Deutsche Bank has hiked its target price for Marmite to Flora spreads consumer products giant Unilever PLC (LON:ULVR) to 4,150p and reiterated its ‘buy’ rating on the stock following last week’s bid excitement and strategic review move.
In a note to clients, the German bank’s analysts said: “Last week's attempted and subsequently rebuffed bid from Kraft Heinz has been a clear wake-up call for Unilever management “.
They noted that later in the week, the Anglo-Dutch firm announced plans for a “comprehensive review of options available to accelerate delivery of value”, the result of which will be announced in early April.
The analysts said: “We believe that these options will be both, operational and structural in nature.”
They added: “Structurally, we see multiple possibilities, ranging from the long-awaited exit from Spreads (6% of sales) to a truly transformational deal, which might well include a very sizeable acquisition … and/ or a separation of HPC and Food”.
The analysts concluded: “Given the greater probability of accelerated shareholder value creation, we are raising our price target.”
The bank’s previous target for Unilever’s UK shares was 3,600p.
In early morning trading, the FTSE 100-listed firm’s shares were changing hands at 3,820.5p, down 10.5p.