UPDATE: Goldman Sachs Adds Hershey to Conviction Buy List

Goldman Sachs has upgraded Hershey (NYSE: HSY) from Buy to Conviction List Buy with a price target of $76.

Goldman Sachs observes, “We add HSY to the Americas Conviction List as we raise incremental consumer staples exposure to the consumer sleeve of our Conviction List. HSY offers best-in-class visibility to outsized revenue and earnings growth over the next two years. Our FY13/FY14E EPS of $3.64/$3.98 are 3%/5% ahead of the Street. Our path to nearly $4 in 2014 anticipates abatement of input cost inflation in FY13, a return to normalized category growth in North America next year and continued momentum in HSY's emerging markets. Incremental upside could stem from (1) cost deflation rather than stagnation and (2) aggressive cash deployment.”

HSY closed at $67.57 on Tuesday.