The investment bank, UBS Warburg, has raised its earnings per share estimates for the Canadian soft drinks producer, Cott Corp., stating that it believes the company will gain market share this year at the expense of the established soft drinks majors.
UBS Warburg has raised its recommendation on Cott shares from “neutral” to “buy” and increased its earnings per share forecast from US$0.96 to US$0.98 for 2003 and from US$1.12 to US$1.15 for 2004.
Caroline Levy, analyst at UBS Warburg, said she expects Cott, the largest producer of own label soft drinks in the world, to move towards the bank’s share price target of US$22 this year as its revenue growth accelerates, with consumers gravitating towards private-label brands, and on the continued contribution from its new Mexican operations and Cott’s major own label deal with Wal-Mart.
