Goodman Fielder Ltd lags on analyst revisions among 14 companies in Australia's consumer staples sector tracked by at least three analysts, data from Thomson Reuters StarMine shows.
The food manufacturer has an Analyst Revision Model (ARM) score of 27, the lowest in the sector. It also has a below-average SmartHoldings (SH) score of 24 suggesting a potential fall in institutional ownership.
The company's net margin for 2012 lagged industry average by 13.2 percent. Its free cash flow for the six months ending December 2011, at negative A$33 million, was a decline of A$117 million from the year-earlier period.
Goodman Fielder's forward 12 month P/BV, P/E and EV/EBITDA ratios are 74 percent, 39 percent and 40 percent lower than the peer average respectively.
Of the 13 analysts tracking the stock, four give it "sell" or "strong sell" rating, six have a "hold" while three recommend a "sell".
The stock is up 24 percent so far this year, while the broader index is up nearly 11 percent for the same period, as of Wednesday's close.
On the other end of the spectrum, Warrnambool Cheese and Butter Factory Company Holdings leads the sector with an ARM score of 92.
CONTEXT:
Goldman Fielder said on Aug. 14 that while its net revenue declined marginally to $2.5 billion for 2012, its normalized earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) declined nearly 20 percent to $233 million. Its normalized net profit after tax (NPAT) fell nearly 29 percent to $96.5 million.
StarMine's Analyst Revision Model ranks stocks based on analysts' revision of earnings and revenue estimates and changes in their ratings and usually gives additional weight to analysts who have been more accurate in the past.
StarMine's SmartHoldings model is a global stock selection model that ranks stocks based on expected future increase or decrease in institutional ownership.
