A number of stock research firms have changed their ratings and price targets for The McGraw-Hill Companies (NYSE: MHP) during the last seven days:

  • Mcgraw-Hill had its “neutral” rating reaffirmed by analysts at Zacks. They now have a $59.00 price target on the stock. Zacks‘ analyst wrote, “McGraw-Hill’s second-quarter 2012 earnings of $0.85 per share beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $0.76, and rose 25% year-over-year. The strong performance of S&P Capital IQ/S&P Indices and Commodities & Commercial helped to alleviate the volatility in the global credit market, thereby boosting the profitability. The cost containment efforts also provided cushion to the bottom-line. Management now expects earnings to be at the higher end of the guidance range of $3.25 to $3.35 per share in fiscal 2012. Total revenue dropped 1% to $1,547 million and also fell short of the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1,587 million. Education segment revenue fell 12% due to 20% decline in revenue at School Education Group. Elementary high school markets remains challenging due to low funding levels. Given the macroeconomic environment, we believe that management’s decision to split the company into two is prudent, as it would provide the new entities a level playing field in their core business areas.”
  • Mcgraw-Hill had its “overweight” rating reaffirmed by analysts at Piper Jaffray. They now have a $59.00 price target on the stock.
  • Mcgraw-Hill had its price target raised by analysts at Jefferies Group from $54.00 to $64.00. They now have a “buy” rating on the stock.
  • Mcgraw-Hill is now covered by analysts at Barclays Capital. They set an “overweight” rating and a $64.00 price target on the stock.
  • Mcgraw-Hill ‘s EPS estimates were raised by analysts at Lazard Capital. They now have a “buy” rating and a $63.00 price target on the stock.

The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. opened at 55.82 on Tuesday. The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $40.50 and a 1-year high of $56.04. The company has a market cap of $15.641 billion and a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.54.

The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. is a global information services provider serving the financial, education, commercial and commodities markets.