Tyson Foods Earnings, Outlook Satisfy Investors’ Appetites

For the full year, Tyson posted revenues of $34.37 billion, slightly below both its forecast of $34.5 billion at the end of the third quarter and the consensus estimate of $34.43 billion. Full-year EPS totaled $2.22, equal to the consensus estimate.

Tyson reiterated its fiscal 2014 sales estimate of $36 billion, which is higher than the current consensus estimate of $35.69 billion. The company expects sales of its chicken, beef, pork and turkey products to rise by 1% next year. Falling grain costs are also expected, which should help margins. The company’s prepared food segment 2014 growth is expected to be slightly below its normalized range of 4% to 6%. Beef and pork sales growth could be below normalized ranges, while sales of chicken are expected to be at or above the normalized growth range of 5% to 7%.

At the end of the third fiscal quarter, the consensus estimate for full-year EPS jumped from $2.12 to $2.22. Tyson is one of those rare companies that jumped over a raised bar rather than a lowered one. Given the firm’s revenue estimate for next year, analysts’ estimates are also likely to rise.

Shares were up about 4.3% in premarket trading at $30.00, in a 52-week range of $17.65 to $32.40. Thomson Reuters had a consensus analyst price target of around $34.60 before this report.