ConAgra Foods (CAG), a company that produces packaged edibles for supermarkets and whose colleagues include Campbell Soup (CPB) and Kraft (KFT), didn't have the kind of quarter you look at and say, "Way to go, management!" It was a boring, steady kind of reporting period.

For the fiscal third quarter, total sales were kind of flat, down a minuscule 0.9%. Earnings from continuing operations on an adjusted basis rose 10% to 44 cents per diluted share. Compared to estimates, that 44-cent stat came in as expected, nothing more, nothing less.

Continue reading ConAgra Produces an Acceptable Quarter

ConAgra Produces an Acceptable Quarter originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 26 Mar 2010 14:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

General Mills (GIS), whose colleagues at the food markets include Kellogg (K), Kraft Foods (KFT), and Campbell Soup (CPB), performed well in the fiscal third quarter. On an adjusted basis, net income increased 23% to 97 cents per diluted share. This beat estimates by four pennies.

General Mills was able to expand the gross margin by keeping an eye on efficiency opportunities and optimizing the overall quality of the inventory mix. Of course, there was a little luck involved, too, as commodity costs weren't as expensive as they previously had been. It's always good when that happens.

Continue reading General Mills Reports Impressive Income Increase in Q3

General Mills Reports Impressive Income Increase in Q3 originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 25 Mar 2010 08:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Campbell Soup's (CPB) second-quarter earnings weren't met with enthusiasm. At the time of this writing, shares of the food concern, which operates in the same industry as General Mills (GIS) and Kraft (KFT), were down 1.6% in afternoon trading. Although growth was achieved during the reporting period, it apparently wasn't enough to satisfy investors.

According to the press release, Campbell made 74 cents per share. This number is a penny ahead of estimates. It is also representative of a growth rate of 16%. The top line, however, was exciting not in the least. It increased 1%. Worse, the all-important U.S. soup sales category contracted by 8%.

Continue reading Campbell's Soup Didn't Impress Market with Q2 Report

Campbell's Soup Didn't Impress Market with Q2 Report originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 22 Feb 2010 15:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Bright and early this morning, Campbell Soup Co. (CPB) lowered its forecast for fiscal 2010 sales. The company now expects sales to grow 2.5% to 3.5% during the current fiscal year, down from its previous projection for sales growth of 4% to 5%. However, earnings for 2010 are still expected to rise 9% to 11% on an annualized basis from $2.21 per share in fiscal 2009.

Campbell also announced this morning that it's launching "a comprehensive plan to boost the performance of its condensed soup portfolio" in the U.S. More than 60% of the company's condensed line will be spruced up with product improvements, sodium reductions, updated packaging, and a fresh marketing approach.

Continue reading Campbell Soup Slips After Slashing Guidance

Campbell Soup Slips After Slashing Guidance originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 17 Feb 2010 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

ConAgra Foods (NYSE: CAG) issued Q1 numbers on Tuesday. The market wasn't too impressed by them, but they weren't bad, actually. Net sales were lackluster, I'll admit. They dropped about 3%. Earnings per share from continuing operations, on the other hand, really shined. They increased well over 60% to 38 cents. Net income from continuing operations on a dollar basis soared over 50%.

Even better, that 38-cents-per-share statistic was firmly ahead of Wall Street expectations. According to our earnings preview, analysts were looking for 34 cents per share.

Continue reading ConAgra increases profit in the first quarter

ConAgra increases profit in the first quarter originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 23 Sep 2009 08:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

H.J. Heinz Company (NYSE: HNZ), a food company that shares space at the supermarket with products from Kraft Foods, Inc. (NYSE: KFT), ConAgra (NYSE: CAG), and Campbell Soup (NYSE: CPB), issued first-quarter data on Thursday. Even though the effect of currency translations continues to put a cloud over the top-line performance, management did end up beating earnings expectations.

Net sales came in flat, and net income was 67 cents per share. Analysts were expecting 5 cents less, according to Earnings.com. Shareholders should be happy about that. When I covered Heinz's last quarter, I noted that expectations were essentially beat by a penny.

Continue reading Heinz wins analyst game in Q1, generates higher level of cash

Heinz wins analyst game in Q1, generates higher level of cash originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 20 Aug 2009 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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?

ConAgra only meets expectations, but is stock cheap? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 25 Jun 2009 15:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Heinz (NYSE: HNZ) is set to report Q4 data before the opening bell on Thursday, May 28. How will the company do? And by that I mean, will it beat the earnings expectation?

In general, that's what the market looks for. Sometimes the market cares more about beating the analyst game than it does about profit growth. Might sound strange, but that's what you see from time to time. Of course, even when a company beats, it may not make much of a difference when it comes to price action (I'll get to that in the last paragraph).

