The bigger the better? Bill Ackman doesn’t think so, at least not when it comes to portfolio size. His Pershing Square Capital Management hedge fund owns only 10 stocks.
Ackman has made a fortune picking stocks and has a net worth that tops $9 billion. Two of his stocks could be especially big winners in 2025, according to Wall Street.
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Analysts are bullish about most of the stocks in Ackman’s portfolio. However, they especially like Canadian Pacific Kansas City Ltd. (NYSE: CP) and Restaurant Brands International (NYSE: QSR).
The average 12-month price target for Canadian Pacific reflects a 22% upside potential. Of the 32 analysts surveyed by LSEG in December that cover the stock, eight rated it a strong buy, and 15 rated it a buy. The other nine analysts recommended holding the railroad stock.
The Wall Street consensus is that Restaurant Brands International’s share price could jump nearly 24% over the next 12 months. LSEG surveyed 32 analysts in December who cover the stock. Six rated it as a strong buy, 15 rated it a buy, and 10 analysts recommended holding Restaurant Brands. However, there was one outlier who recommended selling the stock.
Interestingly, while Wall Street is most upbeat about these two stocks owned by Pershing Square, they both could be losing favor with Ackman. In the third quarter of 2024, he trimmed positions in three stocks, and two of them were Canadian Pacific and Restaurant Brands.
Canadian Pacific would only need to regain its previous high set in the first quarter of 2024 to top Wall Street’s price target. How could it pull off this rebound? Increasing demand for rail transportation could do the trick.
The company already delivers stronger growth than the overall industry and has around 20,000 miles of railroad tracks in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. Around 37% of Canadian Pacific’s revenue in 2023 was domestic transportation within those three countries, with another 41% cross-border freight.
It’s a similar story for Restaurant Brands. The stock could reach analysts’ price targets by simply recapturing its high set earlier this year.
Restaurant Brands has growth opportunities internationally, including expanding its Burger King operations in Japan. The company also plans to accelerate the expansion of its Firehouse Subs franchises in 2025. If inflation continues to trend downward next year, consumer spending on eating out could increase and boost Restaurant Brands’ revenue.
I don’t know if either Canadian Pacific or Restaurant Brands will perform as well over the next 12 months as Wall Street analysts think they will. There’s considerable uncertainty for both stocks.
The prospects of steep tariffs on all imports to the U.S. could negatively affect Canadian Pacific’s business. John Brooks, executive vice president and chief marketing officer, acknowledged in the third-quarter earnings conference call that the company was watching what might happen on that front.
Lower inflation might not help out Restaurant Brands as much as hoped, either. In November, the Consumer Price Index rose more year over year than it did in each of the previous four months. That might not bode well for inflation heading into 2025.
Although Wall Street likes Canadian Pacific and Restaurant Brands, I think two other stocks owned by Ackman are better bets for next year: Alphabet Class A and Class C shares. My take is that the continued demand for artificial intelligence (AI) will provide a strong tailwind for Google Cloud, while Google Search will maintain its market dominance, even with increased competition.
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Suzanne Frey, an executive at Alphabet, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Keith Speights has positions in Alphabet. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet and Canadian Pacific Kansas City. The Motley Fool recommends Restaurant Brands International. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
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