Factors Setting The Tone For Smucker's (SJM) Q3 Earnings

The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM) is slated to release third-quarter fiscal 2020 results on Feb 26. The provider of pet foods as well as consumer foods and beverages has trailing four-quarter positive earnings surprise of 3.3%, on average.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for fiscal third-quarter earnings is currently pegged at $2.22 per share. The projected figure suggests a decline of 1.7% from the year-ago quarter’s reported level. The consensus mark for revenues is pegged at $1,973 million, which indicates a decline of 1.9% from the figure reported in the prior-year quarter.

Factors to Note

Smucker has been under pressure, thanks to the divestiture of the U.S. baking business. This has been affecting the International, Away from Home and U.S. Retail Consumer Foods segments for a while. Apart from this, declines in private label pet food products have been hurting the company’s performance. In the last earnings call, management guided for nearly $10-million sales decline in private label pet food business for fiscal third quarter.

Also, lower net price realization across some segments along with unfavorable foreign currency movement has been headwinds for the company. Smucker anticipates low-single digit net sales and earnings per share decline for fiscal third quarter.

Nevertheless, gains from acquisitions and partnerships as well as a strong brand portfolio have been aiding the company. To this end, the buyout of Ainsworth has been yielding positively. Further, Smucker’s cost-saving initiatives along with efforts to broaden presence in the e-commerce channel bode well.

What Our Zacks Model Unveils

Our proven model doesn’t conclusively predict an earnings beat for Smucker this time around. The combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) increases the odds of an earnings beat. But that’s not the case here.

Smucker carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell) and an Earnings ESP of 0.00%. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.

Stocks With Favorable Combination

Here are some companies you may want to consider, as our model shows that these have the right combination of elements to post an earnings beat:

The Hain Celestial (NASDAQ:HAIN) has an Earnings ESP of +0.22% and a Zacks Rank #2. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) has an Earnings ESP of +0.20% and a Zacks Rank #2.

Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) has an Earnings ESP of + 0.78% and a Zacks Rank #3.

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