Conagra Shares Fall After Sales Miss

Conagra Brands Inc. shares fell 1.5% in Thursday premarket trading after the food company reported a third-quarter sales slip that landed below estimates. Conagra reported third-quarter net income of $179.7 million, or 41 cents per share, down from $204.6 million, or 46 cents per share, for the same period last year. Adjusted EPS was 48 cents, beating the 44-cent FactSet consensus. Revenue was $1.98 billion, down from $2.20 billion last year, and just below the $1.99 billion FactSet consensus. The company now expects fiscal 2017 adjusted EPS to be at or slightly above the high-end of the $1.65 to $1.70 range. The FactSet consensus is $1.70. Sales are expected to be at or slightly below the low-end of a 4% to 5% decline. Conagra shares are up 20.1% for the past year while the S&P 500 index is up 15.3% for the period.