Bob Evans Farms Beats Expectations But Takes A Step Back Anyway

Seth Jayson, The Motley Fool
Updated

Bob Evans Farms (NAS: BOBE) reported earnings on Feb. 19. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
 For the quarter ended Jan. 25 (Q3), Bob Evans Farms met expectations on revenues and beat slightly on earnings per share.

Compared to the prior-year quarter, revenue expanded slightly. Non-GAAP earnings per share dropped significantly. GAAP earnings per share contracted significantly.


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

Revenue details
 Bob Evans Farms booked revenue of $434.4 million. The four analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ wanted to see net sales of $432.5 million on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were the same as the prior-year quarter's.

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 $0.56. The five earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ anticipated $0.55 per share. Non-GAAP EPS of $0.56 for Q3 were 19% lower than the prior-year quarter's $0.69 per share. GAAP EPS of $0.20 for Q3 were 71% lower than the prior-year quarter's $0.69 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 37.4%, 70 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 6.5%, 60 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 1.3%, 340 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
 Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $351.8 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.66.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $1.60 billion. The average EPS estimate is $2.34.

Investor sentiment
 The stock has a two-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 89 members out of 136 rating the stock outperform, and 47 members rating it underperform. Among 47 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 33 give Bob Evans Farms a green thumbs-up, and 14 give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Bob Evans Farms is outperform, with an average price target of $47.70.

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The article Bob Evans Farms Beats Expectations But Takes A Step Back Anyway 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 position in any of the stocks mentioned. 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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