Campbell keeps its appeal

Article Excerpt

CAMPBELL SOUP CO. $58 (New York symbol CPB; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 308.0 million; Market cap: $17.9 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.3; Dividend yield: 2.4%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.campbellsoupcompany.com) is the world’s largest maker of canned soups. Its other well-known products include Prego canned pasta and sauces, Pepperidge Farm cookies, V8 vegetable juices and Bolthouse Farms fresh carrots. The company earned $176 million in its fiscal 2017 third quarter, ended April 30, 2017. That’s down 4.9% from $185 million a year earlier. Per-share earnings declined 1.7%, to $0.58 from $0.59, on fewer shares outstanding. The lower earnings are due to rising costs for raw materials and a higher tax rate. Sales in the quarter dipped 0.9%, to $1.85 billion from $1.87 billion. Lower U.S. sales for canned and fresh foods offset gains for Campbell’s global snacks and biscuits operations. In response to rising demand for healthful food, the company continues to remove artificial colours and flavors from its products. A..