Jefferies Maintains a 'Hold' on Dow Chemical (DOW); Cutting Numbers on Weak Q4; Q1 Ex-Ag Not Much Better

Jefferies maintains a 'Hold' on Dow Chemical (NYSE: DOW) price target raised from $26 to $32.

Jefferies analyst says, "Dow's Q4 was weak as expected, though comments on weakness persisting into Q1 were somewhat surprising given ethylene trends, and the company's prior outlook. We estimate Q1 EBITDA of $1.9bn (vs. street of $2.3bn), up just 3% ex-Ag. We are lowering our EPS estimates on higher taxes and interest expense but raising our price target on higher market multiples."

"Lowering estimates for 2012E $0.15 to $2.35 and 2013E $0.20 to $3.55, $0.22 due to higher interest expense and taxes. We are raising our 2012E EBITDA estimate $130m to $8.3bn and maintaining our 2013E of $10.0bn."

For an analyst ratings summary and ratings history on Dow Chemical click here. For more ratings news on Dow Chemical click here.

Shares of Dow Chemical closed at $33.54 yesterday.

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