Business

NOTE TO EDITORS: The Following Is an Investment Opinion Being Issued by RothmanResearch.com.

NOTE TO EDITORS: The Following Is an Investment Opinion Being Issued by Benchmark Journal.

Safeway (NYSE: SWY) closed yesterday at $22.50. So far the stock has hit a 52-week low of $17.19 and 52-week high of $24.32. Safeway stock has been showing support around 22.21 and resistance in the 22.91 range. Technical indicators for the stock are Bullish and S&P gives SWY a weak 2 STAR (out of 5) sell...(Click the story link or go to http://www.marketintelligencecenter.com for the full story)

Safeway (NYSE: SWY) closed yesterday at $22.50. So far the stock has hit a 52-week low of $17.19 and 52-week high of $24.32. The proprietary Key Risk Ranking for SWY ha...(Click the story link or go to http://www.marketintelligencecenter.com for the full story)

Safeway (NYSE: SWY) closed yesterday at $22.74. So far the stock has hit a 52-week low of $17.19 and 52-week high of $24.32. Safeway stock has been showing support around 22.43 and resistance in the 23.35 range. Technical indicators for the stock are Bullish and S&P gives SWY a weak 2 STAR (out of 5) sell r...(Click the story link or go to http://www.marketintelligencecenter.com for the full story)

Safeway (NYSE: SWY) closed yesterday at $23.07. So far the stock has hit a 52-week low of $17.19 and 52-week high of $24.32. Safeway stock has been showing support around 22.72 and resistance in the 23.60 range. Technical indicators for the stock are Bullish and S&P gives SWY a weak 2 STAR (out of 5) sell ...(Click the story link or go to http://www.marketintelligencecenter.com for the full story)

The recession hasn’t taken a bite out of Petsmart’s (PETM) earnings thanks to the company’s ability to cut costs and slightly increase margins on essentially flat sales.The nation’s leading pet-supply retailer will report third-quarter 2009 earnings Wednesday. Last month Petsmart increased its earnings estimate to $0.25 to $0.29 a share from $0.20 to $0.24 a share. Analysts look for $0.28 a share. The company expects to earn between $1.43 and $1.51 a share for the year up from the revised estimate of $1.37 to $1.45.In the second quarter Petsmart’s revenue increased by 5.4% led by a 10.2% growth in ...

With all the financial woes in the global economy, the worst thing an investor can do is to “freeze up.” With all the ups and downs in the market, it’s all too easy for investors to allow their emotions to take control. That’s when the smallest mistakes turn into the biggest mistakes. There’s ...

Whole Foods Market Inc. (WFMI), the natural and organic grocer, recently reported its fourth quarter results. Earnings of 19 cents a share beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by a penny, surging 18.8% from 16 cents posted in the prior-year quarter. On a reported basis, including unusual items, earnings came in at 20 cents a share, [...]

(WFMI) Whole Foods Market Reports Healthy Earnings Results

Whole Foods Market Inc. (WFMI), the natural and organic grocer, recently reported its fourth quarter results. Earnings of 19 cents a share beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by a penny, surging 18.8% from 16 cents posted in the prior-year quarter. On a reported basis, including unusual items, earnings came in at 20 cents a share, far ahead of 1 cent delivered in the year-ago quarter.
 
The stringent cost-control measures, effective inventory management, improved store-level performance and increase in lower-priced brands drove earnings growth. Whole Foods sees earnings of $1.05 to $1.10 per share for fiscal year 2010, just below the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.11.


Whole Foods sustained its growth momentum in the top line for the second consecutive quarter. After rising 2% year on year in the third-quarter, revenues climbed 2.3% to $1,829.2 million in the fourth quarter, showing signs of revival. Earlier, the company saw a 0.4% rise in first-quarter revenues while second-quarter revenues decreased 0.5%. So far, in the first five weeks of first-quarter 2010, total sales climbed 5%.
 
Comparable-store sales slipped but at a decelerating rate – 0.9% fall in the reported quarter – as it improved sequentially over declines of 2.5% in the third-quarter 2009, 4.8% in the second quarter and 4% in the first quarter. Comps in the first five weeks of first-quarter 2010 jumped 1.6%.
 
Identical-store sales also fell 2.3% in the quarter, compared to a decline of 0.5% in the prior-year quarter but improved sequentially over declines of 3.8% in the third-quarter, 5.8% in the second quarter, and 4.9% in the first quarter. So far, in the first five weeks of first-quarter 2010, identical-store sales rose 0.4%. The uptrend in comparable and identical-store sales was due to improved transaction counts.
 
Whole Foods expects the growth momentum generated in sales in the fiscal 2009 to continue through fiscal 2010. Management anticipates an increase of 5% to 8% in total sales, driven by 1% to 4% rise in comparable-store sales and flat to 3% growth in identical-store sales.
 
Adjusted EBITDA rose 46% to $133.5 million. Management expects EBITDA in the range of $625 million to $650 million. Whole Foods Market is engaged in the operation of natural and organic foods supermarkets primarily in the United States, competing with Kroger Co. (KR) and Safeway Inc. (SWY). The company currently operates 286 stores and expects to open 53 stores in the next four years.

Read the full analyst report on "WFMI"
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Read the full analyst report on "SWY"
Zacks Investment Research

BloggingStocks: Grocer Safeway Inc. (NYSE: SWY), first recommended on February 20, 2009 at a price of $20.90, remains a Buy, but there are changes to the recommendation, so follow closely.Most important: Safeway is now a high-risk stock, a demotion from ... Read more

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