Nielsen (NLSN) Downgraded to Underweight at Barclays

Nielsen (NYSE:NLSN) was downgraded by research analysts at Barclays from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating in a note issued to investors on Thursday, MarketBeat reports. They currently have a $38.00 target price on the business services provider’s stock, down from their previous target price of $45.00. Barclays’ price target would suggest a potential upside of 3.83% from the stock’s current price.

Several other research analysts have also weighed in on NLSN. Zacks Investment Research lowered shares of Nielsen from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 17th. BidaskClub upgraded shares of Nielsen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 27th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $44.00 price target on shares of Nielsen in a research note on Thursday, October 26th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Nielsen from $50.00 to $49.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 26th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Nielsen in a research note on Friday, October 27th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. The company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $43.60.

Nielsen (NYSE NLSN) traded down $0.35 during trading on Thursday, hitting $36.60. 5,268,195 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,941,841. The firm has a market cap of $13,160.00, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.95, a PEG ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.93. Nielsen has a one year low of $34.22 and a one year high of $45.73. The company has a quick ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.88.

In other Nielsen news, CEO Dwight Barns acquired 13,631 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 1st. The stock was purchased at an average price of $36.86 per share, with a total value of $502,438.66. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Jeffrey Charlton sold 3,080 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.01, for a total transaction of $110,910.80. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 10,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $363,701. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.67% of the company’s stock.

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its holdings in Nielsen by 21.2% in the 2nd quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 38,007,292 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,469,362,000 after purchasing an additional 6,648,088 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Nielsen by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 35,309,380 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,365,061,000 after purchasing an additional 605,114 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in Nielsen by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 6,505,579 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $269,656,000 after purchasing an additional 18,276 shares during the period. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Nielsen by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 5,910,598 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $244,994,000 after acquiring an additional 200,403 shares during the period. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its holdings in shares of Nielsen by 143.0% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 4,877,253 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $188,555,000 after acquiring an additional 2,870,282 shares during the period. 95.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

ILLEGAL ACTIVITY NOTICE: This piece of content was originally posted by American Banking and Market News and is the sole property of of American Banking and Market News. If you are reading this piece of content on another site, it was illegally stolen and reposted in violation of US & international copyright & trademark legislation. The original version of this piece of content can be viewed at https://www.americanbankingnews.com/2017/12/14/nielsen-nlsn-downgraded-to-underweight-at-barclays.html.

About Nielsen

Nielsen N.V. (Nielsen), formerly Nielsen Holdings N.V., is an information and measurement company. The Company is engaged in providing clients with an understanding of consumers and consumer behavior. The Company delivers media and marketing information, and analytics on a global and local basis. Nielsen operates through two business segments: Buy and Watch.

Analyst Recommendations for Nielsen (NYSE:NLSN)