Mon., October 2nd, 2023 | MarketBeat Staff
Most people know that Wall Street analyst recommendations are overstated because of pressure from public companies. No investor relations executive wants to see "hold" and "sell" ratings issued for their company's stock. In reality, a "buy" rating really means "hold." "Hold" ratings really mean "sell" and "sell" ratings mean get out while you still can.
If Wall Street's top-rated analysts are consistently giving "hold" and "sell" ratings to stock, you know there's a serious problem. We have compiled a list of the companies that Wall Street's top equities research analysts are consistently giving "hold" and "sell" ratings to. If you own one of these stocks, consider getting out while there's still time.
This slide show lists the 20 companies that have the lowest average analyst recommendations from Wall Street's equities research analysts over the last 12 months.
#1 - Expeditors International of Washington (NASDAQ:EXPD)
- Consensus Rating
- Reduce
- Rating Score
- 1.5
- Ratings Breakdown
- 0 Buy Ratings, 4 Hold Ratings, 4 Sell Ratings.
- Consensus Price Target
- $106.18 (7.4% Downside)
About Expeditors International of Washington

Expeditors International of Washington, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides logistics services in the Americas, North Asia, South Asia, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and India. The company offers airfreight services, such as air freight consolidation and forwarding; ocean freight and ocean services, including ocean freight consolidation, direct ocean forwarding, and order management; customs brokerage, intra-continental ground transportation and delivery, and warehousing and distribution services; and customs clearance, purchase order management, vendor consolidation, time-definite transportation services, temperature-controlled transit, cargo insurance, specialized cargo monitoring and tracking, and other supply chain solutions.
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Recent Analyst Ratings
#2 - Allison Transmission (NYSE:ALSN)
- Consensus Rating
- Reduce
- Rating Score
- 1.6
- Ratings Breakdown
- 0 Buy Ratings, 3 Hold Ratings, 2 Sell Ratings.
- Consensus Price Target
- $52.86 (10.5% Downside)
About Allison Transmission

Allison Transmission Holdings, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, designs, manufactures, and sells commercial and defense fully automatic transmissions for medium-and heavy-duty commercial vehicles, and medium-and heavy-tactical U.S. defense vehicles worldwide. The company offers transmissions for various applications, including distribution, refuse, construction, fire, and emergency on-highway trucks; school and transit buses; motor homes; energy, mining, and construction off-highway vehicles and equipment; and wheeled and tracked defense vehicles.
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Recent Analyst Ratings
#3 - Antero Midstream (NYSE:AM)
- Consensus Rating
- Reduce
- Rating Score
- 1.6
- Ratings Breakdown
- 1 Buy Ratings, 1 Hold Ratings, 3 Sell Ratings.
- Consensus Price Target
- $12.25 (2.9% Upside)
About Antero Midstream

Antero Midstream Corporation owns, operates, and develops midstream energy infrastructure in the Appalachian Basin. It operates through Gathering and Processing, and Water Handling segments. The Gathering and Processing segment includes a network of gathering pipelines and compressor stations that collects and processes production from Antero Resources' wells in West Virginia and Ohio.
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Recent Analyst Ratings
#4 - Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN)
- Consensus Rating
- Strong Sell
- Rating Score
- 1.4
- Ratings Breakdown
- 0 Buy Ratings, 4 Hold Ratings, 6 Sell Ratings.
- Consensus Price Target
- $25.25 (3.1% Upside)
About Franklin Resources

Franklin Resources, Inc is a publicly owned asset management holding company. Through its subsidiaries, the firm provides its services to individuals, institutions, pension plans, trusts, and partnerships. It launches equity, fixed income, balanced, and multi-asset mutual funds through its subsidiaries.
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Recent Analyst Ratings
#5 - Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG)
- Consensus Rating
- Reduce
- Rating Score
- 1.6
- Ratings Breakdown
- 0 Buy Ratings, 7 Hold Ratings, 5 Sell Ratings.
- Consensus Price Target
- $76.54 (6.2% Upside)
About Principal Financial Group

Principal Financial Group, Inc provides retirement, asset management, and insurance products and services to businesses, individuals, and institutional clients worldwide. The company operates through Retirement and Income Solutions, Principal Global Investors, Principal International, and U.S. Insurance Solutions segments.
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Recent Analyst Ratings
- Consensus Rating
- Reduce
- Rating Score
- 1.7
- Ratings Breakdown
- 2 Buy Ratings, 6 Hold Ratings, 6 Sell Ratings.
- Consensus Price Target
- $147.64 (11.9% Upside)
About Clorox

