M&A Speculation May Have Driven Hain Celestial Valuation Too High

BMO Capital Markets downgraded shares of Hain Celestial Group Inc (NASDAQ: HAIN), as it sees limited upside to the M&A-driven valuation. The company is rumored to be a takeover target, with potential suitors including French dairy giant Danone SA (ADR) (OTC: DANOY).

As such, the firm downgraded the shares of Hain Celestial from Outperform to Market Perform and lowered its price target from $48 to $44. The firm attributed the price target reduction to its view that further downside to Hain's current 2017 EBITDA target of $350 million to $375 million is likely.

At time of writing, shares of Hain Celestial were sliding 3.16 percent to $38.26.

See also: Hain Celestial Has An Activist: How The Narrative Changes Now

Analyst Amit Sharma believes the current valuation adequately reflected its challenging operating outlook. Further upside, according to the analyst, is contingent largely on M&A prospects.

That said, Sharma believes the prospect of M&A appears dim despite Engaged Capital's addition to the company's board, given the ongoing sales weakness and the challenging retail pricing environment.

"Moreover, although many Hain's brands have attractive acquisition attributes, we see little, if any, likelihood of a breakup of its U.S. portfolio to enable a "sale by brands," the firm said.

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