Courtesy of Benzinga.
Consumer products company Edgewell Personal Care Co (NYSE:EPC) in May acquired Harry’s for $1.37 billion to complement its portfolio of shaving items. The negative investor reaction gives investors an opportunity to capitalize in the coming quarters, according to SunTrust Robinson Humphrey.
The Analyst
SunTrus’s William Chappell, Jr. upgraded Edgewell Personal Care from Hold to Buy with a price target lifted from $35 to $40.
The Thesis
Edgewell’s acquisition announcement prompted a one-day selloff of 16% in the stock and is now down more than 30%, Chappell wrote in the note. However, the combination “isn’t as crazy as it looks” as Edgewell needed to make a move to fix its “broken” wet shave business. In fact, part of Edgewell’s market share losses since 2016 was at the expense of Harry’s.
Chappell said Harry’s doesn’t offer a substantially superior product or a significantly lower price point. The company does have a much better marketing and distribution plan, especially compared to Edgewell’s core Schick brand which is nearly a full century old.
In fact, no marketing refresh at Edgewell would ever regain lost market share so it needed Harry’s business to “jump start” its business. As such, the potential for market share, profitability, and free cash flow improvements more than offsets any near-term concerns.
Price Action
Shares of Edgewell Personal Care were trading higher by 4.5% at $29.26 Monday afternoon.
Related Links:
Edgewell’s $1.37B Acquisition Of Harry’s: What You Need To Know
10 Biggest Price Target Changes For Monday
Latest Ratings for EPC
Date | Firm | Action | From | To |
---|---|---|---|---|
Jul 2019 | Upgrades | Hold | Buy | |
Apr 2019 | Maintains | Market Perform | Market Perform | |
Feb 2019 | Upgrades | Underperform | Neutral |
View More Analyst Ratings for EPC
View the Latest Analyst Ratings
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