Bob Evans Farms Inc (NASDAQ:BOBE)
Bob Evans Farms, Inc. (BOBE), a restaurant company yesterday reported their fiscal fourth quarter and full year 2016 financial results. Bob Evans reported fourth quarter earnings of $0.48 per share which was better than analyst expectations of $0.43 per share. Bob Evans reported fourth quarter revenues increased 4% year over year to $345.6 million which beat analyst expectations of $345.33 million. Bob Evans estimated full year 2017 earnings to be in between $2.00 and $2.15 per share which fell short of analyst estimates of $2.19 per share. Bob Evans estimated full year 2017 revenues to be in between $1.28 and $1.33 billion which was on the low end of analyst estimates of $1.33 billion.
Bob Evans Farms, Inc. CEO’s Comments
President and Chief Executive Officer Saed Mohseni said,
“BEF Foods capped an excellent year with continued strong volume and profit growth. The expansion of our Lima, Ohio, refrigerated side-dish manufacturing facility is nearing completion and we expect its new production capacity to be brought on-line later this summer; enabling us to meet peak holiday demand this fall and achieve continued distribution and sales growth in the years ahead.
“At Bob Evans Restaurants, fourth-quarter same-store sales were in-line with our expectations. During the quarter, we made progress redesigning our restaurant menu, improved core menu items, and focused on guest hospitality to ensure a better guest experience. The new menu, to be introduced late-August, will be more guest-friendly, preserving guest favorites at every daypart, while better highlighting value and providing each guest with more meal options and flexibility. In the interim, we introduced our summer bacon promotion late May with special bacon-themed items at every daypart including a Bacon Lover’s Omelet, Bacon Cheeseburger, Strawberry Bacon Salad, and a three-course Bacon-Topped Chicken Dinner.”
Mohseni continued, “At the corporate level, we completed our previously announced real estate monetization initiatives with completion of a $197 million sale-leaseback transaction of 143 restaurant properties. Along with the $52 million sale-leaseback of two BEF Foods production facilities earlier in the year, these transactions have helped support nearly $500 million of capital returned to shareholders through share repurchases and dividends during the last three years. With these significant financial transactions behind us, our focus in fiscal 2017 is to profitably grow both BEF Foods and Bob Evans Restaurants while continuing to improve the efficiency at all levels of our company from the restaurant and plant-level to the home office. We believe this will deliver sustainable long-term shareholder value as we fulfill the promise of our corporate mission: providing high-quality food with hospitality and integrity, whether in our restaurants or to our retailers.” Globe Newswire
BOBE Technical Analysis
BOBE opened trading yesterday at $44.35 which was up from the previous days trading of $44.32. BOBE closed trading yesterday at $44.74 and crashed down after market to $42.03, equivalent to a 6% decrease from the closing price. Taking a look at the daily chart we can see the last time BOBE traded below these levels was on February 12th when it traded at $152.73 . Taking a closer look at the daily chart we can see that BOBE has been on a downward trend dating back to February 26th when it traded at $41.78. BOBE has a float of 16.34 million shares and traded 2.72 times the normal daily trading volume on Tuesday. For trading purposes, I would like to see BOBE open trading on Wednesday below $43.00 and if it does I would be looking to take a short position at the bell. My stop loss would be $0.25 from my entry position fearing anything more than that and the stock would start to fill in the gap down.
Company Profile
Bob Evans Farms, Inc. owns and operates full-service restaurants under the Bob Evans Restaurants brand name in the United States. The company conducts its operations through Bob Evans Restaurants and BEF Foods segments. As of January 22, 2016, it owned and operated 548 family restaurants in 18 states, primarily in the Midwest, mid-Atlantic, and Southeast regions of the United States. The company’s restaurants offers breakfast, lunch, and dinner items in family-friendly settings. It also produces and distributes fresh, smoked, and fully cooked pork sausage, ham, and hickory-smoked bacon products; ready-to-eat products, such as sandwiches, soups, and gravies; home-style refrigerated side dishes; and frozen food items primarily under the Bob Evans, Owens, and Country Creek brands. In addition, the company manufactures and sells products to foodservice accounts, including Bob Evans Restaurants, and other restaurants and food sellers. Bob Evans Farms, Inc. was founded in 1948 and is headquartered in New Albany, Ohio.