Is Wall Street Bullish or Bearish on 3M Company Stock?

Saint Paul, Minnesota-based 3M Company (MMM) is a diversified conglomerate, operating in the fields of industry, worker safety, and consumer goods. With a market cap of $72.5 billion, 3M produces over 60,000 products under several brands, including adhesives, passive fire protection, window films, electronics, car-care products, and more.

3M has outperformed the broader market by a large margin over the past year. 3M stock have soared 46.1% on a YTD basis and 71.4% over the past 52 weeks, outpacing the S&P 500 Index’s ($SPX) 25.2% gains on a YTD basis and 36.4% returns over the past 52-week period.

Narrowing the focus, 3M has also outpaced the Industrial Select Sector SPDR Fund’s (XLI) gains of 23.3% on a YTD basis and 39.1% over the past year. 

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Despite reporting better-than-expected adjusted EPS of $1.98, shares of 3M dipped 2.3% after the release of its Q3 earnings on Oct. 22 buoying to a marginal 38 basis points increase in net sales compared to the year-ago quarter to $6.3 billion, which likely didn’t impress investors. Additionally, organic sales growth was minimal, with flat or declining performance in key regions like Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, where organic sales dropped 4.2%. The company updated its full-year EPS guidance to $7.20 - $7.30, significantly below the $9.24 reported in 2023, likely contributed to investor disappointment. 

For the current fiscal year, ending in December, analysts expect 3M to report a 21.3% year-over-year decline in adjusted EPS to $7.27. Nevertheless, 3M has a robust earnings surprise history. It has surpassed Wall Street’s bottom-line estimates in the past four quarters.

MMM stock has a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating overall. Among the 16 analysts covering the stock, eight recommend “Strong Buy,” five advise “Hold,” one advocates a “Moderate Buy,” and two suggest a “Strong Sell” rating. 

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This configuration is slightly more bullish than a month ago when seven analysts recommended a “Strong Buy” rating.

On Oct. 23, Barclays PLC (BCS) analyst Julian Mitchell maintained a “Buy” rating on MMM while raising the price target to $165.

3M’s mean price target of $147.56 represents a premium of 10.9% to current price levels. Meanwhile, the Street-high target of $180 suggests a potential upside of 35.3%. 

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On the date of publication, Aditya Sarawgi 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.