Citing a
“lack of visibility” about the company’s earnings future, influential Wall Street analyst Dan Salmon has downgraded his recommendation for Omnicom’s stock from
“outperform” to “perform.”
“The fourth quarter 2014 results were good, but as always, management offered a frank and honest outlook for 2015 and it is
clouded with less visibility than a year ago,” the BMO Capital Markets analyst wrote in an equity research report sent to investors in February, adding, “Be it the swings in currencies and
the impacts it could have on clients’ cost structures or easing emerging markets growth, 2015 simply does not offer the same foundation for visible growth as 2014 did.”
Despite the uncertainty and the downgrade, Salmon said Omnicom “remains a core holding” and added, “we could be wrong if the macro environment proves better or new services
emerge faster than expected to perk up organic growth.”
In addition to the recommendation downgrade, Salmon’s team lowered estimates for the target price of Omnicom
shares to $77 from $82 previously.
advertisement
advertisement