Goldman Sachs Upgrades Church & Dwight (CHD)

Goldman Sachs is upgrading shares of Church & Dwight Co., Inc. CHD to a Buy with a $81 price target on shares. In the note sent to clients, Goldman Sachs writes, "We upgrade Church & Dwight to Buy from Neutral, with 15-20% upside to our $81, 12-m price target. This is an upward revision story. We expect share acceleration in gross profit growth to drive 12%-13% EPS growth in 2011 that is 200 bp above consensus. Pricing should climb on reduced promotion, which we are now seeing in key categories like laundry. Volume is supported by share gains in a recovering industry. There is potential for further earnings upside for CHD if it deploys its balance sheet. We raise our estimates by 1-4% to $4.00/ $4.46/ $5.06 for 2010/2011/2012 from $3.97/$4.37/$4.84 to reflect stronger US sales and gross profit growth." Shares of CHD lost 6 cents yesterday to close at $69.09.