Berenberg Upgrades Heineken Forecasts After H1 Organic Growth Beat; Buy Rating Kept

06:31 AM EDT, 08/06/2026 (MT Newswires) -- Berenberg upgraded its earnings forecasts for Heineken (HEIA.AS) after the company's organic growth during the first half came in ahead of expectations. In a research note published Thursday, analysts said the Dutch brewer's first-half organic volume growth of 0.4% and organic net sales growth of 2.7% surpassed consensus estimates of a 0.2% decline and 2.4% increase. Organic operating profit for the period also climbed 6.7%, above the consensus of a 3.3% rise, with Asia-Pacific, Africa and the Middle East leading the "strong beat." "We view Heineken as the fastest-growing brewer from a top-line perspective, given its optimal geographical footprint. This beneficial footprint, combined with Heineken's latent cost-savings potential, can be highly potent for earnings growth, in our view. As volume growth improves, we believe that Heineken should be capable of consistently delivering high-single-digit earnings growth, which is not reflected in its EV/EBIT valuation of 11.9x for FY27," analysts said. As such, the research firm raised its earnings estimates by 2.5% for 2026 and 2.3% for 2027. It also expects Heineken to record a 1.1% volume growth in 2026, with an increase in organic net sales and organic operating profit of 3.3% and 5.5%, respectively, alongside a 10% annual EPS growth. Berenberg maintained the stock's buy rating and price target of 101 euros.