TreeHouse Foods Gets a Hold Rating from Susquehanna


Susquehanna analyst Pablo Zuanic maintained a Hold rating on TreeHouse Foods (NYSE: THS) today and set a price target of $40. The company’s shares closed yesterday at $45.04.

Zuanic commented:

“THS is up a massive 23% since the company reported 1Q18 and new CEO Steve Oakland reaffirmed the 2020 guidance of 300bp of EBIT margin expansion. The rally certainly was not about 1Q results (EPS of 18c on 10-20c guidance, sales down -3%, and gross margins down 200bp), or about 2Q guidance (20-30c, with consensus then at 34c), or about FY18 guidance being reaffirmed (based on the 2Q guidance range, 2H is slated to contribute 80% of this year’s EPS). No, the upside is all attributable to a well-respected (just arrived) CEO providing high-level color how the 2020 target can be achieved (noting future pricing should help offset input cost pressures, arguing THS will not need to pass on the efficiency gains, and showing conviction with many of the plans already in place to deliver the 2020 targets).”

According to TipRanks.com, Zuanic is a 3-star analyst with an average return of 3.7% and a 51.4% success rate. Zuanic covers the Consumer Goods sector, focusing on stocks such as Coca-Cola European Partners, Constellation Brands Inc, and Anheuser-Busch Inbev Sa.

Currently, the analyst consensus on TreeHouse Foods is Hold and the average price target is $41.63, representing a -7.6% downside.

In a report issued on May 7, SunTrust Robinson also maintained a Hold rating on the stock with a $40 price target.

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Based on TreeHouse Foods’ latest earnings release for the quarter ending March 31, the company reported a quarterly GAAP net loss of $34.1 million. In comparison, last year the company had a net profit of $28.2 million.

Based on the recent corporate insider activity of 42 insiders, corporate insider sentiment is negative on the stock. Earlier this month, David Vermylen, a Director at THS sold 51,600 shares for a total of $2,263,152.

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.

TreeHouse Foods, Inc. is a food manufacturer servicing primarily in retail grocery and foodservice channels. Its products include non dairy powdered creamers and sweeteners; condensed, ready to serve, and powdered soups; refrigerated and shelf stable salad dressings and sauces; powdered drink mixes; single serve hot beverages; specialty teas; hot and cold cereals; macaroni and cheese, skillet dinners and other value added side dishes and salads; salsa and Mexican sauces; jams and pie fillings; pickles and related products; aseptic sauces; and liquid non dairy creamer. The company operates through three business segments: North American Retail Grocery, Food Away From Home and Industrial and Export. The North American Retail Grocery segment sells branded and private label products to customers within the United States and Canada. These products include non-dairy powdered creamers, condensed and ready to serve soups, broths and gravies, salad dressings and sauces, pickles and related products, Mexican sauces, jams and pie fillings, aseptic products, liquid non-dairy creamer, powdered drinks, hot cereals, macaroni and cheese and skillet dinners. The Food Away From Home segment sells non-dairy powdered creamers pickles and related products, Mexican sauces, refrigerated dressings, aseptic products and hot cereals to foodservice customers, including restaurant chains and food distribution companies, within the United States and Canada. The Industrial and Export segment includes co pack business and non dairy powdered creamer sales to industrial customers for use in industrial applications, including products for repackaging in portion control packages and for use as ingredients by other food manufacturers, pickles and related products, Mexican sauces, infant feeding products and refrigerated dressings. Export sales are primarily to industrial customers outside of North America. The company was founded on January 25, 2005 and is headquartered in Oak Brook, IL.

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