The Hain Celestial Group Inc
. (
HAIN
) reported its fourth-quarter 2012 earnings on August 22, 2012. The
Wall Street analysts deliberated over the earnings results for
almost a week and eventually made their estimate revisions. Below,
we will cover the results of the recent earnings announcement,
subsequent estimate revisions by analysts as well as the Zacks Rank
and long-term recommendation for the stock.
Earnings Report Review
Hain posted robust fourth-quarter 2012 results. The company
reported adjusted earnings of 47 cents a share, which surpassed the
Zacks Consensus Estimate by couple of cents and jumped 30.6% from
36 cents earned in the prior-year quarter. Including one-time
items, earnings came in at 50 cents compared with 28 cents a share
earned in the year-ago quarter.
Revenue for the quarter rose 22.3% year over year to $350.7
million, reflecting a rise in demand for natural organic products.
The company noted that consumption in the U.S. grew 14%. Including
sales of the United Kingdom private label chilled ready meals
operations (discontinued business), revenue came in at $373.8
million, up 28% year over year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate was
$366 million for the quarter.
(Read our full coverage on this earnings report:
Hain Delivers Strong 4Q
)
Earnings Estimate Revisions- Overview
Since the earnings release, estimates for Hain displayed an
uptrend, indicating that the analysts remain optimistic on the
company's growth potential in the upcoming quarters.
Agreement of Estimate Revisions
Clearly, a positive sentiment is evident among analysts, as in
the last seven days, 9 out of 12 estimates have been revised
upwards, while none were decreased for the for fiscal 2013.
Moreover, for fiscal 2014, 4 estimates out of 12 were revised
upwards.
For the first and second quarter of fiscal 2013, 4 revisions
(out of 12 estimates) have been made in the upward direction, while
one was lowered.
Analysts expect the company to sustain its strong momentum
across entire business segments as it remains well positioned to
capitalize on the growing global demand for organic products.
Moreover, the company's strategy of building market share
through acquisitions have paid off well, as these have not only
widened the company's geographical presence, but also provided
opportunities to cross-sell products in the U.S., Canadian, and
European markets.
Magnitude of Estimate Revisions
Given the large number of estimate revisions in the upward
direction, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for fiscal 2013 escalated
17 cents to $2.27, while it jumped 23 cents to $2.62 a share in the
last 7 days.
Quarterly trends were no different for the company, as the Zacks
Consensus Estimate increased by couple of cents to 42 cents for the
first-quarter and by 3 cents to 64 cents for the second-quarter of
2013.
Our View
Going forward, we believe that the company will be benefiting
from the rise in the demand for organic products. Moreover, Hain
will be able to mitigate the cost pressures through increased
productivity and efficient pricing.
Currently, we have a long-term 'Neutral' rating on the stock.
Hain Celestial, which competes with
General Mills Inc
. (
GIS
) and
Kraft Foods Inc
. (
KFT
), holds a Zacks #1 Rank, which translates into a short-term
'Strong Buy' rating.
About Earnings Estimate Scorecard
As a PhD from MIT, Len Zacks proved over 30 years ago that
earnings estimate revisions are the most powerful force impacting
stock prices. He turned this ground breaking discovery into two of
the most celebrating stock rating systems in use today. The Zacks
Rank for stock trading in a 1 to 3 month time horizon and the Zacks
Recommendation for long-term investing (6+ months). These "Earnings
Estimate Scorecard" articles help analyze the important aspects of
estimate revisions for each stock after their quarterly earnings
announcements. Learn more about earnings estimates and our proven
stock ratings at
:
http://www.zacks.com/education/
GENL MILLS (GIS): Free Stock Analysis Report
HAIN CELESTIAL (HAIN): Free Stock Analysis
Report
KRAFT FOODS INC (KFT): Free Stock Analysis
Report
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