The Clorox Company manufactures and markets consumer and professional products worldwide. It operates through four segments: Health and Wellness, Household, Lifestyle, and International. The Health and Wellness segment offers cleaning products, such as laundry additives and home care products primarily under the Clorox, Clorox2, Scentiva, Pine-Sol, Liquid-Plumr, Tilex, and Formula 409 brands; professional cleaning and disinfecting products under the CloroxPro and Clorox Healthcare brands; professional food service products under the Hidden Valley brand; and vitamins, minerals and supplement products under the RenewLife, Natural Vitality, NeoCell, and Rainbow Light brands in the United States.
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Recent Analyst Ratings
#7 - Consolidated Edison (NYSE:ED)
- Consensus Rating
- Reduce
- Rating Score
- 1.8
- Ratings Breakdown
- 2 Buy Ratings, 5 Hold Ratings, 5 Sell Ratings.
- Consensus Price Target
- $89.93 (5.1% Upside)
About Consolidated Edison

Consolidated Edison, Inc, through its subsidiaries, engages in the regulated electric, gas, and steam delivery businesses in the United States. It offers electric services to approximately 3.6 million customers in New York City and Westchester County; gas to approximately 1.1 million customers in Manhattan, the Bronx, parts of Queens, and Westchester County; and steam to approximately 1,530 customers in parts of Manhattan.
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Recent Analyst Ratings
- Consensus Rating
- Reduce
- Rating Score
- 1.9
- Ratings Breakdown
- 0 Buy Ratings, 10 Hold Ratings, 1 Sell Ratings.
- Consensus Price Target
- $113.08 (20.9% Upside)
About 3M

3M Company provides diversified technology services in the United States and internationally. The company operates through four segments: Safety and Industrial; Transportation and Electronics; Health Care; and Consumer. The Safety and Industrial segment offers industrial abrasives and finishing for metalworking applications; autobody repair solutions; closure systems for personal hygiene products, masking, and packaging materials; electrical products and materials for construction and maintenance, power distribution, and electrical original equipment manufacturers; structural adhesives and tapes; respiratory, hearing, eye, and fall protection solutions; and natural and color-coated mineral granules for shingles.
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Recent Analyst Ratings
#9 - T. Rowe Price Group (NASDAQ:TROW)
- Consensus Rating
- Strong Sell
- Rating Score
- 1.5
- Ratings Breakdown
- 0 Buy Ratings, 5 Hold Ratings, 6 Sell Ratings.
- Consensus Price Target
- $96.73 (7.8% Downside)
About T. Rowe Price Group

T. Rowe Price Group, Inc is a publicly owned investment manager. The firm provides its services to individuals, institutional investors, retirement plans, financial intermediaries, and institutions. It launches and manages equity and fixed income mutual funds. The firm invests in the public equity and fixed income markets across the globe.
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Recent Analyst Ratings
#10 - Avangrid (NYSE:AGR)
- Consensus Rating
- Reduce
- Rating Score
- 1.8
- Ratings Breakdown
- 0 Buy Ratings, 3 Hold Ratings, 1 Sell Ratings.
- Consensus Price Target
- $37.75 (25.1% Upside)
About Avangrid

Avangrid, Inc, an energy services holding company, engages in the regulated energy transmission and distribution, and renewable energy generation businesses in the United States. The company operates in two segments: Networks and Renewables. It is involved in the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity; and distribution, transportation, and sale of natural gas.
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Recent Analyst Ratings
- Consensus Rating
- Reduce
- Rating Score
- 1.8
- Ratings Breakdown
- 1 Buy Ratings, 6 Hold Ratings, 3 Sell Ratings.
- Consensus Price Target
- $120.80 (4.7% Upside)
About Paychex

Paychex, Inc provides integrated human capital management solutions for human resources (HR), payroll, benefits, and insurance services for small to medium-sized businesses in the United States, Europe, and India. It offers payroll processing services; payroll tax administration services; employee payment services; and regulatory compliance services, such as new-hire reporting and garnishment processing.
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Recent Analyst Ratings
#12 - Gold Fields (NYSE:GFI)
- Consensus Rating
- Reduce
- Rating Score
- 1.6
- Ratings Breakdown
- 0 Buy Ratings, 3 Hold Ratings, 2 Sell Ratings.
- Consensus Price Target
- $13.75 (31.7% Upside)
About Gold Fields

Gold Fields Limited operates as a gold producer with reserves and resources in Chile, South Africa, Ghana, West Africa, Australia, and Peru. The company also explores for copper deposits. It holds interests in nine operating mines, as well as gold mineral reserves and mineral resources. The company was founded in 1887 and is based in Sandton, South Africa.
Recent Analyst Ratings
- Consensus Rating
- Reduce
- Rating Score
- 1.5
- Ratings Breakdown
- 0 Buy Ratings, 2 Hold Ratings, 2 Sell Ratings.
- Consensus Price Target
- N/A
About POSCO

POSCO Holdings Inc, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells iron and steel rolled products in South Korea and internationally. It operates in two segments Steel and Others. The company offers hot and cold rolled steel, steel plates, wire rods, galvanized steel, electrical steel, stainless steel, and titanium.
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Recent Analyst Ratings
#14 - Penske Automotive Group (NYSE:PAG)
- Consensus Rating
- Reduce
- Rating Score
- 1.8
- Ratings Breakdown
- 1 Buy Ratings, 1 Hold Ratings, 2 Sell Ratings.
- Consensus Price Target
- $166.60 (0.3% Downside)
About Penske Automotive Group

