Healthy internal sales growth, driven by consumer demand for natural food products, and the management's focus on improving profit margins bode well for Hain Celestial Group Inc.'s (HAIN) outlook.
In addition, the management's acquisition strategy adds incremental growth to the company's organic sales growth. Hain Celestial has been successful implementing price increases with the most recent having been realized in June. The Buy rating is maintained.
The company enjoys pricing flexibility with prices having been raised over nine times in the past four years. The price increases help combat the rising costs of both ingredients and fuel. Also, the management is focused on improving profitability through new product introductions, cost cutting programs, another SKU (stock keeping unit) Rationalization Program, and new co-packing arrangements.
Hain Celestial Group is currently selling at 17.7 times trailing 12 month EPS, reflecting the company's higher-than-average growth profile, given Hain's exposure to the natural food category. Net sales have grown at a 17.7% five year compound annual growth rate (CAGR). Over the last few years, the stock has traded in a wide P/E range of 30 to 17. The target price is $35, which is a 25 P/E multiple on 12 month trailing earnings.
Read the full analyst report on HAIN
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