Updating ARCHER DANIELS MIDLAND CO., PETSMART INC. and CAMPBELL SOUP CO.

Article Excerpt

ARCHER DANIELS MIDLAND CO. $27 (New York symbol ADM; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 643.1 million; Market cap: $17.4 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.3; Dividend yield: 2.2%; WSSF Rating: Above Average) earned $421 million, or $0.65 a share, in its third quarter, which ended March 31, 2010. That’s a big gain over the $3 million, or nil per share, it earned a year earlier. However, a $132-million loss from currency-hedging contracts at its Mexican affiliate depressed the year-earlier earnings. (Archer Daniels owns 23% of Mexico-based Gruma, the world’s largest maker of corn flour and tortillas). Earnings at the oilseed processing business, which makes vegetable oils, rose 80.8%. The corn-processing division’s earnings jumped 112.2%. Overall sales rose 2.0% in the quarter, to $15.1 billion from $14.8 billion. These gains partly reflect rising demand for biofuels, such as ethanol. Biofuel demand should continue to improve with the global economy. Archer Daniels Midland is a buy. PETSMART INC. $32 (Nasdaq symbol PETM, Aggressive Growth…