BUZZ-Citi sees Australia's Coles close sales gap with rival Woolworths
** Citi says it prefers Coles Groupover Woolworthsand expects the gap between their like-for-like sales growth to narrow
** Says outlook on COL for both inflation and volumes for the rest of FY22 is positive, partly due to supply chain cost pressures
** Australian supermarket chain Coles on Thursday reported a 1.6% rise in Q1 sales [nL4N2RN5P7]
** Citi adds that improved online offering and shift to shopping centre visitations from local standalone supermarkets will further aid in narrowing the gap
** Sees COL well-placed for the Christmas period with in-line quarterly sales growth
** Broker cuts FY22 EBIT estimates on COL by 3.1% to price in higher COVID-19 costs; retains PT at A$18.9 and "buy" rating
** Four of 13 analysts rate COL "buy" or higher, 8 "hold" and 1 "sell"; their median PT is A$18.30 – Refinitiv data
** Stock down 4.3% this year, as of last close
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