Penske Automotive Group, Inc, a diversified transportation services company, operates automotive and commercial truck dealerships in the United States and internationally. The company operates through four segments: Retail Automotive, Retail Commercial Truck, Other, and Non-Automotive Investments. It operates dealerships under franchise agreements with various automotive manufacturers and distributors.
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Recent Analyst Ratings
#15 - Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW)
- Consensus Rating
- Reduce
- Rating Score
- 1.8
- Ratings Breakdown
- 1 Buy Ratings, 7 Hold Ratings, 3 Sell Ratings.
- Consensus Price Target
- $237.18 (3.0% Upside)
About Illinois Tool Works

Illinois Tool Works Inc manufactures and sells industrial products and equipment worldwide. It operates through seven segments: Automotive OEM; Food Equipment; Test & Measurement and Electronics; Welding; Polymers & Fluids; Construction Products; and Specialty Products. The Automotive OEM segment offers plastic and metal components, fasteners, and assemblies for automobiles, light trucks, and other industrial uses.
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Recent Analyst Ratings
#16 - Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS)
- Consensus Rating
- Reduce
- Rating Score
- 1.8
- Ratings Breakdown
- 0 Buy Ratings, 3 Hold Ratings, 1 Sell Ratings.
- Consensus Price Target
- $69.33 (54.1% Upside)
About Bank of Nova Scotia

The Bank of Nova Scotia provides various banking products and services in Canada, the United States, Mexico, Peru, Chile, Colombia, the Caribbean and Central America, and internationally. It operates in four segments: Canadian Banking, International Banking, Global Wealth Management, and Global Banking and Markets.
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Recent Analyst Ratings
#17 - Choice Hotels International (NYSE:CHH)
- Consensus Rating
- Reduce
- Rating Score
- 1.9
- Ratings Breakdown
- 2 Buy Ratings, 3 Hold Ratings, 3 Sell Ratings.
- Consensus Price Target
- $132.00 (7.7% Upside)
About Choice Hotels International

Choice Hotels International, Inc together with its subsidiaries, operates as a hotel franchisor. The company operates through Hotel Franchising & Management and Other segments. It franchises lodging properties under the brand names of Comfort Inn, Comfort Suites, Quality, Clarion, Clarion Pointe, Sleep Inn, Econo Lodge, Rodeway Inn, MainStay Suites, Suburban Extended Stay Hotel, WoodSpring Suites, Everhome Suites, Cambria Hotels, Ascend Hotel Collection, Radisson Blu, Radisson RED, Radisson, Park Plaza, Country Inn & Suites, Radisson Inn & Suites , Park Inn by Radisson, Radisson Individuals, and Radisson Collection.
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Recent Analyst Ratings
#18 - Campbell Soup (NYSE:CPB)
- Consensus Rating
- Reduce
- Rating Score
- 1.7
- Ratings Breakdown
- 0 Buy Ratings, 9 Hold Ratings, 4 Sell Ratings.
- Consensus Price Target
- $47.21 (14.9% Upside)
About Campbell Soup

Campbell Soup Company, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and markets food and beverage products in the United States and internationally. The company operates through Meals & Beverages and Snacks segments. The Meals & Beverages segment engages in the retail and foodservice businesses in the United States and Canada.
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Recent Analyst Ratings
- Consensus Rating
- Hold
- Rating Score
- 2.0
- Ratings Breakdown
- 1 Buy Ratings, 5 Hold Ratings, 1 Sell Ratings.
- Consensus Price Target
- $57.00 (4.3% Upside)
About Fastenal

Fastenal Company, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the wholesale distribution of industrial and construction supplies in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and internationally. It offers fasteners, and related industrial and construction supplies under the Fastenal name. The company's fastener products include threaded fasteners, bolts, nuts, screws, studs, and related washers, which are used in manufactured products and construction projects, as well as in the maintenance and repair of machines.
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Recent Analyst Ratings
- Consensus Rating
- Reduce
- Rating Score
- 1.9
- Ratings Breakdown
- 1 Buy Ratings, 5 Hold Ratings, 2 Sell Ratings.
- Consensus Price Target
- $29.73 (16.0% Upside)
About HP

HP Inc provides products, technologies, software, solutions, and services to individual consumers, small- and medium-sized businesses, and large enterprises, including customers in the government, health, and education sectors worldwide. It operates through Personal Systems and Printing segments. The Personal Systems segment offers commercial personal computers (PCs), consumer PCs, workstations, thin clients, commercial tablets and mobility devices, retail point-of-sale systems, displays and other related accessories, software, support, and services for the commercial and consumer markets.
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Recent Analyst Ratings
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