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Earnings highlights: Nike, Oracle, Kroger, Walgreen, Monsanto, KB Home ...

Here are some highlights from this past week's earnings coverage from BloggingStocks:

Continue reading Earnings highlights: Nike, Oracle, Kroger, Walgreen, Monsanto, KB Home ...

ConAgra only meets expectations, but is stock cheap?

Food processor ConAgra (NYSE: CAG), whose products share space at the supermarket with Kraft (NYSE: KFT), Kellogg (NYSE: K), and Campbell Soup (NYSE: CPB), is down in Thursday's afternoon trading by over 6% as I write this. The company released earnings for the fourth quarter earlier this morning. Sales increased 8% according to the press release. Adjusted earnings from continuing operations came in at 41 cents per diluted share. This result benefited from an extra week.

The per-share profit compared very favorably to the 18 cents earned in last year's similar quarter. However, in terms of analyst expectations, the performance was relatively unimpressive. Earnings.com indicates that 41 cents is what the market was looking for.

Continue reading ConAgra only meets expectations, but is stock cheap?

Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: DUK, ETFC, MOT, MTB, SBUX

Analyst Upgrades

  • Baird upgraded Starbucks (NASDAQ: SBUX) to Outperform from Neutral based on field research that indicates improving traffic trends and visibility from cost savings initiatives.
  • FBR Capital upgraded E*Trade (NASDAQ: ETFC) to Outperform from Underperform citing an attractive risk/reward following the company's capital raise and debt exchange commencement. The firm believes the worst is behind the company and has a $2 target on the stock.
  • Oppenheimer upgraded Sonic (NASDAQ: SONC) to Outperform from Perform on expectations demand trends will improve, leading to more normalized profitability.
  • Estee Lauder (NYSE: EL) was upgraded to Equal Weight from Underweight at Barclays.
  • Motorola (NYSE: MOT) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at BofA/Merrill.
  • ConAgra (NYSE: CAG) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at UBS.

Continue reading Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: DUK, ETFC, MOT, MTB, SBUX

The week in preview: End-of-quarter earnings expectations: Nike, Oracle, Walgreen ...

This week brings a small flurry of end-of-the-calendar-quarter earnings reports. And for the most part, the expectations of the analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters aren't very high. Companies expected to report declining earnings in the most recently concluded quarter include America's Car-Mart Inc. (NASDAQ: CRMT), Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. (NASDAQ: BBBY), ConAgra Foods Inc. (NYSE: CAG), Jabil Circuit Inc. (NYSE: JBL), Jackson Hewitt Tax Service Inc. (NYSE: JTX), Monsanto Co. (NYSE: MON), and Sonic Corp. (NASDAQ: SONC).

Continue reading The week in preview: End-of-quarter earnings expectations: Nike, Oracle, Walgreen ...

Del Monte's Q4 rocked -- buy or sell on the news?

Shares of Del Monte (NYSE: DLM) are up over 9% in early afternoon trading. And the volume is doing gangbusters business. The market is responding to the company's fourth-quarter results. The numbers did tell an overall fun story.

To begin with, revenues saw a big jump of 20%. As many news items have pointed out, price increases helped out. It should also be pointed out that the company's press release indicated that an extra week skewed things a bit. That's okay, though, it was still a good top-line performance. Earnings per share from continuing divisions came in at $0.35, which meant that Del Monte grew the bottom line by 75% (a couple elements affecting the perception of this profit expansion was a better tax situation linked to a positive change in California tax code and a $0.04 per-share transformation expense recorded in Q4 2008). Analysts said the company might earn $0.26 per share. That's a pleasant difference, isn't it?

Continue reading Del Monte's Q4 rocked -- buy or sell on the news?

Hormel's second quarter: A passing grade

Hormel Foods (NYSE: HRL) hasn't been a bad stock. Its recent performance is firmly in the green. Shares of Hormel have increased in value by 8% year-to-date. Over the last six months, the stock is up by roughly 16%.

Now we come to the food entity's second-quarter report, which was issued on Thursday. Do the numbers indicate that the stock will continue to trend higher? Or is now the time to sell?

