Top 5 Mid-Caps for Nov. 20

Church & Dwight(CHD Quote) develops, manufactures, and markets household, personal care and specialty products under well-recognized brand names such as Arm & Hammer, Brillo, Kaboom, OxiClean and Trojan. We have rated Church & Dwight a buy since November 2001.

For the third quarter of fiscal 2008, Church & Dwight reported that its earnings declined 5.3% year over year in the third quarter of fiscal 2008, hurt by higher operating expenses. Although net income fell to $49 million from $51.7 million in the prior year's quarter, earnings were reported at 73 cents per share excluding restructuring charges related to a plant closing, beating the consensus estimate of 69 cents per share. Net sales grew 8.7% compared with the third quarter of fiscal 2008. Revenue growth was reported across various businesses, including 9.7% growth from the Consumer Domestic segment and 4.3% growth from the Consumer International segment. According to the company, price increases, new products and increased distribution on key brands helped drive organic revenue growth in the quarter.

Looking forward to full-year fiscal 2008, the company reconfirmed its EPS guidance to a range of $2.83 and $2.85, which would represent a 15% to 16% increase over fiscal year 2007. The company also reconfirmed its forecast of organic revenue growth beyond 3% to 4%. Management announced that it was pleased with the organic revenue growth, increasing gross margin, tight management of overhead costs, and increased marketing spending during the third quarter. Bear in mind, however, that failure to achieve revenue from new products and increased prices may pose a threat to Church & Dwight's future financial performance. In addition, a decrease in demand for the company's products due to the slowdown in the U.S. economy could negatively impact revenue growth.