UPDATE: Imperial Capital Initiates Hain Celestial at Outperform on Healthy Portfolio Growth

In a report published Friday, Imperial Capital analyst Mitchell B. Pinheiro initiated coverage on Hain Celestial HAIN with an Outperform rating and $80.00 price target.

In the report, Imperial Capital noted, “We are initiating coverage of The Hain Celestial Group, Inc. (HAIN) with an Outperform rating and a one-year price target of $80, about 13% above the recent share price. HAIN's exposure to the attractive natural and healthy subsegments of the packaged food industry should provide strong underpinnings for sustainable double-digit revenue and EPS over the next three years. HAIN is attractively positioned in the highly fragmented and rapidly growing $45bn natural and organic category. Led by its diversified product line and portfolio of leading authentic natural and organic brands, HAIN has the platform to outperform its packaged food peers. Continued expansion of the company's core natural retailer channel, increased shelf space in mainstream grocery and an improving economic backdrop provides a solid foundation for continued above-average revenue growth, further supported by HAIN's exposure to rapidly growing trends such as Gluten-Free and GMO-free. Following the recent transformative acquisitions in Europe, HAIN now has scale leverage that should lead to improved performance in this region. We believe HAIN is poised for strong margin expansion as brand scale grows and European operations generate average returns.”

Hain Celestial closed on Thursday at $70.71.