Dividend.com: No Stars for Constellation

Constellation Brands Drop on 2009 Outlook

Constellation Brands(STZ Quote) are down more than 6% today after the company said its third-quarter earnings fell to $83.5 million, or 38 cents a share, from $119.6 million, or 55 cents a share, in the year-earlier period.

The world's biggest winemaker said sales results were hurt by currency exchange rates as well as the impact of the economic downturn on its key markets.

The company is narrowing its 2009 forecast to a range of $1.68 to $1.72 per share, below its prior forecast range of $1.68 to $1.76 per share.

Shares of Constellation were down over 30% in 2008. The winemaker has technical support in the $10 to $11 price area. If that fails to hold, the $6 to $7 area could come into play. If the shares can stabilize and begin to move up, the first area of overhead resistance would come at the $18 to $20 levels. We do not currently rate this non-dividend paying stock, but we would look elsewhere for better investment opportunities.

Constellation Brands does not currently pay a dividend.

Monsanto Shares Up 14% After Trouncing First-Quarter Results

Monsanto(MON Quote) shares are up 14% Wednesday after the company reported profit that rose 54% to $1.6 billion, or $1 a share, from $1.04 billion, or 46 cents share, in the year-ago period.

Management sees a strong start to the Latin America season, which is an enormous positive, and believes this can lead to the making of a premium corn seed business there. The company's seeds and genomics units grew profit by about 37% to $678 million on sales of $1.1 billion, up 21% from the fiscal first-quarter 2008.