AUSTIN, Minn. (AP) — Shares of Hormel Foods jumped to an all-time high Tuesday after the maker of Spam canned ham and other foods surprised Wall Street with strong results for the fourth quarter and offered a better-than-expected earnings outlook for the year.
Hormel said there was strong demand for its Dinty Moore canned stew, Hormel chili and packages of Wholly Guacamole dips. The company also it expects higher sales during the year from organic meats producer Applegate, which it bought earlier this year. Applegate makes deli meats, hot dogs, bacon and sausage that does not use antibiotics, hormones or artificial ingredients.
Hormel said it expects full-year earnings between $2.85 per share and $2.95 per share, above the $2.83 per share analysts expected, according to FactSet.
The Austin, Minnesota-based company reported fiscal fourth-quarter earnings of $187.2 million, or 69 cents per share.
Earnings, adjusted for one-time gains and costs, were 74 cents per share, topping Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of five analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of 68 cents per share.
Hormel reported revenue of $2.4 billion in the period, which missed Street forecasts. Five analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $2.54 billion.
For the year, the company reported earnings of $686.1 million, or $2.54 per share, on revenue of $9.26 billion.
Shares of Hormel Foods Corp. rose $2.08, or 3 percent, to $71.33 in afternoon trading Tuesday. They rose as high as $71.71 earlier in the day, an all-time high.