Continue reading Hormel's second quarter: A passing grade

Earnings highlights: Best Buy, Walgreen, Tiffany, Research in Motion, KB Home and more

Here are some highlights from this past week's earnings coverage from BloggingStocks:

Continue reading Earnings highlights: Best Buy, Walgreen, Tiffany, Research in Motion, KB Home and more

Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: JCP, NVLS, CAG, RJF, PCG, STP, AMZN, MS, MSFT

Analyst upgrades:
  • JP Morgan upgraded J.C. Penney (NYSE: JCP) to Neutral from Underweight based on lower input costs, stabilization in home, lower markdown dollars, and valuation.
  • Oppenheimer upgraded Novellus (NASDAQ: NVLS) to Perform from Underperform as it believes Novellus' market share has stabilized and that the company is a potential acquisition target. The firm raised its price target to $20 from $9.
  • Bernstein upgraded ConAgra (NYSE: CAG) to Market Perform from Underperform citing strength in grains and moderating input costs.
  • ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) was raised to Buy from Neutral at Goldman.
  • China Housing (NASDAQ: CHLN) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Roth Capital.

Continue reading Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: JCP, NVLS, CAG, RJF, PCG, STP, AMZN, MS, MSFT

ConAgra beats estimates, sports a nice yield

Supermarket staple ConAgra Foods (NYSE: CAG) reported earnings for the third quarter on Thursday. Wall Street was bullish on the company since the bottom-line performance beat the expectations of analysts. Shares of the stock closed up over 9% at the end of yesterday's trading session.

Sales increased slightly over 6% and net income came in at 40 cents per diluted share on an adjusted basis. That was good for an 18% growth rate on the bottom line. Market analysts were only counting on 36 cents per share. So, you can see why the market was excited.

Continue reading ConAgra beats estimates, sports a nice yield

Kraft's latest quarter shows that even defensive names are suffering

Kraft (NYSE: KFT), a brand that shares the supermarket aisles with General Mills (NYSE: GIS), Kellogg (NYSE: K), Campbell Soup (NYSE: CPB) and ConAgra Foods (NYSE: CAG), was hammered on Wednesday.

The company's shares were down over 9% at the close of trading. Kraft's earnings release may have began with a headline that said earnings were strong for the year, but the market thought otherwise. And so did I.

Continue reading Kraft's latest quarter shows that even defensive names are suffering

Earnings preview: Can Kraft process growth in Q4?

Kraft (NYSE: KFT), whose supermarket colleagues include Kellogg (NYSE: K) and General Mills (NYSE: GIS), will be reporting Q4 results tomorrow. Analysts expect the foodstuffs company to report $0.44 per share. Unfortunately, Kraft did $0.44 per share in the year-ago period. So the market doesn't think Kraft will grow the bottom line.

Perhaps that will work in Kraft's favor. With expectations so low, management has the opportunity to surprise to the upside. The company has a decent record in beating Wall Street expectations. Kraft certainly has brands that people like. However, things are becoming more difficult for the consumer. Layoffs are everywhere, and job security has taken a sabbatical. Kraft needs to convince people to pay extra for a package of Kraft-branded cheese or a box of Nabisco Ritz crackers when there are less-expensive generic substitutes available.

Continue reading Earnings preview: Can Kraft process growth in Q4?

Cal-Maine drops on Q2 earnings miss

Egg producer Cal-Maine Foods Inc. ( NASDAQ: CALM) reported on Monday that its fiscal second-quarter earnings fell 32% to $27.2 million, or $1.14 per share. Revenue rose 7% from a year ago to $238.3 million.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial had on average expected a $1.26 per share profit. The company said sales to the institutional and food-service sector in the quarter ended Nov. 29 were slower while feed costs remained high. They added that those prices are likely to remain relatively high and volatile over the year ahead.

Shares fell Monday by $1.97, or 6.7%, and continued to fall in after-hours trading. The share price is still up 4.4% in the past three months, and about the same as it was a year ago.

Shares of rivals Kraft Foods Inc. (NYSE: KFT), Tyson Foods Inc. (NYSE: TSN), and ConAgra Foods Inc. (NYSE: CAG) also declined on Monday.

