Campbell Soup Co

The revenue estimate for Farmer Brothers in fiscal 2Q16 isn’t as high. However, it’s still positive. Analysts predict revenue of $145.3 million for fiscal 2Q16

By the end of August, the S&P Consumer Staples had outperformed the S&P Consumer Discretionary and SPY with respective returns of 0.89%, -0.18%, and 0.50%.

Campbell Soup’s sales in the Americas Simple Meals and Beverages segment is projected to decline in fiscal 3Q18.

Analysts are expecting revenue to be $10.1 billion for fiscal 1Q16. This represents a fall of 6% compared to 1Q15 revenue of $10.8 billion.

Flowers Foods (FLO) has a market cap of $3.1 billion. It fell by 0.67% to close at $14.85 per share on August 12, 2016.

Campbell Soup Company (CPB) has a market cap of $20.9 billion. Its stock rose by 1.7% to close at $67.19 per share on July 5, 2016.

So far this year, food stocks have largely disappointed investors, and the outlook for the rest of the year appears no better. Stock prices for food manufacturers have been on a downtrend, underperforming the S&P 500 Index (SPX-INDEX) on a YTD (year-to-date) basis, as the graph below shows. As of July 3, Campbell Soup (CPB), General Mills (GIS), Conagra Brands (CAG), J. M. Smucker (SJM), Kellogg (K), and Kraft Heinz (KHC) have fallen 13.7%, 10.7%, 10.2%, 7.7%, 6.7%, and 3.3%, respectively, YTD. The S&P 500 Index has returned 8.5% during the same period.

The Campbell Soup Company (CPB) continued to report sluggish margins as higher-than-expected inflation in commodities and transportation costs remained a drag.

Wall Street has a price target of $114.54 per share on the J.M. Smucker Company (SJM), implying a potential downside of 5.6% based on its closing price of $121.31 on June 24.

The Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLP) rose 10.5% in the first quarter of 2019.

Conagra Brands (CAG) shares have risen 21.1% since the company reported its third-quarter earnings on March 21.

General Mills (GIS) posted stronger-than-expected sales during the third quarter of fiscal 2019.

Kraft Heinz’s (KHC) bottom line has remained under pressure in the past two quarters and disappointed investors.

Shares of Kraft Heinz (KHC) crashed more than 27% on Friday, February 22, as weaker-than-expected fourth-quarter results and sluggish guidance upset investors.

Hormel Foods (HRL) is another company in the consumer staples industry that has outperformed the broader markets so far this year.

McCormick (MKC) has seen double-digit sales and earnings growth over the past couple of quarters.

Hormel Foods (HRL) has established a road map to boost its financial performance in a challenging food and beverage environment.

Hain Celestial has undertaken a massive SKU optimization program. In fiscal 4Q17, the company stated that it had streamlined 20% of its US inventory.

Mondelēz International’s (MDLZ) stock rose 3.6% to $44.32 per share on October 26, 2016, after the announcement of the company’s 3Q16 results.

On August 1, 2016, Mead Johnson Nutrition Company (MJN) was trading at $87.72. After 2Q16 earnings, the average broker target price for Mead Johnson Nutrition increased by 4% to $94.90 from $91.0.

Hershey (HSY) reported its fiscal 2Q16 earnings on July 28, 2016. Adjusted EPS came in around $0.85 for 2Q16, a growth of 9% compared to $0.78 in 2Q15.

Mondelez exceeded analysts’ earnings estimates of $0.40 by 10% for 2Q16. The adjusted EPS (earnings per share) was ~$0.44 for the quarter.

Kraft Heinz’s management discussed its fiscal 2016 outlook during its last quarter’s earnings call. KHC remains on track or ahead in its areas of integration.

Analysts’ expectations for KHC’s earnings look optimistic for the rest of 2016. Its earnings are expected to rise by 70% and 44% in 3Q16 and 4Q16.

Campbell Soup fell by 4.9% to close at $63.38 per share in the third week of July. Its weekly, monthly, and YTD price movements were -4.9%, 1.7%, and 22.5%.

The company expects that the barkTHINS acquisition will be dilutive in 2016 and 2017, before turning accretive in 2018.

Flowers Foods fell by 1.8% to close at $18.55 per share on July 7. The stock’s weekly, monthly, and YTD price movements were 0.32%, 0.32%, and -12.2%.

The average broker target price for ConAgra has risen slightly to $50.60 from $50.27. This 5% higher than ConAgra’s closing price of $47.91 on June 23.

In Tyson Foods’ Chicken segment, sales improved in 2Q16. The segment reported $2,737 million in net sales.

Frequent recalls not only affect the consumer satisfaction and brand image of Kraft Heinz’s products but also increases the cost factor.