Ahead Of The Bell: Coca-Cola Enterprises

NEW YORK (AP) — A Goldman Sachs analyst on Wednesday added Coca-Cola Enterprises Inc., the biggest bottler of Coke drinks, to its "Conviction Buy" list.

Analyst Judy Hong said the company was added to the list to capture any benefit from a resurgence in demand for carbonated soft drinks.

"We believe favorable soda dynamics and commodity deflation set the stage for CCE to post a few years of above-algorithm 10 percent to 12 percent earnings per share growth," Hong wrote in a note to investors.

Since autumn, Coca-Cola Co. and PepsiCo Inc., the two biggest soda makers, refocused their marketing on soft drinks. Sodas had fallen out of favor because of health concerns but the recession made them more attractive than bottled water and juice drinks as consumers looked for ways to save.

Shares of the Atlanta-based bottler closed Wednesday at $16.85. They have traded in a 52-week range of $7.25 to $21.80.