(IPSU) - Imperial Sugar Co - in 3 of 4 quarters, crushed earnings by an average of 150.0%

Imperial Sugar Company (IPSU), a Zacks #1 Rank stock, exceeded analysts’ earnings expectations in three out of the past four quarters by an average of 150.0%. Consensus estimates for both this quarter and for the full year have risen considerably over the past two months. The Board of Directors recently declared a special dividend of $3.00 per share in mid December. The company has a price-to-book ratio of 1.6, compared to 4.8 for the market. Full Analysis Imperial Sugar Company, together with its subsidiaries, engages in processing and marketing refined sugar in the United States. The company refines, packages and distributes granulated, powdered, liquid and brown sugars. IPSU also produces specialty sugar products, including savannah gold, edible molasses, syrups and specialty sugars used in confections and icings. The company markets products nationally under the Imperial®, Dixie Crystals® and Holly® brands. When IPSU tops analysts’ earnings expectations, it usually does so by a rather large margin. In three out of the past four quarters in which the company surprised to the upside, it did so by an average of 150.0%. On Dec 12, IPSU reported fourth-quarter fiscal 2006 earnings per share of $1.34. The result crushed the consensus estimate of 88 cents by 52.3%. Revenues experienced a 6.1% jump to $240.3 million from $226.6 million in the prior-year period, fueled by a rise in domestic sugar prices. For the entire fiscal year, profits came in at $50.1 million, versus a loss of $19.3 million last year. Revenues increased 17.8% to $946.8 million from $803.8 million in fiscal 2005. President and CEO Robert A. Peiser stated, “We are very pleased with our financial results for fiscal 2006. Industry dynamics were very favorable to us and enabled us to improve margins across all channels to very acceptable levels.” Consensus estimates for this quarter have risen 18.7% to 89 cents over the past two months. Profit forecasts for this year have also increased by an impressive margin—16.8% to $2.50 over the same period of time. The Board of Directors recently declared a special dividend of $3.00 per share. The special dividend is on top of the company's regular quarterly dividend of six cents per share. IPSU has a current dividend yield of 0.92%. IPSU is currently trading at a valuation of 6.2x trailing 12-month earnings and at 10.4x current fiscal-year estimated earnings. The market, as represented by the S&P 500, is trading at a valuation of 17.3x trailing 12-month earnings and at 15.6x its current fiscal-year estimated earnings. The company has a price-to-book ratio of 1.6, compared to 4.8 for the market. IPSU’s return on equity of 30% is in line with the industry average. Content Courtesy: Zacks Investment Research #1 Ranked Stocks Highlight Archive To truly take advantage of the Zacks Rank, you need to first understand how it works. That is why we created the free special report: Zacks Rank Guide: Harnessing the Power of Earnings Estimate Revisions. | Blog Home| VitalStocks Home