Greene King Share News (GNK)

(ShareCast News) - Goldman Sachs reinstated its 'buy' rating on Greene King with a 1,060p price target, saying it expects the company to deliver consistent earnings growth given its exposure to accelerating UK consumer discretionary spending, execution of synergies post its Spirit acquisition and investment in its estate.The bank also said it reckons earnings before interest and tax margin expansion from consolidation should more than offset cost headwinds, particularly increased minimum wage inflation due to the introduction of the UK National Living Wage from April next year.GS expects the company to achieve £37.5m in synergies from its acquisition of Spirit over the next three years, around £12m of which will be from a reduction in corporate overhead and £26m from procurement savings.It noted that the stock trades at a discount to pub peers despite above-average growth.It added that while Greene King's returns are slightly below peers, this differential should continue to compress over time.Goldman also highlighted the stock's attractive dividend yield and 25% upside to the bank's 12-month price target."Greene King's leverage is already the lowest of its asset-based pub peers, and we expect it to fall further, with excess cash being used largely for dividends," said GS.At 1355 BST, Greene King shares were 0.6% higher at 318.50p.