Upcoming AWS Coverage on BRF S.A. Post-Earnings Results

LONDON, UK / ACCESSWIRE / December 2, 2016 / Active Wall St. announces its post-earnings coverage on Hormel Foods Corp. (NYSE: HRL). The company reported its financial results for the fourth quarter fiscal 2016 (Q4 FY16) and full year 2016 (FY16) on November 22, 2016. The Austin, Minnesota-based company reported quarterly net sales growth of 9.5% y-o-y and adjusted net earnings growth of 22% y-o-y in the reported quarter. Register with us now for your free membership at: http://www.activewallst.com/register/.

One of Hormel Foods' competitors within the Meat Products space, BRF S.A. (NYSE: BRFS), reported on October 27, 2016, its third quarter 2016 results. AWS will be initiating a research report on BRF S.A. in the coming days.

Today, AWS is promoting its earnings coverage on HRL; touching on BRFS. Get our free coverage by signing up to:

http://www.activewallst.com/registration-3/?symbol=HRL

http://www.activewallst.com/registration-3/?symbol=BRFS

Earnings Reviewed

During Q4 FY16, Hormel Foods' net sales rose to $2.63 billion from $2.40 billion recorded at the end of Q4 FY15. The reported quarter sales growth is primarily attributed to a 9% y-o-y growth in sales volume.

The branded food company reported GAAP net earnings attributed to Hormel Foods of $243.94 million, or $0.45 diluted per share, during Q4 FY16 compared to $187.23 million, or $0.35 per share, in the year ago quarter. The quarterly GAAP net earnings marginally missed market expectations of $0.46 per diluted share. Non-GAAP net earnings improved 22% during Q4 FY16 from $199.90 million, or $0.37 per diluted share, in the year ago same quarter.
For FY16, the company's net sales were $9.52 billion, up 2.8% from $9.26 billion in the year ago comparable period. In FY16, GAAP net earnings attributed to Hormel Foods came in at $890.05 million, or $1.64 per diluted share, compared to $686.09 million, or $1.27 per diluted share, in FY15.

Operating Metrics

For the three months ended on September 30, 2016, the company reported gross profit of $598.52 million versus $495.03 million in Q4 FY15. For the reported quarter, selling, general, and administrative expenses came in at $244.01 million compared to $188.95 million in Q4 FY15. The company's operating income increased to $365.75 million in Q4 FY16 from $292.50 million in the prior year's same quarter. Furthermore, EBIT for Q4 FY16 was $364.73 million which was above the $289.16 million reported in the last year's comparable quarter.

Segment Performance

During Q4 FY16, Grocery Products' net sales were $491.72 million, up 16.4% on a y-o-y basis. The segment's operating profit for Q4 FY16 came in at $82.73 million compared to $78.77 million in the prior year's same quarter.

Refrigerated Foods contributed $1.24 billion to total net sales during Q4 FY16, up 7.6% from $1.15 billion in the last year's comparable period. The segment reported operating profit of $168.04 million in Q4 FY16 compared to $111.29 million in the year ago same quarter.

The company's Jennie-O Turkey Store's net sales rose 28.8% y-o-y to $541.41 million in Q4 FY16. Furthermore, the segment's operating profit for the reported quarter was $92.30 million versus $73.23 million in the previous year's same quarter.

Hormel Foods' Specialty Foods segment's net sales declined 19.7% y-o-y during Q4 FY16 to $216.67 million. The segment's operating profit fell 9.7% y-o-y in Q4 FY16 to $20.18 million.

International & Other net sales improved 1.6% y-o-y during Q4 FY16 to $140.86 million. However, operating profit fell 16.0% y-o-y to $19.57 million in Q4 FY16.

Cash Flow and Balance Sheet

In FY16, Hormel Foods' cash flow from operations totaled $992.85 million compared to $991.99 million in a year ago period. As of October 30, 2016, the company had cash and cash equivalents balance of $415.14 million compared to $347.24 million, at the close of books on October 25, 2015. Additionally, the company reported no change in its long-term debt position, which stood at $250.00 million as on October 30, 2016.

