from Equal Weight to Overweight with a $310 target price. The consensus target is up at $328.69. Thursday’s final trade was for $278.33 a share.
Owens Corning (NYSE: OC): As Goldman Sachs upgraded the stock to Neutral from Sell, its price objective rose to $150 from $113. The consensus target is $156.08. The shares ended trading on Thursday at $143.08.
Roku Inc. (NYSE: ROKU): Loop Capital downgraded the stock from Buy to Hold with an $85 target price, while Needham reiterated a Buy rating and raised its $85 target price to $100. The consensus target is $83.67. The stock closed almost 3% lower on Thursday at $83.62.
Seagate Technology Holdings PLC (NASDAQ: STX): Barclays downgraded the shares to Equal Weight from Overweight and has a $65 target price. The consensus target is $63.47. The stock closed down almost 11% on Thursday at $63.44 on no news we could source except the downgrade.
Vail Resorts Inc. (NYSE: MTN): When Truist Financial upgraded the stock to Buy from Hold, the analyst lifted the $263 target price to $290. The consensus target is $258.75. The stock closed on Thursday at $245.50.
Verint Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: VRNT): Evercore ISI’s downgrade to In Line from Outperform included a target price cut to $28 from $50. The consensus target is $46.43 for now. The stock closed on Thursday at $24.87, down almost 20% for the day, after missing second-quarter earnings and revenue estimates.
Seven blue chip stocks with big and dependable dividends are very well suited for what could be a difficult end to 2023, as the companies should hold their ground much better in an inflationary and recessionary stretch like the one we are in now.
Eight top Dividend Aristocrats pay among the biggest dividends in the sectors that typically do well during a recession. With even moderate appreciation in their share prices, investors could be looking at double-digit total return potential over the next 12 months.
Thursday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included American Airlines, Amgen, Block, Chewy, First Solar, Nvidia, Southwest Airlines, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing and Toast.
Originally published at 24/7 Wall St.
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