RBC upgrades Heineken back to Sector Perform, reverses earlier downgrade

RBC Capital analyst James Edwardes Jones upgraded Heineken (HEINY) to Sector Perform from Underperform with a price target of EUR 87, up from EUR 78, after having downgraded the shares to Underweight earlier this morning. The previous downgrade had been a function of a belief that Heineken is under-investing in marketing based on a comparison of marketing and sales expenditure between Heineken, AB InBev (BUD) and Carlsberg (CABGY). However, after discussions with Heineken, the analyst accepts this comparison “does not provide a complete picture owing to differences in disclosure,” RBC tells investors. However, the firm notes that its sales and margin estimates remain below consensus.