Topic: How To Invest

Wall Street Stock Forecaster Hotline – Friday, September 30, 2016

Article Excerpt

CONAGRA FOODS INC., $47.11, New York symbol CAG, makes packaged foods, including Chef Boyardee canned pasta, Hunt’s tomato sauce, Peter Pan peanut butter, Orville Redenbacher popcorn and Reddi-wip whipped cream. In its fiscal 2017 first quarter, ended August 28, 2016, ConAgra’s sales fell 4.6%, to $2.67 billion from $2.79 billion a year earlier. That missed the consensus forecast of $2.73 billion. The decline is mainly because the company is offering fewer discounts to supermarket chains. Unfavourable currency exchange rates also weighed on its sales. Cost-cutting pushed up earnings 12.6% in the quarter, to $188.5 million from $167.4 million. Due to more shares outstanding, earnings per share gained 10.5%, to $0.42 from $0.38. If you factor out unusual items, including costs associated with job cuts, earnings per share jumped 48.8%, to $0.61 from $0.41. On that basis, the latest earnings easily beat the consensus estimate of $0.48. ConAgra’s gross profit margin (gross profits divided by sales) improved to 27.3% from 25.3% a year earlier. The…