Based in Jackson, Miss., Cal-Maine is one of the largest fresh shell egg producers in the U.S., selling its products to supermarkets in 29 states. It has a market cap of $588.4 million and its operations include breeding facilities, hatcheries, wholesale distribution centers, feed mills, shell-egg production facilities, pullet-growing facilities, and processing and packing facilities.

Stocks in the news: AAPL, ADBE, GM, F, C, GIS, NKE, MS, BMY, CAG ... (update)

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) shares dropped over 4% in early premarket trading after the company late Tuesday 2009 would be the last year it would participate in the Macworld Expo and that CEO Steve Jobs would not give a keynote address in Apple's last appearance next month. This was immediately blown out of proportion, especially in the amount of reporting. Apple has been scaling back its participation in the Macworld Expos in the U.S. and around the world, so it didn't come as such a surprise. Also, immediately many suggested Jobs's absence may be related to his health. This speculation also appears to be unfounded or supported.
[Update: Oppenheimer downgraded AAPL to Perform from Outperform]
AAPL shares have been trading about 6.5% by midday.

General Motors Corp. (NYSE: GM), Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) and Chrysler were promist swift action from the White House. The action may be coming, but swift it isn't as the Bush administration faces competing pressures from lawmakers, including conservative Republicans who implored the White House not to use money from the $700 billion bailout TARP fund for the financial sector to aid carmakers. GM shares traded about 2% higher by midday, Ford's share were higher too.

Adobe Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: ADBE) jumped 12.5% in after-hours trading Tuesday after the software maker reported quarterly results and an earnings target in line with its reduced forecast, but at its top end and above analyst expectations. ADBE shares switched direction and traded 2% lower by midday.

Continue reading Stocks in the news: AAPL, ADBE, GM, F, C, GIS, NKE, MS, BMY, CAG ... (update)

Options Update: VIX trading below moving average, suggesting less market risk

Volatility Index S&P 500 Options-VIX at 54.57; 10-day moving average is 59.89

ConAgra (NYSE: CAG) closed at $14.48 Friday. CAG is scheduled to report Q2 EPS on December 17. CAG January option implied volatility of 47 is above its 26-week average of 38 according to Track Data, suggesting larger price movement.

Nike-(NYSE: NKE) closed at $49.37 Friday. NKE is expected to report Q2 on December 17. Thomas Weisel has a $74 price target on NKE. NKE January option implied volatility of 64 is above its 26-week average of 49 according to Track Data, suggesting larger price fluctuations.

General Mills (NYSE: GIS) is scheduled to report Q2 EPS on December 17. GIS January option implied volatility of 42 is above its 26-week average of 35 according to Track Data, suggesting larger price movement.

Option Update is provided by Stock Specialist Paul Foster of theflyonthewall.com

Kraft's Q3: A passing grade

Kraft (NYSE: KFT), whose supermarket competitors include Campbell Soup (NYSE: CPB), ConAgra (NYSE: CAG), and Kellogg (NYSE: K), reported results for Q3 on Wednesday, and although they weren't stunning, they were apparently good enough for investors, as the stock was higher after the release.>

Of course, today is a funny day, with the Fed decision on rates and all. Still, Kraft proves that it continues to chug along with its popular brands and pricing strategies.

The food company said that net organic revenue grew by 7%. Price increases helped out quite a bit. Unfortunately, management said that volume decreased. That's not great news, as it shows that consumers are reacting to the costs. Adjusted earnings per share, which exclude the significant effects of a gain from a divestiture, came in at $0.44.

According to Melly Alazraki's Before the Bell article, the bottom line only met expectations. Furthermore, the current adjusted earnings performance represented a 0% growth rate. Ouch, Kraft! And then we come to the guidance. It's sort of good, sort of neutral. Management raised its guidance for organic net revenue growth for the year by 1% to 7%, but the outlook for adjusted earnings per share remains the same at $1.88. I suppose this is really more neutral than good since it's the bottom line that most investors care about.

Continue reading Kraft's Q3: A passing grade

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S&P 500-3.55879.13

Last updated: July 11, 2009: 04:41 AM

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