Armstrong World downgraded to Hold at Jefferies on worry of muted recovery

Jefferies analyst Philip Ng downgraded Armstrong World to Hold from Buy with a price target of $71, down from $95. While he calls Armstrong "one of the highest quality names in the group" and thinks it should be resilient in a downturn given its pricing power, Ng notes that his contacts are anticipating low-single digit declines in MF volumes in 2023 and he sees downside to Street estimates. Given the risk 2023 estimates still need to come down, he’d have to see multiple expansion for the stock to work, but Ng believes its multiple is likely capped with investors pivoting out of late cycle names.