UPDATE: Goldman Sachs Reiterates Neutral Rating, Raises PT on Valspar Corporation

In a report published Wednesday, the Goldman Sachs Group reiterated its Neutral rating on the Valspar Corporation

, and slightly raised its price target from $53.00 to $54.00. Goldman Sachs noted, “VAL reported adjusted 3QFY12 EPS of $0.97, above our/Street estimates of $0.91/$0.96. Sales growth of 1% yoy fell shy of our estimate, but the overall EBIT margin of 13.9% exceeded our 12.6% estimate, driving the beat. Excluding the currency impact, sales would have increased 3% yoy. Strong 10% consumer sales growth in North America on restocking of inventories was offset by lower volumes in Europe, mixed volumes in China, and weakness in Australia on the loss of the Bunnings business. Overall, sales were flat in Paint yoy and only up 2% yoy in Coatings. Coatings margins drove a larger share of the beat, up 370bp yoy to 17.2%, though Paint margins also improved 110bp yoy to 11.9%.” The Valspar Corporation closed on Tuesday at $50.74.