Morgan Stanley Reports on Heinz

Morgan Stanley commented on Heiz HNZ in a report released yesterday. In the report, Morgan Stanley was positive in its assessment of the company. Morgan Stanley writes, "We are reiterating our Overweight rating on Heinz following the company's F4Q results and Analyst Day in NY. We are maintaining our F2012 EPS estimate of $3.40, slightly ahead of the high end of the $3.29-$3.39 guidance range introduced today. We believe that Heinz is well-positioned due to the EM opportunity. EMS should allow Heinz to deliver above leading high quality top line growth (EMs expected to grow at 15+% rate and be 20% of sales mix in F12 - i.e., Heinz can deliver on F12 organic sales guidance even if DM growth remains flat - and to be clear, we do expect positive organic growth in DMs). Additionally, Heinz demonstrated that Foodstar and Quero are well on track to deliver growth and complement the Heinz portfolio– specifically, it detailed 5 key priorities for Foodstar in F2012 and noted Quero's growth profile and the ability for the two companies to use complementary knowledge to drive growth." Morgan Stanley currently has an Overweight rating on Heinz and a price target of $56. Shares of HNZ closed at $53.82 Thursday, up from $53.10 at the opening bell.