Campbell Soup
To be sure, the two quarters aren't exactly comparable. On one hand, there were certain special items -- including a tax benefit of some $47 million -- that bolstered the Camden, N.J.-based company's bottom line this time out. On the other, Campbell recently began expensing its stock-based compensation. If that policy had been in place back in fiscal year 2005, earnings per share would have clocked in last year at the slightly lower rate of $0.54.
All told, after accounting for special items and green-eyeshade department changes (of which I am a Foolishly big fan), the bottom line is this: Campbell delivered adjusted net earnings of $242 million for the quarter -- a figure that surpasses that of the year-ago period by 8% -- and delivered those earnings to shareholders at an analyst-besting adjusted clip of $0.58 per stub.
Not too shabby, eh?
No, not too shabby at all, especially considering that Campbell currently sports a trailing-12-month price-to-earnings multiple that falls below that of the broader market, as well as that of the average entrant in the food-manufacturing industry. That group includes Kellogg
Taken together, then, Campbell's stock looks mmm, mmm, pretty good right now. And not surprisingly, the company intends to eat plenty of its own cooking: Along with its first-quarter results, Campbell announced plans yesterday to repurchase some $600 million worth of its shares between now and the close of fiscal year 2008.
So should you follow suit and dish up a bowl of the company's stock yourself?
I'd say there's a case to be made for doing just that. True, overall revenue growth in the quarter was a paltry 1% and, with a company as dominant as Campbell, it's especially worth pondering where its future growth prospects might lie.
On that latter front, Campbell's announcement took note of the fact that its Godiva Chocolatier and Away From Home units posted a revenue increase of some 13%, weighing in at a fat and happy $262 million.
That's a relatively small slice of the company's revenue pie, of course, but when combined with a dominant, dividend-paying brand, an attractive P/E multiple, and a management team with the courage of its convictions, Campbell's shares look pretty tasty just about now.
For other tasty bits of Foolishness:
Sara Lee and Kraft Foods are both Motley Fool Income Investor recommendations. For a 30-day free trial, click here.
Shannon Zimmerman runs point on The Motley Fool's Champion Funds newsletter service and owns none of the companies mentioned above. You can check out the Fool's disclosure policy by clicking right here.
