Earnings

Return to Article

Bob Evans Shares Surge After 4Q Profit Beat

The Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — Shares of Bob Evans Farms Inc. jumped Wednesday after the restaurant company, which also makes pork sausage, handily beat Wall Street analysts" profit estimates for its fiscal fourth quarter.

Its stock climbed $4.65, or 17.5 percent, to $31.49 in morning trading. Over the past 52 weeks, the shares have traded between $12.51 and $34.70, and are up about 31 percent since the start of the year.

After the market closed Tuesday, Bob Evans said its profit in the period rose 31 percent to $21.1. million, or 69 cents per share, due to lower costs. Those results included both one-time charges and pretax gains.

Analysts, who typically exclude one-time costs and other special items, expected profit of 39 cents per share, according to a poll by Thomson Reuters.

Restaurant sales overall still fell 1 percent while sales at restaurants open at least a year dipped 1.6 percent at Bob Evans and slid 7.1 percent at the company's Mimi Cafe chain.

Sales of the company's food products grew 1.5 percent.

SunTrust Robinson Humphrey analyst Christopher O'Cull raised his price target to $35 from $30, noting that the company's operating costs were better than expected.

The new price target implies the analyst expects the shares to gain about 31 percent from the closing price on Tuesday over the next 12 months.

The analyst also said he expects revenue will grow in the company's food products division in fiscal 2010 due to a greater number of products and a new distribution model.

O'Cull has a "Neutral" rating on the stock.