Kimberly-Clark Corporation (NYSE: KMB), a consumer products entity whose colleagues include Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG) and Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ), is up today on third-quarter results. At the time of this writing, my screen was showing shares of Kimberly-Clark higher by a little under 6%.
According to the corporate press release, sales declined 1.7%. Not a great start, but Kimberly-Clark highlighted a better metric: organic sales increased 3%, helped along by price increases. Luckily, sales volume didn't fare too badly; they were essentially flat.
Now, let's get to the good stuff. Income went up 37%, coming in at $1.40 per share versus an adjusted $1.02 per share in the year-ago period. According to Earnings.com, Wall Street was projecting $1.13 per share.
I'm sad to report that, according to this Reuters article, the H1N1 virus helped Kimberly-Clark in Q3. Apparently, a lot of the company's face masks were sold in response to the pandemic. I'm sad to report this because, well, as you can imagine, who the heck wants H1N1 floating around in the air? Nevertheless, I'm sure some shareholders are happy about the benefit.
Looking through the release, I have to say that Kimberly-Clark appears to be in great shape. Cash flow from operations is up. Capital spending is down. Dividends are healthy. And guidance couldn't be better. Furthermore, during the intraday session, shares of the company hit a fresh 52-week high. They may or may not close at that level, but let's not ignore the significance of such a move, especially when volume is thrown into the analysis.
I wouldn't buy Kimberly-Clark today. Maybe not even tomorrow. But once shares do some retreating, I'd say they'd be a valuable candidate as an investment idea. And as Joseph Lazzaro recently mentioned, Kimberly-Clark should continue to reap rewards from emerging markets around the globe.
Disclosure: I don't own any company mentioned; positions can change without notice.
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