Topic: Growth Stocks

Wall Street Stock Forecaster Hotline – Friday, August 1, 2014

Article Excerpt

NEWELL RUBBERMAID INC., $32.45, New York symbol NWL, makes a variety of everyday items, such as trash cans and food-storage containers. Aside from Rubbermaid, its main brands include Sharpie, Paper Mate, Waterman and Levolor. The company recently agreed to buy Ignite Holdings, a private firm that makes reusable water bottles and thermal mugs under the Contigo and Avex brands. Newell will pay $308 million when it completes the purchase later this year. Newell feels its expertise will cut Ignite’s manufacturing costs. It can also use its extensive global distribution networks to increase Ignite’s annual sales of $125 million. Meanwhile, the company earned $165.6 million in the three months ended June 30, 2014, up 12.6% from $147.1 million a year earlier. Earnings per share rose 18.0%, to $0.59 from $0.50, on fewer shares outstanding. These figures exclude unusual items, such as restructuring costs. On that basis, the latest earnings beat the consensus estimate of $0.55 a share. Sales rose 3.1%, to $1.52 billion from $1.47…