J.P. Morgan Maintains Neutral On Cott Corp (COT)

J.P. Morgan released a research report today reiterating its Neutral rating on Cott Corp COT.

"COT released Q410 comparable EPS of $0.08, in line with our estimate and $0.03 below the Bloomberg consensus, "J.P. Morgan writes. "Top line was better than our forecast, driven by slightly better volume on the NA legacy business and better international sales. On the margin side, GM contraction of 25 bps was in line, as was the 5% OM. Looking ahead, in the near term we continue to expect margin pressures from cost inflation with limited visibility on pricing health in the CSD and juice categories."

J.P. Morgan later adds, "We are maintaining our $0.79 estimate for 2011 and would expect consensus to move down from $0.89, pre-Q4 earnings. While there is risk to our gross margin estimate (50 bps of contraction), faster debt paydown along with faster synergy generation should help offset some of the incremental inflation."

Shares of COT closed yesterday at $8.37.