Nalco "equal weight," target price reduced

03/17/08 - Lehman Brothers

NEW YORK, March 17 (newratings.com) - Analyst Sergey Vasnetsov of Lehman Brothers maintains his "equal weight" rating on Nalco Holding Co (NLC), while reducing his estimates for the company. The target price has been reduced from $28 to $22.

In a research note published this morning, the analyst mentions that stock multiples in the industry have declined in the recent past. Economic uncertainty and continuing high oil prices are likely to pressurize the profits of Nalco and other chemical companies in the near term, the analyst says. The EPS estimate for 2008 has been reduced from $1.42 to $1.31.