Dunkin' Brands shares down nearly 3% premarket as Goldman downgrades to sell

Shares of Dunkin' Brands Group Inc. fell 2.8% in premarket trades Wednesday, after the doughnut retailer was downgraded to sell from neutral at Goldman Sachs. Analysts led by Karen Holthouse said unit growth risk and exposure to winter storms in the Northeast are pressures on a stock that is trading at the high end of its valuation range. "Outsized exposure to winter storms in the Northeast (55% of footprint vs. 20% for our coverage) presents some risk to 1Q17 results; however, we believe the larger challenge stems from McDonald's McCafe and 7-11's breakfast promotions in the quarter," they wrote in a note. Goldman lowered its stock price target to $47 from $48 and cut its below-consensus 2017 to 2019 EPS estimates by 1%. Shares have gained 7% in the year so far, outperforming the S&P 500's 5% gain.

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