Harris Teeter Supermarkets Hits Estimates, but GAAP Results Lag Last Year's

Seth Jayson, The Motley Fool
Updated

Harris Teeter Supermarkets (NYS: HTSI) reported earnings on Aug. 2. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended July 1 (Q3), Harris Teeter Supermarkets met expectations on revenue and met expectations on earnings per share.

Compared to the prior-year quarter, revenue shrank slightly and GAAP earnings per share shrank significantly.


Gross margins grew, operating margins dropped, and net margins contracted.

Revenue details
Harris Teeter Supermarkets notched revenue of $1.15 billion. The three analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ expected to see net sales of $1.16 billion on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 3.0% lower than the prior-year quarter's $1.19 billion.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Dollar amounts in millions. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

EPS details
EPS came in at $0.62. The four earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ forecast $0.62 per share. GAAP EPS of $0.32 for Q3 were 52% lower than the prior-year quarter's $0.66 per share.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

Margin details
For the quarter, gross margin was 30.2%, 90 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 2.8%, 200 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 1.4%, 130 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $1.19 billion. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.60.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $4.60 billion. The average EPS estimate is $2.37.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a three-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 79 members out of 96 rating the stock outperform, and 17 members rating it underperform. Among 33 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 26 give Harris Teeter Supermarkets a green thumbs-up, and seven give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Harris Teeter Supermarkets is buy, with an average price target of $47.20.

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The article Harris Teeter Supermarkets Hits Estimates, but GAAP Results Lag Last Year's originally appeared on Fool.com.

Seth Jayson had no position in any company mentioned here at the time of publication. You can view his stock holdings here. He is co-advisor ofMotley Fool Hidden Gems, which provides new small-cap ideas every month, backed by a real-money portfolio. The Motley Fool has no positions in the stocks mentioned above. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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