NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Shares of Dean Foods closed down 1.07% to $15.75 on Wednesday after BMO Capital Markets lowered its price target to $18 from $20 earlier today, following its earnings report yesterday. In the fourth quarter, the U.S. milk processor had a 4.3% increase in revenue to $2.4 billion, falling short of analysts' estimates of $2.43 billion. Dean Foods reported a fourth quarter of 2014 profit of $5.3 million, compared to a loss of $37.7 million for the fourth quarter in 2013. Exclusive Report: Jim Cramer's Best Stocks for 2015 STOCKS TO BUY: TheStreet Quant Ratings has identified a handful of stocks that can potentially TRIPLE in the next 12 months. Learn more. However, Dean also reported a $20 million net loss for the full year of 2014, in contrast to its net income of $813 million for 2013. The company's full year operating income for 2014 was $9 million, versus $131 million in 2013. For 2015, the drought in New Zealand and its impact on global dairy supply/demand dynamics creates an upside risk to current milk price forecasts, analysts noted. In addition, lower milk prices, given weak volume trends, may reignite aggressive competitive behavior in the fluid milk category, forcing Dean to compete on pricing, and further endangering its expected recovery in its processing margins, analysts noted. Dean expects a first quarter 2015 EPS of 12 cents to 22 cents, versus the consensus of 22 cents. Separately, TheStreet Ratings team rates DEAN FOODS CO as a Hold with a ratings score of C. TheStreet Ratings Team has this to say about their recommendation: "We rate DEAN FOODS CO (DF) a HOLD. The primary factors that have impacted our rating are mixed some indicating strength, some showing weaknesses, with little evidence to justify the expectation of either a positive or negative performance for this stock relative to most other stocks. The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its revenue growth, good cash flow from operations and solid stock price performance. However, as a counter to these strengths, we also find weaknesses including deteriorating net income, disappointing return on equity and poor profit margins." Highlights from the analysis by TheStreet Ratings Team goes as follows: DF's revenue growth has slightly outpaced the industry average of 0.6%. Since the same quarter one year prior, revenues slightly increased by 7.8%. This growth in revenue does not appear to have trickled down to the company's bottom line, displayed by a decline in earnings per share. Net operating cash flow has significantly increased by 268.41% to $22.80 million when compared to the same quarter last year. In addition, DEAN FOODS CO has also vastly surpassed the industry average cash flow growth rate of 13.15%. Compared to where it was a year ago today, the stock is now trading at a higher level, regardless of the company's weak earnings results. Despite the fact that it has already risen in the past year, there is currently no conclusive evidence that warrants the purchase or sale of this stock. The gross profit margin for DEAN FOODS CO is rather low; currently it is at 19.26%. It has decreased from the same quarter the previous year. Along with this, the net profit margin of -0.67% is significantly below that of the industry average. The company, on the basis of change in net income from the same quarter one year ago, has significantly underperformed when compared to that of the S&P 500 and the Food Products industry. The net income has significantly decreased by 103.8% when compared to the same quarter one year ago, falling from $415.12 million to -$15.97 million. You can view the full analysis from the report here: DF Ratings Report STOCKS TO BUY: TheStreet Quant Ratings has identified a handful of stocks that can potentially TRIPLE in the next 12 months. Learn more.
Click to view a price quote on DF. Click to research the Food & Beverage industry.
from Latest TSC Headlines http://ift.tt/1z8M6e2
No comments:
Post a Comment