Barclays started coverage of PZ Cussons with an ‘overweight’ rating in the expectation that newish chief executive Jonathan Myers will shake up the soap maker.
Myers joined the maker of Carex and Imperial Leather in May and is the company’s first external boss. He is likely to address non-core businesses and increase brand investment to revive growth, Barclays said.
Carex is the UK market leader in the UK for hand wash and sanitiser. Increased demand for both products at schools, shopping malls and other professional premises will drive growth, Barclays said.
In addition, the share price undervalues Cussons’ Europe/Americas business and appears to assign no value to Africa at all, the bank said.
Barclays set a 300p price target for Cussons’ shares “given leadership positions in its categories, best-in-class operating margins and exposure to hygiene”. Cussons shares rose 2.4% to 255.5p at 13:55 GMT.
