Jefferies upgrades Unilever to 'hold'

10th Jul 2015 10:02

Jefferies upgraded Unilever to 'hold' from 'underperform' and lifted its price target to 2,730p from 2,520p ahead of the company's first-half results on 23 July.Jefferies expects a slow second quarter, but said that after that it should get better, with top line for the full year at the top of the guidance range and the chance of a beat on margins.Against this backdrop, the shares have fallen by 10% since the April high, it noted."Delivery remains below the best peers and our caution on a leadership 'interregnum' remains. But we can no longer argue credibly for an underperform rating."It raised its full-year 2015 margin forecast to +40 basis points from +30 basis and said it could even be better than this, with flat commodities, cost savings and pricing softening.Downside risks would include the appreciation of the euro, a further deceleration in markets and a struggle in the food business.At 1009 BST shares were up 2% at 2,876p.