Goldman Sachs Stays Neutral on Brown-Forman After 2Q Earnings

Goldman Sachs has published a research report on Brown-Forman

after the company reported its 2Q earnings. In the report, Goldman Sachs writes, "Brown-Forman reported 2Q2012 EPS of $1.09 which was in line with consensus but 2c below our $1.11 estimate. The miss vs. our estimate was entirely due to below-the-line items ($-0.04 in other expenses and tax rate), while EBIT beat our estimate by $0.02. Underlying sales growth came in stronger than expected at 10% vs. our estimate of 8.4%, with reported sales growth of 12% positively impacted by distributor inventory build ahead of price increases. BFB lowered its 2012 EPS guidance to $3.45-3.70 from $3.45-3.85 due to a more negative impact from currency." Goldman Sachs maintains its Neutral rating on Brown-Forman, which closed yesterday at $80.74.