This post is part of our Battle of the Brands feature. Let us know which brand you prefer, and check out other Battle of the Brands posts.
While Kraft Foods Inc.'s (NYSE: KFT) Oscar Mayer brand and ConAgra Food Inc.'s (NYSE: CAG) Hebrew National may both have venerable histories, they also have very different personalities: "I wish I were and Oscar Mayer wiener" vs. "We answer to a higher authority."
In 1900, Oscar Mayer and his brothers ran one of the most popular sausage makers in Chicago. They pioneered the use of brand names and voluntary federal approval to protect the reputation of their products. The company was the first to offer packaged sliced bacon. Such innovations helped Oscar Mayer to become an industry leader. The first wiener-mobile rolled out in 1936, and its descendants can still be spotted today. The famous Oscar Mayer jingle was introduced in 1963, and today is one of the longest-running jingles still in use. In 1988 the company launched its Lunchables, prepacked cracker-and-cold-cut school lunches. Oscar Mayer became a Kraft Foods brand in 1989.
Kraft Foods is the largest U.S. food company, with $37.2 billion in sales in 2007. Oscar Mayer is one of seven Kraft Foods brands with more than $1 billion in revenue. The convenience meats category accounted for about 16% of total revenue.
This post is part of our Battle of the Brands feature. Let us know which brand you prefer, and check out other Battle of the Brands posts.
When it comes to this staple of kitchens and diners worldwide, the most common question after "Is it ketchup or catsup?" has got to be "Heinz or Hunt's?"
The Hunt Brothers Fruit Packing Company was founded in 1890 by Joseph and William Hunt in Santa Clara, California. It was a small canning business on the ground of a ranch, delivered locally by horse-drawn carriage. In 1946, tomato sauce became the flagship product, and a marketing push made the little red cans familiar across the U.S., and lead to plethora of other tomato-based products, including spaghetti sauce, barbecue sauce, and, of course, ketchup.
Today Hunt's is one brand of many belonging to packaged and frozen foods giant ConAgra Foods Inc. (NYSE: CAG) ranging from Healthy Choice to Slim Jims, from Orville Redenbacher to Egg Beaters. ConAgra reported $12 billion in sales last year.
ConAgra Foods (NYSE: CAG) is a top food producer, offering packaged and frozen foods, seafood and dairy products to retail, foodservice, commercial product and international customers. Among the company's many brands are Hunt's, Banquet, Chef Boyardee, Van Camp's, Healthy Choice, Orville Redenbacher's, PAM, Slim Jim and Wesson. Major competitors include Kraft Foods (NYSE: KFT) and Unilever (NYSE: UL).
The company pleased investors late last month, when it reported Q3 EPS of 63 cents and revenues of $3.53 billion. Analysts had been expecting 41 cents and $3.20 billion. Management also guided FY08 EPS to $1.80-$1.85 ($1.60 consensus) and announced that it would sell the company's trading and merchandising arm to the Ospraie Special Opportunities fund and others for $2.1 billion.
The Commerce Department's Q4-2007 final revision for GDP came in at +0.6%, but that was in-line and the data is now more than 75-days old. But it does highlight the concerns that the growth rates this quarter just can not be good. It also set the tone for more selling. It just goes to show that it still pays in today's climate to sell when you are feeling good about the market and buy when you feel overly concerned.
The Federal Reserve also auctioned off some $75 billion in treasury securities after receiving bids for some $86.1 billion. This was the first auction of its kind and the next auction is set for April 3. Below are the unofficial closing prices:
If you look at the unusual increase seen in short selling in many of the NASDAQ names from this morning, you might scratch your head. But that's the world we live in.
The company said its quarterly profit climbed to $309 million, or 63 cents per share due to higher prices and demand for its products. These numbers are up from $193 million, or 38 cents per share reported in the same period a year ago when the company's earnings numbers were dragged down by recall costs. Analysts, on average, expected quarterly earnings of 39 cents per share.
ConAgra's quarterly revenue grew to $3.53 billion, up from $2.9 billion a year ago. Revenue during the period was helped by strong gains from the company's food and ingredients segment which offset soaring commodity costs. Analysts expected the company show sales of $3.17 billion in the third quarter, according to Thomson Financial.
ConAgra (NYSE: CAG) is recently trading at $23 in pre-open trading, above its close of $21.89.
CAG reported Q3 diluted EPS of 63 cents. CAG reaffirmed long-term EPS view of 8-10%. CAG agreed to sell its commodity trading and merchandising operations to Ospraire Special Opportunities fund for approximately $2.1 billion.
CAG April option implied volatility of 51 is above its 26-week average of 27 according to Track Data, suggesting larger price movement.
Option Update is provided by Stock Specialist Paul Foster of theflyonthewall.com
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Despite higher costs, ConAgra Foods Inc. (NYSE: CAG) fiscal third-quarter net income climbed 60% to $309.1 million, or 63 cents a share. Sales for the quarter increased 21% to $3.53 billion.
Hoop Holdings, a unit of Children's Place Retail Stores Inc. (NASDAQ: PLCE) and the operator of Disney Store North America, said late on Wednesday that it filed for Chapter 11. Children's Place isn't part of the Chapter 11 petition, but is in talks to sell a substantial part of the Disney Store business to Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS) in order to concentrate on its core namesake brand.
Rambus (NASDAQ: RMBS) shares are advancing another 4.4% in premarket trading after closing up over 38% yesterday following a court decision finding it wasn't guilty of fraud or violating antitrust laws in dealing with an industry group that set technology standards for dynamic random access memory, or DRAM, chips in the 1990s.