Dividend and Share Repurchases

In a separate press release on November 21, 2016, Hormel Foods' Board of Directors raised annual dividend to their shareholders by 17%, which is the 51st consecutive annual dividend increase. The annual dividend on the common stock was raised to $0.68 per share from $0.58 per share. The Board of Directors authorized the first quarterly dividend of $0.17 a share to be paid on February 15, 2017, to stockholders of record at the close of business on January 17, 2017.

Outlook

For full year FY17, Hormel Foods anticipates to generate organic sales growth consistent with its long-term goal of 5% along with mid-single-digits earnings growth. The company forecasts earnings for FY17 to be in the range of $1.71 to $1.77 per share. Furthermore, excluding earnings from the Farmer John divestiture, earnings for FY17 is expected to be in the range of $1.68 per share to $1.74 per share.

Stock Performance

Hormel Foods' share price finished yesterday's trading session at $33.29, slipping 2.77%. A total volume of 4.38 million shares exchanged hands, which was higher than the 3 months average volume of 2.58 million shares. Shares of the company are trading at a PE ratio of 20.29 and have a dividend yield of 2.04%.

Active Wall Street:

Active Wall Street (AWS) produces regular sponsored and non-sponsored reports, articles, stock market blogs, and popular investment newsletters covering equities listed on NYSE and NASDAQ and micro-cap stocks. AWS has two distinct and independent departments. One department produces non-sponsored analyst certified content generally in the form of press releases, articles and reports covering equities listed on NYSE and NASDAQ and the other produces sponsored content (in most cases not reviewed by a registered analyst), which typically consists of compensated investment newsletters, articles and reports covering listed stocks and micro-caps. Such sponsored content is outside the scope of procedures detailed below.

AWS has not been compensated; directly or indirectly; for producing or publishing this document.

PRESS RELEASE PROCEDURES:

The non-sponsored content contained herein has been prepared by a writer (the "Author") and is fact checked and reviewed by a third party research service company (the "Reviewer") represented by a credentialed financial analyst, for further information on analyst credentials, please email info@activewallst.com. Rohit Tuli, a CFA® charterholder (the "Sponsor"), provides necessary guidance in preparing the document templates. The Reviewer has reviewed and revised the content, as necessary, based on publicly available information which is believed to be reliable. Content is researched, written and reviewed on a reasonable-effort basis. The Reviewer has not performed any independent investigations or forensic audits to validate the information herein. The Reviewer has only independently reviewed the information provided by the Author according to the procedures outlined by AWS. AWS is not entitled to veto or interfere in the application of such procedures by the third-party research service company to the articles, documents or reports, as the case may be. Unless otherwise noted, any content outside of this document has no association with the Author or the Reviewer in any way.

NO WARRANTY

AWS, the Author, and the Reviewer are not responsible for any error which may be occasioned at the time of printing of this document or any error, mistake or shortcoming. No liability is accepted whatsoever for any direct, indirect or consequential loss arising from the use of this document. AWS, the Author, and the Reviewer expressly disclaim any fiduciary responsibility or liability for any consequences, financial or otherwise arising from any reliance placed on the information in this document. Additionally, AWS, the Author, and the Reviewer do not (1) guarantee the accuracy, timeliness, completeness or correct sequencing of the information, or (2) warrant any results from use of the information. The included information is subject to change without notice.

NOT AN OFFERING

This document is not intended as an offering, recommendation, or a solicitation of an offer to buy or sell the securities mentioned or discussed, and is to be used for informational purposes only. Please read all associated disclosures and disclaimers in full before investing. Neither AWS nor any party affiliated with us is a registered investment adviser or broker-dealer with any agency or in any jurisdiction whatsoever. To download our report(s), read our disclosures, or for more information, visit http://www.activewallst.com/disclaimer/.

CONTACT

For any questions, inquiries, or comments reach out to us directly. If you're a company we are covering and wish to no longer feature on our coverage list contact us via email and/or phone between 09:30 EDT to 16:00 EDT from Monday to Friday at:

Email: info@activewallst.com
Phone number: 1-858-257-3144

Office Address: 3rd floor, 207 Regent Street, London, W1B 3HH, United Kingdom

CFA® and Chartered Financial Analyst® are registered trademarks owned by CFA Institute.

SOURCE: Active Wall Street