Minnesota-headquartered 3M Company (MMM), founded in 1902, is an industrial conglomerate with operations worldwide. With an impressive market cap of $54.6 billion, it operates through safety & industrial; transportation & electronics; health care; and consumer segments. The company is famed for its R&D investments and track record of groundbreaking products and technologies.
Shares of the industrial conglomerate have slightly underperformed the broader market over the past year. While MMM has surged 22.2% over this time frame, the broader S&P 500 Index ($SPX) is up 26.2%. However, in 2024, the stock has risen 8.3%, trailing behind SPX’s 11.2% return on a YTD basis.
Zooming in further, MMM falls behind the Ultra Industrials 2X ETF (UXI). The exchange-traded fund has gained 47.1% over the past year, higher than MMM’s return for the period.
Shares of 3M Company surged to a 16-month high on May 15 and continued to create more highs in the subsequent week despite the company revealing a lower-than-expected dividend reduction. The decision to cut dividends came after the company spun off its healthcare business into a new publicly traded company, Solventum Corporation (SOLV), on April 1, sparking investor interest.
For the current fiscal year, ending in December, analysts expect MMM’s EPS to fall 21.8% year over year to $7.23. However, the company’s earnings surprise history is remarkable. It beat the consensus estimate in each of the last four quarters.
3M Company has a consensus “Hold” rating overall. Out of 12 analysts covering the stock, two advise it as a "Strong Buy," eight suggest a "Hold," and the remaining two recommend a "Strong Sell."
This configuration is slightly more bullish than a month before, with one analyst advising a "Strong Buy."
Recently, Vertical Research analyst Jeffrey Sprague upgraded the stock from "Hold" to "Buy" and raised the price target from $92 to $140, which is also the Street high target and represents an upside potential of 41.9%.
The mean price target of $107.25 suggests an 8.7% premium to MMM’s current levels.
On the date of publication, Kritika Sarmah did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. For more information please view the Barchart Disclosure Policy here.
