UPDATE: BMO Capital Markets Reiterates Market Perform Rating, Raises PT on SUPERVALU Following Weak 4Q13 Results

In a report published Monday, BMO Capital Markets analyst Karen Short reiterated a Market Perform rating on SUPERVALU SVU, and raised the price target from $4.00 to $7.00. In the report, Short noted, “SVU reported a 4Q13 loss per share (LPS) from continuing operations of $0.85, or an adjusted LPS of $0.14. Continuing operations exclude results from the recently sold banners to Cerberus. Adjusted results were weaker than our LPS estimate of $0.01. ID sales decreased 4.1% at conventional retail (led by a traffic decline of 3.5%) and decreased 2.6% at Save-A-Lot. We came away from 4Q13 results feeling slightly encouraged about Supervalu's future. The (uninspiring) 4Q13 results were vastly overshadowed, in our view, by the new management team's seemingly firm grasp of what is needed to turn the business around.” SUPERVALU closed on Friday at $6.03.