Kraft Foods Inc Stock Buy Recommendation Reiterated (KFT)

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Kraft Foods (Nasdaq:KFT) has been reiterated by TheStreet Ratings as a buy with a ratings score of A+ . The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its solid stock price performance, growth in earnings per share, increase in net income, notable return on equity and expanding profit margins. Although no company is perfect, currently we do not see any significant weaknesses which are likely to detract from the generally positive outlook.

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Highlights from the ratings report include:

• The stock has not only risen over the past year, it has done so at a faster pace than the S&P 500, reflecting the earnings growth and other positive factors similar to those we have cited here. Turning our attention to the future direction of the stock, it goes without saying that even the best stocks can fall in an overall down market. However, in any other environment, this stock still has good upside potential despite the fact that it has already risen in the past year.
• KRAFT FOODS INC has improved earnings per share by 5.5% in the most recent quarter compared to the same quarter a year ago. The company has demonstrated a pattern of positive earnings per share growth over the past two years. We feel that this trend should continue. During the past fiscal year, KRAFT FOODS INC increased its bottom line by earning $1.99 versus $1.42 in the prior year. This year, the market expects an improvement in earnings ($2.50 versus $1.99).
• The net income growth from the same quarter one year ago has exceeded that of the S&P 500 and greatly outperformed compared to the Food Products industry average. The net income increased by 5.4% when compared to the same quarter one year prior, going from $976.00 million to $1,029.00 million.
• The return on equity has improved slightly when compared to the same quarter one year prior. This can be construed as a modest strength in the organization. Compared to other companies in the Food Products industry and the overall market on the basis of return on equity, KRAFT FOODS INC has outperformed in comparison with the industry average, but has underperformed when compared to that of the S&P 500.
• 36.30% is the gross profit margin for KRAFT FOODS INC which we consider to be strong. Regardless of KFT's high profit margin, it has managed to decrease from the same period last year. Despite the mixed results of the gross profit margin, the net profit margin of 7.70% trails the industry average.

Kraft Foods Inc., together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and markets packaged food products worldwide. The company has a P/E ratio of 18.5, below the average food & beverage industry P/E ratio of 19.5and above the S&P 500 P/E ratio of 17.7. Kraft has a market cap of $69.04 billion and is part of the consumer goods sector and food & beverage industry. Shares are up 5.4% year to date as of the close of trading on Friday.

You can view the full Kraft Ratings Report or get investment ideas from our investment research center.

--Written by a member of TheStreet Ratings Staff.

TheStreet ratings do not represent the views of TheStreet's staff or its contributors. Ratings are established by computer based on metrics for performance (which includes growth, stock performance, efficiency and valuation) and risk (volatility and solvency). Companies with poor cash flow or high debt levels tend to earn lower ratings in our model.

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