Church & Dwight Co. Inc. (CHD) PT Lowered to $57 at Deutsche Bank
Deutsche Bank lowered its price target on Church & Dwight Co. Inc. (NYSE: CHD) to $57.00 (from $61.00) while maintaining a Buy rating.
Analyst Steve Powers commented, "CHD outperformed the market by ~+650 bps today, as the company exceeded 4Q organic growth expectations (+3.4% vs. consensus of +2.6%), and provided a stable FY18 gross margin outlook against a backdrop of fear (given elevated input costs and pricing pressure that have strained HPC results this earnings season). While headline FY18 EPS guidance of roughly +16-18% ($2.24-$2.28) only translates to +4-5% excluding the benefits of tax reform, this includes ~+40 bps (per CHD) of incremental investment in marketing and SG&A pulled forward from future years to ensure stability of the company's long-term ~+8% "evergreen" EPS growth algorithm."