Credit Suisse Sees Impressive Quarter Evidence Of Strong Outlook For Smart & Final Stores

In a report published Thursday, Credit Suisse analyst Edward J. Kelly reiterated a Neutral rating and $18.00 price target on

. In the report, Credit Suisse noted, "Smart & Final raised its profile with investors in its second quarter as a public company, as it solidly beat Q4 consensus expectations, initiated solid (and still likely conservative) 2015 guidance, and provided a positive update on its important new store program. SFS adjusted EPS of $0.16 (including ~$0.03 for stock based comp and pre-open expense) exceeded our estimate of $0.12 (also adjusted for comparability) and consensus of $0.10. A lower than projected tax rate helped by $0.02, but underlying results were still strong. The beat was paced by an acceleration in comps to 7.8% (vs. our 5.4% estimate), and a better than expected 38 bps gross margin improvement." Smart & Final Stores closed on Wednesday at $16.61.