Benchmark Maintains Buy on The Pantry After New CEO Named

The Benchmark Company has published a research report on The Pantry (NASDAQ: PTRY) after the company named its new CEO, Dennis G. Hatchell.

In the report, Benchmark writes, "The Pantry Named Dennis G. Hatchell as President and Chief Executive Officer, effective March 5, 2012. The hiring of Dennis as CEO, could bring a new execution strategy, but we believe Dennis should be on board with the core of the Board's current execution strategy. We believe over the next couple years, The Pantry could improve its store base, which could lead to years of revenue growth. With a conservative stance, we maintain our 2012E EPS, and our price target of $20.00, based on 6.5x our 2012 EBITDA estimate."

Benchmark maintains its Buy rating and $20 price target on The Pantry, which is currently trading down $0.15 from yesterday's $12.16 closing price.