Check out today's top analyst calls from around Wall Street, compiled by The Fly.
JMP SECURITIES UPGRADES ISTAR TO OUTPERFORM: JMP Securities analyst Steven Delaney upgraded iStar (STAR) to Outperform from Market Perform with an $11.50 price target. If the target price is achieved, the shares would provide upside of 25% and a potential 12-month total return of 30%, including the 44c of cash dividends projected for 2019, Delaney told investors in a research note. The analyst sees an attractive entry point with iStar shares down 17.5% from September 30 compared to a median drop of 7.9% for the commercial mortgage real estate investment trust peer group.
ARGUS UPGRADES SUN LIFE FINANCIAL TO BUY: Argus analyst Jacob Kilstein upgraded Sun Life Financial (SLF) to Buy from Hold with a price target of $39, saying the company's valuation has become attractive after an 18% decline in the stock price since his last published report. The analyst cites Sun Life Financial's consistently strong earnings and above peer average return on equity, along with some of its recent "small acquisitions" that should boost its earnings. Kilstein added that his price target on the stock implies a forward earnings multiple of 10.5 times, which is below the peer average of 11.7 times seen in the likes of Aflac (AFL) and Primerica (PRI).
MAXIM DOWNGRADES APPLIED DNA SCIENCES TO HOLD: Applied DNA Sciences (APDN) was downgraded to a Hold from a Buy at Maxim.
ROTH CAPITAL INITIATES DYNATRONICS WITH A BUY: Roth Capital analyst Scott Henry started Dynatronics (DYNT) with a Buy rating and $4.50 price target. The analyst cited the potential for the new management team to better utilize current assets, acquire new assets, and drive profitability.
PIPER FAVORS FIDELITY, RE/MAX AMID SLOWING HOME SALES: Existing home sales remained in a weak trend at down 4% year-over-year in November versus down 3% in October and down 2% in Q3, Piper Jaffray analyst Jason Deleeuw told investors in a research note. The analyst believes the key drivers continue to be tight home inventories and increased discretion by home buyers after years of steady home price gains have reduced affordability. He continues to expect home sales trends to post low- to mid-single-digit declines for 2019. In this environment, Deleeuw's favorite real estate names are Fidelity National Financial (FNF) and RE/MAX Holdings (RMAX) since both have "catalysts/business models not as sensitive to sales volume trends." Fidelity National is the analyst's favorite real estate name given the potential earnings accretion from the pending Stewart (STC) acquisition that he believes is not factored much into the share price. Deleeuw also favors RE/MAX citing its "steady and high return business model that can sustain growth in multiple housing environments." Agent count and agent fees rather than volume drive the bulk of the company's franchise model economics, says Deleeuw.
iStar
+0.17 (+1.84%)
Sun Life Financial
+0.72 (+2.21%)
Applied DNA Sciences
+ (+0.00%)
Dynatronics
+ (+0.00%)
FNFV
+ (+0.00%)
Re/Max Holdings
+0.34 (+1.10%)
Stewart
+0.16 (+0.39%)
Aflac
+0.39 (+0.87%)
Primerica
+1.65 (+1.71%)