I think Heinz will indeed beat on the bottom line. I'm going by recent history here. According to Earnings.com, Heinz is expected to report 54 cents per share tomorrow. The company went beyond the call in the first three quarters of its fiscal year. Why miss on the last quarter of the year? I think the trend is in on this one.

Continue reading Earnings preview: Will Heinz surprise the market?

Earnings preview: Will Heinz surprise the market? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 27 May 2009 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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

• Aeropostale Inc. (NYSE: ARO) beat profit expectations as revenue and same-store sales both increased.
• Aruba Networks Inc. (NASDAQ: ARUN) received an analyst's upgrade following its Q3 report.
• Buckle Inc. (NYSE: BKE) reported better-than-expected Q1 expectations as revenue surged.
• Campbell Soup Co. (NYSE: CPB) higher Q2 earnings beat expectations and sent shares upward.
• Deere & Co. (NYSE: DE) reported better-than-expected Q3 earnings, sending shares higher.

Continue reading Earnings highlights: Home Depot, Target, Sears, Campbell, Deere and more

Earnings highlights: Home Depot, Target, Sears, Campbell, Deere and more originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 23 May 2009 09:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst upgrades:

• UBS upgraded Target (NYSE: TGT) to Buy from Neutral and raised its price target to $52 from $45 citing reduced inventories, some credit stability, and an improved back-to-school period.
• Credit Suisse said concerns regarding Safeway's (NYSE: SWY) price position are overblown and that earnings risk is limited. The firm upgraded shares to Outperform from Neutral and raised the target price to $25 from $22.
• Oppenheimer upgraded Canadian Solar (NASDAQ: CSIQ) to Outperform from Perform as it believes the story is underappreciated following the recent sector rally. The firm has a $14 price target on the stock.
• CME Group (NASDAQ: CME) was upgraded to buy from Neutral at Goldman.
• Freeport McMoRan (NYSE: FCX) was upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at JP Morgan.
• Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ: GILD) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at FTN Equity.

Continue reading Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: TGT, SWY, CSIQ, HOTT, MPEL, RIO, CPB, CVD and HGG

Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: TGT, SWY, CSIQ, HOTT, MPEL, RIO, CPB, CVD and HGG originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 21 May 2009 11:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Not only did the bottom line fare well, but the top line didn't do so badly, either. It increased well over 6%. Okay, that's not a rocketing growth rate, certainly, but all things considered, I think it was a decent performance. Hershey benefited from pricing strategies and the Easter holiday. If you ask me, I think the recent rally in the markets helped to bolster consumer confidence. That may have helped Hershey sell a lot of its candy. Management seemed pretty pleased with volume trends and the response to its marketing initiatives, judging by comments made in the release.

Continue reading Hershey has solid Q1, but is the stock too strong to buy?

Hershey has solid Q1, but is the stock too strong to buy? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 23 Apr 2009 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Food stocks: Campbell's could taste good

Food stocks: Campbell's could taste good originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 31 Mar 2009 16:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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

ConAgra beats estimates, sports a nice yield originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 27 Mar 2009 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading General Mills misses expectations, sells off

General Mills misses expectations, sells off originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 18 Mar 2009 15:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Campbell Soup Company

Continue reading Let's all eat Campbell Soup

Let's all eat Campbell Soup originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 24 Feb 2009 17:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Campbell Soup (NYSE: CPB) reported earnings for the second quarter, and while they weren't that great in terms of growth, they did beat Wall Street expectations. The bottom line came in at an adjusted 65 cents per share from continuing operations. Analysts were expecting 64 cents per share. I know, a one-penny beat isn't necessarily something to crow about, especially when Campbell grew income from continuing operations by only a single penny on a year-over-year basis. In this market, though, this is the stuff of dreams.

In fact, I bet Campbell's shares would have been higher on the news if it wasn't for the fact that the Dow is getting closer and closer to the 7,000 mark (and, please don't worry, we'll see a Dow reading that begins with a 6 before you can scream sell!).

Continue reading Campbell Soup beats in Q2, but it may not be that defensive in this market

Campbell Soup beats in Q2, but it may not be that defensive in this market originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 24 Feb 2009 08:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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

Kraft's latest quarter shows that even defensive names are suffering originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 05 Feb 2009 12:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

General Mills (NYSE: GIS), a company that shares supermarket shelves with colleagues like Kraft (NYSE: KFT), Kellogg (NYSE: K), and Campbell Soup (NYSE: CPB), reported a very decent Q2 on Wednesday. According to Melly Alazraki's Stocks in the News article, General Mills really kicked the analysts and their estimates in the you-know-what. The call was for the food producer to yield $1.23 per share. Instead, the company delivered $1.36 per share. Way to go!

