(CPB) Is Down Sharply After Q4 Profit Disappoints

Earnings per share (EPS) clocked in at $0.46, which missed the Street’s $0.50 estimate by $0.04.

Campbell Soup Company (NYSE:CPB) is likely to unveil its financial report on 2016-09-01. “Reflecting its confidence in our long-term growth prospects and strong profit performance this year, the Board declared a 12 percent increase in our quarterly dividend today”. “I am not pleased with the results of our fourth quarter”.

AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) now has mean rating of 2.5 while 9 analyst have recommended the shares as “BUY”, 6 commented as “OUTPERFORM” and 14 commented as “HOLD”. Currency headwinds are expected to have a nominal impact on the company’s fiscal 2017 performance.

In early trading on the New York Stock Exchange, Campbell’s shares were down more than 5 percent, or $3.21, to $57.51. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,835,032 shares of the company’s stock worth $116,867,000 after buying an additional 97,930 shares in the last quarter.

The 52-week high for Campbell Soup Company stands at -10.77% while the 52-week low stands at 34.15%. The company has a market capitalization of $18.67 billion and a P/E ratio of 27.42.

Net interest expense increased $6 million to $111 million reflecting higher average interest rates on the debt portfolio, partly offset by lower levels of debt. Current price places the company’s stock 10.15% away from its 200-day simple moving average, 17.91%, away from the 50-day average and also 2.5% away from 20-day average. This represents a $1.25 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.06%. The Mean EPS forecast of 11 analysts for Next Quarter is set at $1.01. Also, the Hold rating count is 11 as of 8/26/2016.

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The dividend raise wasn’t enough to mitigate the sell-off in Campbell Soup shares, however. The last bid price was called at $60.00 and the ask price was stated at $61.60. According to the SEC, on Mar 1, 2016, Mark R. Alexander (Senior Vice President) sold 90,509 shares at $61.94 per share price.

Like other packaged food giants, Campbell Soup Co.is trying to transform its lineup of offerings as sales of its core products have slumped. For the year, Americas Simple Meals and Beverages and Global Biscuits and Snacks delivered significant margin expansion, driving double-digit profit growth.