Jefferies Downgrades TGT, COST, KSS, SPLS, PETM, HD, LOW, USTR to Neutral

Jefferies' Dan Binder downgraded numerous Retail stocks Wednesday morning, each from Buy to Hold. The analyst cited risks to US growth over 2011 and concerning macro-based economic data points. Binder also pointed at the recent market decline, saying consumer spending may be impacted.

Binder lowered his investment ratings on the following stocks:

• Target (NYSE: TGT)
  
• Costco (Nasdaq: COST)
  
• Kohl's (NYSE: KSS)
  
• Staples (Nasdaq: SPLS)
  
• PetSmart (Nasdaq: PETM)
  
• Home Depot (NYSE: HD)
  
• Lowe's (NYSE: LOW)
  
• United Stationers (Nasdaq: USTR)

The SPDR S&P Retail ETF (NYSE: XRT) is currently down a sharp 3 percent in pre-open trade Wednesday.

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