STXNEWS LATAM-BTG Pactual sets new Brazil's Cosan target on strong performance

Analysts at BTG Pactual Group on Tuesday set a new price target for shares in Cosan SA, Brazil's largest sugar and ethanol producer, and upped their earnings estimates for this and next fiscal years, citing strong operational performance and the benefits of its vertical-integration structure.

The new price target of 52 reais after reducing the so-called holding discount - or the onus often attributed to investment holding companies with different business arms - by half to 5 percent. BTG Pactual raised its estimates for revenue and earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization by 2 percent and 5 percent for the 2013 and 2014 fiscal years, respectively.

"We are anticipating unprecedentedly strong upstream and downstream results, confirming our longstanding optimism on its integrated business platform," analysts Thiago Duarte and Enrico Grimaldi wrote in a client note.