Morgan Stanley Previews Earnings For Three Food & Tobacco Stocks

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Morgan Stanley previewed Q4 earnings for Mead Johnson Nutrition CO MJN, Hershey Co HSY and Altria Group Inc MO on Tuesday.

Analyst Matthew Grainger raised the price target on Mead Johnson Nutrition from $98 to $104 and maintained an Equal-weight rating on the stock.

The firm’s 4Q14 EPS estimate of $0.89 for MJN was $0.01 above consensus. Garinger was cautious on the 2015 EPS consensus of $4.13 due to FX headwinds, slowing growth in China and a higher tax rate.

Mead Johnson Nutrition CO reports earnings on January 29 and recently traded at $99.29, down 0.14 percent.

Grainger raised the price target on Hershey from $96 to $105 and saw it as one “the sector's largest beneficiaries from incremental dairy deflation (est. 10-15 percent of COGS from milk/butter) during the past quarter.”

The firm’s 4Q14 EPS estimate of $1.07 for Hershey was in line with consensus.

Hershey Co reports earnings on January 29 and recently traded at $108.78, down 0.37 percent.

For Altria Group, the firm maintained a price target of $48 and an Equal-weight rating. The firm’s 4Q14 EPS estimate of $0.66 was in line with consensus.

Grainger added that Altria’s “near-term earning outlook should benefit significantly from the recent expiration of the quota buyout, which provides a tailwind of over 500 bps and 400 bps to operating profit in 4Q14 and 2015, respectively.”

Altria Group Inc reports earnings on January 30 and recently traded at $54.77, up 0.38 percent.

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Posted In: Analyst ColorPrice TargetAnalyst RatingsMatthew GraingerMorgan Stanley
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