Bank of America Merrill Lynch Reiterates Underperform Rating, $52 PT on Church & Dwight

In a report published Wednesday, Bank of America Merrill Lynch reiterated its Underperform rating and $52.00 price target on Church & Dwight Co.

. BofA Merrill Lynch noted, “CHD's results have been tops in the staples group of late, helped by a value-oriented portfolio, heavy marketing, strong new products, as well as economic recession. We estimate that 117% of CHD's growth over the past 4qtrs has come from laundry. However, given increased competition as comps get tougher, as well as valuation that is already premium to the comp group, we think CHD's results will have to be nearly flawless in the near term in order to outperform the HPC group.” Church & Dwight Co. closed on Tuesday at $55.75.