11:25 AM EST, 03/08/2024 (MT Newswires) -- CFRA, an independent research provider, has provided MT Newswires with the following research alert. Analysts at CFRA have summarized their opinion as follows:

We raise our 12-month target to $45 from $40, based on a FY 25 (Apr.) P/E of 23.7x, a justified discount to its mean five-year forward P/E of 25.1x given expectations for sluggish growth. We raise our EPS views to $1.85 from $1.75 for FY 24 and to $1.90 from $1.80 for FY 25. FIZZ posted Jan-Q EPS of $0.42 vs. $0.37 (+14%), a penny ahead of consensus. FIZZ's net sales rose 0.6% to $270.1M ($3.8M below consensus) and gross margin expanded 50 bps to 35.9% (100 bps below consensus). FIZZ said that while its average sales price was up 0.9%, case volume declined 0.7%. The bottom-line beat was driven by a lower-than-expected tax rate, as both revenue and gross margin disappointed. Consequently, FIZZ shares are trading down ~4%. We raise our opinion to Hold, as we believe the company might declare a special dividend soon - as it has done periodically over the past several years - based on an assessment of its balance sheet. Fundamentally, catalysts remain difficult to identify and the stock's valuation appears fair.