Jarden shares drop after 1Q sales misses Street estimates

Shares of Jarden Corp. dropped Thursday after the company reported lower-than-expected first-quarter revenue and said the economic slump is hurting performance.

The stock shed $2.10, or 8.9 percent, to $21.50 after hitting a four-year low of $19.05 earlier in the session.

The Rye, N.Y., company _ which makes K2 skis and Sunbeam mixers, among many other items _ posted revenue of $1.22 billion, below Wall Street's $1.23 billion estimate, according to a poll by Thomson Financial.

Jarden earned 6 cents per share during the period. Excluding one-time charges, the company posted profit of 22 cents per share, above the 20 cents per share average adjusted estimate expected by analysts polled by Thomson Financial.

Jarden's chairman and chief executive, Martin Franklin, said in a release that the "recessionary environment is having a negative impact on overall consumer confidence and retail sales," but stressed a sales boost in the outdoor unit ahead of the summer season.

Yet analysts remained cautiously optimistic on growth prospects.

"We doubt that the first quarter will fully alleviate investors' concerns about Jarden's organic growth goals for 2008 (3 percent to 5 percent), but continue to believe those concerns are more than baked into the stock's current valuation," SunTrust Robinson Humphrey analyst William Chappell said in a note to clients.

He kept a "Buy" rating and $45 price target, implying he expects the stock to rise about 91 percent over Wednesday's $23.60 close.

Citi Investment Research analyst Gregory Badishkanian kept a "Buy" rating and $39 price target.

"We think that the company should benefit from strong trends and recent acquisitions, which could help improve margins," Badishkanian said in a client note. The company acquired Pure Fishing Inc. in April 2007 and K2 Inc. last August.