Del Monte Foods Company (NYSE: DLM) is one of the largest producers and distributors of branded food and pet products for the U.S. retail market. Its Consumer Products segment produces fruits, vegetables, tuna, broths and tomato-based foods under such well-known brand names as Del Monte, StarKist, S&W, Contadina and College Inn. Its Pet Products segment offers the Meow Mix, Kibbles 'n Bits, 9Lives, Milk-Bone, Meaty Bone, Snausages and Pounce brands. The company also produces and distributes private label food and pet products. ConAgra Foods (NYSE: CAG) and General Mills (NYSE: GIS) are major competitors.
Del Monte pleased investors last week, when it reported fiscal Q3 EPS of 28 cents and revenues of $1 billion. Analysts had been expecting 24 cents and $960 million. The CEO attributed success to pricing actions and cost reductions. Management also guided Q4 EPS to 27-31 cents (25 cent consensus) and Q4 revenues to about $0.997-$1.02 billion ($992.8M consensus).
With the markets in a choppy/consolidation mode (or perhaps worse), it's best to consider including a few defensive stocks in your portfolio. And with the above in mind ConAgra is worth an evaluation.
ConAgra (NYSE: CAG) is one of the largest food companies in North America.
Analysts see moderate revenue growth for ConAgra in F2008, with large profits from its trading and merchandising businesses. CAG's food / ingredients unit should also register a solid increase in earnings.
Meanwhile, CAG's consumer foods line should perform adequately in F2008: analysts had originally expected the unit to record lower profits, but there are abundant signs that that will not be the case. The Reuters F2008/F2009 EPS consensus estimates for CAG are $1.59/$1.63.
H. J. Heinz Company (NYSE: HNZ) is one of the world's largest food producers, offering ketchups, condiments, sauces, frozen foods, soups, beans, pastas, infant foods and other processed food products to retailers, the foodservice industry and the U.S. military. The firm's leading brands include Heinz ketchup, Ore-Ida potato products, Weight Watchers Smart Ones entrees, Boston Market meals and T.G.I. Friday's snacks. Sixty percent of sales are generated outside of the United States. Campbell Soup (NYSE: CPB) and ConAgra Foods (NYSE: CAG) are major competitors.
The company pleased investors last week, when it guided Q3 EPS to 67-68 cents. Analysts had been looking for 63 cents. The Q3 results are expected to include commodity cost inflation, which the firm is overcoming with higher net pricing, productivity gains and favorable foreign exchange rates. Management also guided FY08 EPS to $2.60-$2.62 ($2.62 consensus). Merrill Lynch subsequently upgraded its HNZ recommendation to "buy".
Tax Change May Mean Delay in Refunds More than 20 million taxpayers will escape the alternative minimum tax this year, thanks to a stopgap measure Congress approved Wednesday. But lawmakers waited so late in the year to vote that many early filers could have to wait until March to get their refunds. Ordinarily, the IRS starts processing tax returns in mid-January. But the schedule will be delayed this time because the IRS will need about seven weeks to reprogram its computers to reflect changes in the tax law. Tax change may mean delay in refunds - USATODAY.com
Best and Worst Stocks of 2007 These are the stocks and sectors that came out ahead - and far behind during a very volatile year for Wall Street. Among the winners were Amazon.com, Research in Motion, Merck, McDonald's, Coca-Cola and National Oilwell Varco which was the biggest gainer in the S&P 500 with a 128% gain. The top Nasdaq stock was Baidu.com with a 231% gain. The biggest losers of 2007 were E*Trade which was down 84%, followed by Countywide Financial with a 78% drop. Other losers include Citigroup, Washington Mutual, Pulte Homes, AIG, Home Depot, Sepracor and Starbucks. 2007 stock winners and losers - CNNmoney
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Wild 2008 Investing Forecast Got the stock market jitters? Get used to it. Next year should be another wild ride on Wall Street. That's not to say stocks won't rise in '08. Just that the ride is likely to be bumpy, with the possibility of nasty sell-offs and confidence-building rallies along the way. Five top Wall Street gurus share their hopes and fears for the coming year. Where Are Stocks Headed in 2008? - USA Today 8 Ideas for '08 Stock Picks of the Pros
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2007 Advertising Highs & Lows The snackmeister Orville Redenbacher has been dead since 1995, but ConAgra, the maker of his namesake popcorn products, revived him in commercials with a digital doppelgänger. The zombielike results were grotesque enough to inspire critics to rebrand the character as "Orville Deadenbacher." Six months after the ads first appeared, ConAgra buried the campaign, dismissed the creative agency and moved the account elsewhere. This was a year for quick hits and fast flops as campaigns broke new ground. A Year for Quick Hits and Fast Flops as Campaigns Broke New Ground - New York Times
For Last-Minute Shoppers, It's All About Shipping This week, more packages will be shipped than any week of the year, says Susan Rosenberg, UPS spokeswoman. More packages, cards and letters will be mailed at the post office today -- roughly 1 billion -- than any day of the year, says Joanne Veto, spokeswoman for the United States Postal Service. Here's an update from UPS, USPS, FedEx, Wal-Mart.com, Amazon.com, ToysRUs.com, BestBuy.com, CircuitCity.com, Landsend.com on your deadline for getting gifts for the holidays. For last-minute shoppers, it's all about shipping - USATODAY.com
This post is part of our Battle of the Brands feature. Let us know which brand you prefer, and check out other Battle of the Brands posts.
This post is part of our 
Shares of food maker 
ConAgra
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