Berenberg upgrades L'Oreal on growth inflection
BUZZ-Berenberg upgrades L'Oreal on growth inflection May 28 (Reuters) - ** Berenberg upgrades French cosmetics maker L'Oreal OREP.PA to "buy" from "hold", saying growth is at an inflection point in 2026
** Broker lifts PT by 16% to €435, implying a 13% upside, and notes the stock trades at a 15% discount to its 10-year average valuation
** Berenberg remains "constructive on the beauty industry's continued dynamism" and expects L'Oréal to outperform the 4% global market growth in 2026
** Notes acceleration in market share in early 2026 and raises 2026 EPS forecasts by 2%
** Says the company will be debt-free in 2028 and capital deployment options such as a Galderma takeover or buying back Nestle's 20% stake could offer at least 10% in further upside
** It adds late-2026 events, including a capital markets day, will showcase how AI is shaping the business and underline its strong positioning
** Out of 27 analysts that cover L'Oreal, 14 rate the stock "strong buy" or "buy," ten rate "hold" and three rate it "strong sell" or "sell" - LSEG data
(Reporting by Jerome Terroy)