Jefferies Maintains a Hold Rating on Cott Corp


Jefferies analyst Kevin Grundy maintained a Hold rating on Cott Corp (NYSE: COT) today and set a price target of $17. The company’s shares closed yesterday at $14.17.

Grundy commented:

“COT delivered relatively in-line 1Q, incl. solid +2.9% org sales (revs -0.6% vs. Street), better GM% vs. Street, and $64.5M of EBITDA (-1% miss), w/ the co. modestly raising guidance for recent deals. As the new co. takes shape (legacy biz disposal, Crystal Rock acq., etc.), another qtr of consistent delivery of results should help drive the shares. Given recent stock underperformance, we’d expect a positive stock reaction on the relatively in-line print. Relatively in-line 1Q as new biz takes shape: Cott’s revs of $561M came in relative in-line vs. expectations (-0.6% vs. Street) on solid +2.9% org sales growth (vs. JEF +3.5%). Gross margins of 48.8% were +220 bps vs. Street, though higher SG&A drove a modest -0.8% EBITDA miss ($64.5M vs. Street $65M).”

According to TipRanks.com, Grundy is a 4-star analyst with an average return of 7.1% and a 59.0% success rate. Grundy covers the Consumer Goods sector, focusing on stocks such as Coca-Cola European Partners, Edgewell Personal Care, and Monster Beverage Corp.

Cott Corp has an analyst consensus of Hold, with a price target consensus of $16.83.

Find more picks by Best Performing Analysts >>

Based on Cott Corp’s latest earnings report for the quarter ending December 31, the company posted quarterly revenue of $571 million and quarterly net profit of $17.1 million. In comparison, last year the company earned revenue of $896 million and had a GAAP net loss of $36.4 million.

TipRanks has tracked 36,000 company insiders and found that a few of them are better than others when it comes to timing their transactions. See which 3 stocks are most likely to make moves following their insider activities.

Cott Corp. (Canada) engages in the manufacture, process, and distribution of beverages. It operates through the following business segments: Route Based Srevices; Coffee, Tea, and Extract Solutions; and All Other. The Route Based Srevices segment includes Aquaterra and Eden businesses.

Stay Ahead of Everyone Else

Get The Latest Stock News Alerts