Conagra Brands Inc. CAG, +0.48% shares rose 2% in Thursday premarket trading before pulling back to a 0.2% rise after the food company reported fiscal second-quarter earnings and sales that beat expectations. Net income totaled $378.9 million, or 77 cents per share, up from $260.5 million, or 53 cents per share, last year. Adjusted EPS of 81 cents beat the FactSet consensus of 74 cents. Sales totaled $3.00 billion, up from $2.82 billion last year and also ahead of the FactSet consensus for $2.99 billion. Conagra’s lineup includes the Slim Jim jerky brand, Vlasic, and Duncan Hines. “We remain confident that Conagra Brands is well-positioned to capture the benefits of the shifting consumer behavior, many of which we believe will continue well into the future,” said Chief Executive Sean Connolly in a statement. For the third-quarter, Conagra is guiding for organic net sales growth of 6% to 8%, and adjusted EPS of 56 cents to 60 cents. The guidance does not include the pending sale of the Peter Pan peanut butter brand, which was announced on Dec. 7, 2020. The FactSet consensus is for sales of $2.99 billion, suggesting 6.1% growth and EPS of 74 cents. Conagra stock has gained 10.6% over the past year while the S&P 500 index SPX, +0.57% has gained 15.8% for the period.
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