Deutsche Bank Sees Difficult Environment For Kraft Foods Group

In a report published Friday, Deutsche Bank analyst Eric Katzman reiterated a Hold rating and $59.00 price target on Kraft Foods Group (NASDAQ: KRFT).

In the report, Deutsche Bank noted, “We see a difficult environment for Kraft, reflected in deteriorating market share vs. the need to raise prices to offset higher inputs (dairy, protein, coffee). A 3.5% div. yield likely limits downside and we believe LT goals are logical, but a modest dividend increase (about 5%) likely signals 2014 EPS growth at the low end of mgmt guidance. Kraft will report results on Wed, Oct 29th. We modestly lower our est and expect opr EPS (excl. all items incl. mark-to-market and restructuring charges) of $0.77 vs. $0.70 year-ago. We now look for sales +2% ($4.5 bil) with EBIT up 12% to $822 mil.”

Kraft Foods Group closed on Thursday at $56.54.