But, how was the stock received? After an initial pop, shares settled down. In fact, they closed only slightly up at the end of day on Wednesday, rising a mere 0.16%. I was a little surprised by the muted reaction when I saw the big beat on the bottom line, but I think the market wants to be a little cautious here. As this news piece points out, General Mills has some complicated hedging issues going on, as well as issues relating to competition from Campbell Soup and private-label brands. Campbell has been turning up the heat on General Mills. I'm not sure if the market should worry so much about the battle between Campbell and its cereal-making nemesis, but worrying about private-label competition is warranted. You know how consumers are: they want low, low, low prices. And once they get them, they want them even lower! Of course, General Mills' brand equity and advertising can combat a lot of that, but we are in a nasty era of worries over job security and the safety of retirement accounts. The negative wealth effect is in full swing, so supermarket shoppers may find less-expensive fare more attractive (honestly, though, if I'm used to a certain brand, it's difficult for me to switch to the generic equivalent, even in times of crisis).

Is General Mills a buy here? Well, it's certainly cheap for the long-term holder in me. However, the short-term holder in me says not so fast. My gut tells me this one will pull back. Like I said, the market is obviously in a cautious mood since it didn't see fit to reward General Mills with a more significant uptick on the close. And, since I feel it should have received a higher price on the close, and since it failed to get it, that tells me that it may trend lower from here.

Disclosure: I don't own any company mentioned; positions can change at any time.

General Mills blows estimates out of the water -- should you buy the stock? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 18 Dec 2008 11:26:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst upgrades:

• Baird upgraded Regal-Beloit (NYSE: RBC) to Outperform from Neutral based on valuation and growth expectations.
• Black & Decker (NYSE: BDK) and Lennar (NYSE: LEN) were upgraded to Buy from Neutral at UBS based on valuation.
• Kroger (NYSE: KR) and Public Storage (NYSE: PSA) were added to Goldman's Conviction Buy List.
• CIBC upgraded Biovail (NYSE: BVF) to Sector Performer from Sector Underperformer.
• Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE: ANF) was raised to Neutral from Underperform at Cowen.

• Merrill downgraded Campbell Soup (NYSE: CPB) to Neutral from Buy and expects marketing and promotional spending to limit earnings growth in 2009 and 2010. The firm lowered their target to $35 from $42.
• Mechel Steel (NYSE: MTL) was cut to Underweight from Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley to reflect declining coal demand.
  
• Friedman Billings downgraded shares of Legg Mason (NYSE: LM) to Underperform from Market Perform on liquidity concerns given the Legg Mason's leveraged balance sheet and falling EBITDA. The firm lowered their target to $7 from $11.

Continue reading Analyst calls: RBC, BDK, KR, LEN, KR, CPB, MTL, LM, PIR, AAPL, AVP ...

Analyst calls: RBC, BDK, KR, LEN, KR, CPB, MTL, LM, PIR, AAPL, AVP ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 25 Nov 2008 11:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Campbell Soup (NYSE: CPB) seemed to have an okay first quarter. Revenue rose 3%, and earnings per share on an adjusted basis increased 10% to $0.77. This beat expectations by a penny, according to this source. Now, I agree, these numbers weren't great, but did you see the reaction to the stock on Monday? It closed down over 7.5% on better-than-average volume. Did the stock deserve such a beating? Was the selling a buying opportunity?

Well, as I've been saying, many stocks are great for long-term buying. How many times have you heard that people will be looking back at this current state of volatility after several years have passed only to conclude that it was one of the best buying opportunities of a lifetime? Campbell Soup is probably applicable to that cliche. However, the fact that the market rallied on Monday and Campbell Soup didn't participate might mean something. It might mean that the fears of currency translations and their effect on future earnings (this was mentioned in the press release and in news reports) will indeed cause the company some problems in the next several months.

What does this mean for someone who wants to pick up shares of the soup concern? Be wary, especially if you're sick and tired of picking up stocks at the wrong time. Even long-term thinkers don't want to feel a need to double-down a week after entering a position. No, I'm not saying Campbell Soup will tank that fast after the Q1 report. In fact, it may very well bounce from here.

I just didn't like the price action on Monday, so I probably would wait a little bit before considering the stock. Like Kraft (NYSE: KFT), Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO), and Kellogg (NYSE: K), Campbell Soup is a dividend play backed by a powerful line of supermarket products. However, like all those companies, international exposure is a big part of its thesis. So one must recognize that shares of Campbell Soup must be approached carefully considering all the headlines as of late concerning the effect of overseas sales.

Disclosure: I own Coca-Cola; positions can change at any time.

Campbell Soup's bottom line increased, but Wall Street passed on stock originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 25 Nov 2008 11:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.