Hormel Lifts Guidance As After Posting 'strong' Quarter

Hormel Foods Corp. raised its earnings guidance on Thursday as it reported adjusted earnings that beat Wall Street forecasts. For its fiscal first quarter, Hormel said it earned 69 cents a share on an adjusted basis, compared to 57 cents in the year-ago basis. Analyst polled by FactSet Research were expecting the company to earn 64 cents. Hormel said it saw record sales in the period, a gain of 6.8% to $2.39 billion, versus the year-ago period. Hormel also lifted 2015 adjusted earnings guidance from $2.45 to $2.55 per share to $2.50 to $2.60, citing a "strong" quarter as the reason. Shares were inactive in premarket trading so far.