Why Does BMO Think Pinnacle Foods Will Outperform The Market?


27% profit every 20 days?

This is what Nic Chahine averages with his option buys. Not selling covered calls or spreads… BUYING options. Most traders don’t even have a winning percentage of 27% buying options. He has an 83% win rate. Here’s how he does it.


  • BMO Capital Markets analysts led by Kenneth B. Zaslow upgraded shares of Pinnacle Foods Inc (NYSE: PF) to Outperform on Monday, boosting their price target to $50.00 and designating it as their "top pick" for 2016. The experts based their bullishness on the fact that focus will shift toward:
  • 1) Earnings power, especially for 2017.
  • 2) "The potential acceleration of its long-term growth relative to its initial growth  algorithm in 2018 and beyond."
  • 3) The defensive nature of this domestic company, which also offers "superior execution of a sound strategy."

ENTER TO WIN $500 IN STOCK OR CRYPTO

Enter your email and you'll also get Benzinga's ultimate morning update AND a free $30 gift card and more!

According to the report, the mixture of internal growth opportunities, recent acquisitions (like the Boulder Brands purchase) and "the likely need for defensive investment posturing in uncertain global markets" has created an attractive investment opportunity at Pinnacle Foods.

For 2016, the analysts expect the company to exceed its long-term growth algorithm for the third year in a row. This is proof of its "stellar execution of product innovation, pricing architecture, margin management, and cash deployment."

Zaslow and his team expected the acquisition of Boulder to transform Pinnacle's earnings power. In fact, the synergy targets will probably prove conservative.

The company is likely to benefit from more normalized egg white costs in fiscal 2017.

Similar to the past several years, the firm expects Pinnacle's growth rate to accelerate from its long-term growth targets starting in 2018, reflecting:

  • 1) "The evolution of its portfolio to higher-growth categories than its legacy portfolio at the time of the IPO."
  • 2) Continued cost reduction opportunities from the Boulder acquisition.
  • 3) Revenue opportunities.
  • 4) A decrease in interest expense as the company aggressively deleverages its balance sheet to below 4x.

Disclosure: Javier Hasse holds no positions in any of the securities mentioned above.


27% profit every 20 days?

This is what Nic Chahine averages with his option buys. Not selling covered calls or spreads… BUYING options. Most traders don’t even have a winning percentage of 27% buying options. He has an 83% win rate. Here’s how he does it.


Posted In: Analyst ColorLong IdeasUpgradesPrice TargetAnalyst RatingsTrading IdeasBMOBMO Capital MarketsKenneth B. Zaslow