Kimberly-Clark Pleases on Earnings, Consumer Products Remain Favorable
Kimberly-Clark Corp. (NYSE: KMB) managed to beat earnings expectations with $1.30 per share versus estimates of $1.28 per share. Revenues were only up 0.2% year-over-year to $5.27 billion. We had estimates at $5.26 billion. What is interesting here is that…
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What is interesting here is that the consumer products giant has managed to boost its 2012 outlook at a time where many multinational corporations are lowering estimates due to currency woes on top of that pesky Europe-led global slowing news. The company now sees earnings coming in at $5.05 to $5.20 per share. Some may consider this “raised guidance” as being a bit of a catching up forecast because the consensus estimate is already $5.16 in earnings per share. The company’s prior guidance for 2012 had been $5.00 to $5.15 per share.
What is perhaps more important is that revenues are projected to be flat to up 1% for 2012. That translates to close to $20.8 billion to $21.1 billion, and that is lower than the consensus of almost $21.2 billion.
The report has Kimberly-Clark trading up 1% at $84.16 right at the open, after closing at $83.40 on Wednesday. The 52-week trading range is $61.00 to $86.25 and the dividend is now 3.5%. We have maintained that a dividend bubble has been forming here because the dividend now matches that of the much larger rival of Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG).
Another rival earnings report came out from Colgate-Palmolive Co. (NYSE: CL), which is seeing a 2.5% gain in shares after the smaller company reported in-line revenue and earnings, and after reaffirming double-digit 2012 earnings growth.
JON C. OGG
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Jon Ogg has been a financial news analyst since 1997. Mr. Ogg set up one of the first audio squawk box services for traders called TTN, which he sold in 2003. He has previously worked as a licensed broker to some of the top U.S. and E.U. financial institutions, managed capital, and has raised private capital at the seed and venture stage. He has lived in Copenhagen, Denmark, as well as New York and Chicago, and he now lives in Houston, Texas. Jon received a Bachelor of Business Administration in finance at University of Houston in 1992. www.247wallst.com.