Shares in J Sainsbury PLC (LSE:SBRY) the UK supermarket group, came under fresh pressure after Citi downgraded the stock to 'neutral' and cut its price target to 335p from 377p.
This is the second such move in two days following a Goldman Sachs move to 'sell' on Monday, when the US bank also reduced its target to 335p.
Citi said broadly in-line full-year results for 2026 were overshadowed by weaker-than-expected profit guidance for the year ahead, prompting the bank to trim its 2027 sales forecast by 1% and its operating profit estimate by 7%.
The bank now forecasts total retail sales growth excluding fuel of 3.6% for FY27, against a consensus estimate of 3.9%, with grocery sales growth of 4.3% and general merchandise and clothing up 1%.
Citi nudged its FY27 operating margin forecast down by 20 basis points to 2.99%, producing an operating profit estimate of £1,054m, which sits 1% below consensus but 3% above the midpoint of Sainsbury's own guidance range of £975m to £1,075m.
Argos, the catalogue retailer owned by Sainsbury's, is expected to grow sales by just 0.5% in FY27, below the consensus forecast of 1%.
The bank cut its FY27 and FY28 earnings per share forecasts by 10% and 12%, respectively.
The shares fell 0.8% to 330.2p.