UPDATE: BMO Capital Markets Reiterates Outperform Rating, Raises PT on Newell Rubbermaid

In a report published Monday, BMO Capital Markets reiterated its Outperform rating on Newell Rubbermaid

, and raised its price target from $22.00 to $24.00. BMO Capital noted, “NWL reported 3Q adjusted EPS of $0.47 (up 4%) and beat our estimate by $0.02 and consensus by $0.03. The upside owed primarily to lower SG&A of 24.2% of sales (vs. our 25.5%E). NWL raised its dividend by 50%, and reached its target payout of 35%; the yield is now 2.9%. The only blemish was the sales decline of 0.9% vs. our estimate of 3% growth that owed primarily to a shortfall in the consumer segment (-2% vs. our +3%E). 2012 guidance: NWL expects EPS at the upper-end of its $1.63-$1.69 range and core sales growth at the low-end of 2%-3%. NWL expanded Project Renewal. It eliminated the consumer/professional segment overhead and will reduce the number of GBUs from 9 to 6 and restate its segments. CEO Mike Polk enhanced the management suite, hiring executives with a combination of NWL history, international experience, and a proven track record.” Newell Rubbermaid closed on Friday at $20.59.