Safeway Inc. Stock Downgraded (SWY)

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Safeway (NYSE:SWY) has been downgraded by TheStreet Ratings from buy to hold. The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its increase in net income, revenue growth and notable return on equity. However, as a counter to these strengths, we also find weaknesses including generally poor debt management, poor profit margins and weak operating cash flow.

Highlights from the ratings report include:

• The net income growth from the same quarter one year ago has significantly exceeded that of the S&P 500 and the Food & Staples Retailing industry. The net income increased by 190.4% when compared to the same quarter one year prior, rising from $25.10 million to $72.90 million.
• Despite its growing revenue, the company underperformed as compared with the industry average of 6.6%. Since the same quarter one year prior, revenues slightly increased by 2.4%. Growth in the company's revenue appears to have helped boost the earnings per share.
• SAFEWAY INC reported significant earnings per share improvement in the most recent quarter compared to the same quarter a year ago. This company has reported somewhat volatile earnings recently. But, we feel it is poised for EPS growth in the coming year. During the past fiscal year, SAFEWAY INC reported lower earnings of $1.53 versus $1.57 in the prior year. This year, the market expects an improvement in earnings ($1.97 versus $1.53).
• The gross profit margin for SAFEWAY INC is currently lower than what is desirable, coming in at 29.50%. It has decreased from the same quarter the previous year. Along with this, the net profit margin of 0.70% trails that of the industry average.
• Net operating cash flow has significantly decreased to -$541.80 million or 803.00% when compared to the same quarter last year. In addition, when comparing to the industry average, the firm's growth rate is much lower.

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Safeway Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as a food and drug retailer in North America. The company has a P/E ratio of 14.5, equal to the average retail industry P/E ratio and below the S&P 500 P/E ratio of 17.7. Safeway has a market cap of $5.56 billion and is part of the services sector and retail industry. Shares are down 0.5% year to date as of the close of trading on Friday.

You can view the full Safeway Ratings Report or get investment ideas from our investment research center.
-- Written by a member of TheStreet Ratings Staff

For more information on Safeway Inc. click any of the following:

• Safeway Inc. Stock Price

• Safeway Inc. Analyst Ratings

• Safeway Inc. Key Stats & Profile

• Safeway Inc. Earnings

• Safeway Inc. Ratio Comparison

• Safeway Inc. Growth Rates

• Safeway Inc. Balance Sheet

• Safeway Inc. Cash Flow

• Safeway Inc. Income Statement