Supervalu: Cloudy Outlook, Strong Value

Article Excerpt

SUPERVALU INC. $33 (New York symbol SVU, Conservative Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 212.3 million; Market cap: $6.8 billion; WSSF Rating: Average) is the second-largest supermarket operator in the United States behind Kroger. Its 2,480 stores account for roughly 80% of its revenue. The remaining 20% comes from its food wholesale operations, which supply about 2,200 grocery stores. The company is still absorbing its June 2006 acquisition of 1,125 Albertsons supermarket stores for $11.4 billion in cash, new shares and assumed debt. Supervalu still feels the merger will eventually cut its annual pre-tax costs by $150 million to $175 million. Most of the savings will come from closing less profitable stores, and improving the efficiency of its warehouses with automated equipment. However, it will probably take the company another year or two to realize the bulk of these savings. In its fiscal year ended February 23, 2008, total revenue rose 17.6%, to $44.0 billion from $37.4 billion in the prior year. Sales…