Jefferies Maintains Buy, $59 PT on HJ Heinz

Jefferies reiterates its Buy rating and $59 PR on HJ Heinz Company (NYSE: HNZ) as the company reported 2Q12 earnings in line with forecast.

Jefferies comments, “HNZ reported 2Q12 adj. EPS of $0.81, in line with our forecast but driven by a lower than expected tax rate. HNZ' story of two markets – emerging and developed – seems to continue, with especially the U.S. Foodservice and Australian businesses struggling. The introduction of smaller, lower priced packaging is supposed to improve the outlook in the U.S. consumer business.”

HNZ closed at $51.07 per share on Friday, down 3.31 percent.