We are upgrading Valspar Corporation (VAL) shares to Outperform with a target price of $32.00. The company’s solid results and robust margin gains over the past few quarters reflect the dramatic raw material cost reduction, increasing product prices and productivity gains.
We expect the company’s earnings momentum to remain in place over the next few quarters driven by volume increases in the Paint category. Robust growth in China industrial and consumer activity as well as structural and feedstock cost relief are expected to fuel margin expansion for Coating.
Not only were Valspar’s recent quarterly earnings ahead of the Zacks Consensus Estimate, but the company has also raised guidance for the rest of the year.Zacks Investment Research
