Unilever Shares: TD Cowen Cuts Price Target to $74, Keeps Buy

TD Cowen has cut its price target on Unilever to $74 from $76 while keeping a Buy rating, MarketBeat reported, citing Benzinga. The target applies to the US-listed shares of Unilever (NYSE: UL), the consumer goods group behind food, beverage and personal care brands. A $2 trim with Buy retained is not a downgrade.

At 3.52pm New York time, shortly before the close, the US-listed shares were at $62.59, down about 0.6% from $62.95 yesterday. In London, Unilever (LON: ULVR) closed at 4,710.5p, down 27.5p or 0.58% from 4,738p. The timing of the note is not established, so the move cannot be attributed to it.

According to a summary of the note, TD Cowen adjusted price targets across food, beverage and personal care companies, not Unilever alone. Unilever’s cut is one of those adjustments.

The summary says many large-cap staples stocks, meaning makers of everyday consumer goods, trade close to five-year lows, but that the sector’s risk/reward remains unfavourable. That is the sector view in the summary, not a statement about Unilever specifically.

On the businesses themselves, the summary says big food sales have stabilised but lack a clear path back to growth. TD raised its non-alcoholic beverage sales forecast, while alcohol volumes remained weak through the summer.

The US-listed shares fell from $64.38 on the 1st of September to $59.58 on the 1st of October, then recovered to $62.95 by yesterday.

At $74, the new target sits roughly 18% above today’s late-session price of about $62.59. For UK holders, the note is a mild signal on a sector whose food sales, in the summary’s words, lack a clear path back to growth.