Weir Group Shares: Buy or Hold?

Weir Group (LON: WEIR) shares have faced conflicting analyst calls in recent days, leaving investors to weigh the outlook for the FTSE 100 engineering firm. 

The stock, which has risen over 10% so far this year, was upgraded to “Buy” by UBS last week, while Morgan Stanley has just moved to a more cautious stance.

UBS raised its price target for the stock from 2,250p to 2,850p, citing strong potential upside from Weir’s ongoing Performance Excellence programme. 

The bank explained that the plan, launched in 2022 with an initial savings target of £30 million, has since seen its guidance lifted twice, most recently to £80 million. 

UBS analysts believe the company could ultimately deliver £125 million in savings by 2026, lifting adjusted EBITA margins to 23.4%, well ahead of the 20.4% consensus. 

“We think the market is currently pricing in £80m of cost savings,” UBS stated.

However, Morgan Stanley has taken a more cautious view, downgrading Weir to “Equal Weight” from “Overweight” with a new price target of 2,570p. 

The bank acknowledged that Weir’s exposure to mining aftermarket services makes it relatively insulated from recent tariff-related uncertainties, but argued that a lack of near-term catalysts limits upside.

According to data compiled by TradingView, 17 analysts are covering the stock, with 13 seeing it as a “Buy” and four as a “Hold.” 

Weir Group shares are currently trading around 2,406p, but the analyst consensus target is 2,582p, suggesting potential upside.