Are Analyst Price Targets Accurate? 7 Years of Data
How often Wall Street price targets are reached, how long it takes, and how the promised upside compares with what stocks actually did. From Exent’s backtest of 628,792 analyst ratings.
How often Walter Spracklin’s price targets were reached, how fast, and what the stocks did after each call: a 7‑year backtest of 503 ratings, compared with the average Wall Street analyst.
Walter Spracklin of RBC Capital ranks #102 of the 1,000 analysts Exent scores, with a 5.0★ rating and a focus on industrials. Over a 7‑year lookback, 67.7% of Walter’s price targets were reached, 15.3 points above the 52.4% average across all analysts.
| Metric | Walter Spracklin | All analysts |
|---|---|---|
| Price‑target hit rate | 67.7% | 52.4% |
| Median days to hit target | 91 days | 91 days |
| Calls up after 12 months | 74.4% | 64.0% |
| Median 12‑month return of calls | +14.1% | +13.4% |
| Hit rate, last 2 years | 69.1% | — |
| Average worst drop after a call | −9.9% | — |
| Ratings in the sample | 503 | — |
| Stocks covered | 22 | — |
| Time to reach the target | Walter Spracklin |
|---|---|
| Under 30 days | 28.0% |
| 30–90 days | 21.7% |
| 90–180 days | 26.7% |
| Over 180 days | 23.6% |
Share of the targets that were reached, by how long they took. Targets are usually set for 12 months.
In the past year Walter’s ratings were 88% Buy, 12% Hold and 0% Sell.
| Date | Stock | Action | Rating | Price target |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 11, 2026 | TSX-CJT | Reiterated: Buy | Buy | $140.00 |
| Aug 5, 2026 | TSX-WTE | Reiterated: Buy | Buy | $44.00 |
| Jul 29, 2026 | TSX-CP | Reiterated: Buy | Buy | $145.00 |
| Jul 27, 2026 | TSX-TFII | Reiterated: Buy | Buy | $239.73 |
| Jul 24, 2026 | TSX-CNR | Reiterated: Buy | Buy | $205.00 |
| Jul 24, 2026 | TSX-CNR | Maintained: Buy | Buy | $205.00 |
| Jul 23, 2026 | UNP | Maintained: Buy | Buy | $339.00 |
| Jul 23, 2026 | NSC | Reiterated: Hold | Hold | $360.00 |
| Jul 23, 2026 | UNP | Reiterated: Buy | Buy | $339.00 |
| Jul 23, 2026 | TSX-MTL | Reiterated: Buy | Buy | $30.00 |
| Jul 23, 2026 | CSX | Reiterated: Buy | Buy | $54.00 |
| Jul 23, 2026 | NSC | Maintained: Hold | Hold | $360.00 |
Live ratings from Walter Spracklin and the other top‑ranked analysts, and the stocks where they agree, are in Exent Stocks Radar.
Exent replays every rating with a price target over a 7‑year lookback: was the target reached, how long it took, and what the stock returned 1, 3, 6 and 12 months after the call. The star rating and rank combine success rate, average return and the number of ratings, so a few lucky calls do not make a top analyst. Statistics as of Jun 24, 2026; ranking updated Oct 20, 2026. How accurate are analyst price targets overall?
Past performance does not guarantee future results. Historical figures are calculated by Exent from market data and are for education only; they are not investment advice or a recommendation to buy or sell any security.
By Exent’s scoring Walter Spracklin ranks #102 of 1,000 with a 5.0★ rating. 67.7% of price targets were reached over a 7-year lookback (all analysts: 52.4%), and 74.4% of calls were up 12 months later. Past accuracy does not guarantee future accuracy.
Walter Spracklin’s success rate is 68.7% by the ranking source and 67.7% by Exent’s price-target hit-rate backtest, with a median of 91 days to reach a target.
Walter Spracklin (RBC Capital) covers 22 stocks, mostly in industrials. The most frequently rated are TSX-CP, TSX-CNR, TSX-WTE, UNP, CSX.
Exent tracks 4,000+ analysts, keeps only the elite few with proven records, and surfaces the Gems where they agree.
Educational content, not investment advice. Examples are illustrative; past performance does not guarantee future results.