Conagra shares rise after demand jumps in the fourth quarter due to coronavirus-related stockpiling
, reporter covering retail and consumer-oriented companies.
Conagra Brands Inc. CAG, +5.95% stock rose 4.3% in Tuesday premarket trading after the food company said it has experienced "significantly increased demand" in the fourth quarter and now expects to exceed expectations. For the fiscal third-quarter, Conagra's net income totaled $204.4 million, or 42 cents per share, down from $242.0 million, or 50 cents per share, last year. Adjusted EPS of 47 cents missed the FactSet consensus of 49 cents. Sales of $2.56 billion were down from $2.71 billion last year and below the FactSet consensus of $2.59 billion. The company attributed the decline to a number of divestitures, including the Wesson business and the private-label peanut butter business. Conagra brands include Birds Eye, Marie Callender and Gardein. "While we are still early in our fourth quarter, we have seen significantly elevated demand for our retail products as consumers have started filling their pantries for more at-home eating," Chief Executive San Connolly said in a statement. Shipments and consumption have jumped by half even as foodservice demand has fallen. Conagra now expects fiscal 2020 reported net sales growth to surpass the 10% to 10.5% growth range and adjusted EPS to exceed the guidance for $2.00 to $2.07. The FactSet consensus is for sales of $10.54 billion, implying 10.5% growth, and EPS of $2.03. Conagra stock has gained 1.8% over the past year while the S&P 500 index SPX, +0.24% is down 7.3%.