LIVESTOCK HIGHLIGHTS: Top Stories of the Day
April 27 2017 - 6:00PM
Dow Jones News
TOP STORIES
Whole Foods Enters Earnings with Activism Push -- Market
Talk
16:09 ET - Whole Foods (WFM) will report 2Q earnings May 10 with
two groups of activists having gone public with their demands.
Mutual-fund manager Neuberger Berman, which owns a 2.7% stake in
the organic grocery chain, sent a letter to the company's board
this week urging it to "immediately engage advisors" to review
options including a sale or joint venture. Jana Partners called for
a similar review. Neuberger and Jana aren't working together,
according to people familiar with the matter.
(heather.haddon@wsj.com; @heatherhaddon)
Pinnacle Outperforms Broader US Food Industry -- Market Talk
14:16 ET - Pinnacle Foods (PF), with brands like Duncan Hines
and Birds Eye, impresses investors with its earnings, separating
itself from the swath of consumer companies that posted lackluster
results recently and sending its shares up 6%. "We continued to
navigate the challenging environment quite well," CEO Mark Clouse
tells investors. The industry, "at least on the surface, looks
weaker in early 2017," he says. "As you know, there's no shortage
of theories attempting to explain what has caused the slowdown. I
believe that the recent softness has been driven by several
factors, none of which alone are large enough to fully account for
it but collectively, I believe, these factors have had an impact."
He said a later Easter, warmer winter and increases in ecommerce
all played roles. (annie.gasparro@wsj.com)
STORIES OF INTEREST
Starbucks Misses Growth Expectations in U.S. Stores
Starbucks Corp. still hasn't made good on its pledge to return
its critical U.S. business to 5% same-store sales growth.
The coffee giant missed sales expectations again in its home
market and globally, with sales up 3% overall and in the U.S. in
its second quarter. Analysts were expecting 3.7% growth globally
and 3.5% in the Americas, of which the U.S. is by far the largest
market.
Shares fell 3.6% to $59.09 in after-hours trading.
FUTURES MARKETS
Livestock Futures Leap on Nafta Uncertainty
CHICAGO--Livestock futures leaped on Thursday as traders took
stock of the Trump administration's shifting position on trade with
its neighbors.
Concern that the U.S. could leave the North American Free Trade
Agreement if Mexico and Canada were unwilling to renegotiate the
deal has roiled livestock trading this week. Prices rose Thursday
after the White House said it did not plan on leaving the agreement
soon, though some market participants continued to bet
defensively.
Lean hog futures for June delivery rose 2.9% to 72.825 cents a
pound at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, while April live cattle
futures rose 2.7% to $1.356 a pound.
CASH MARKETS
Zumbrota, Minn Hog Steady At $34.00 - Apr 27
Barrow and gilt prices at the Zumbrota, Minn., livestock market
today are steady at $34.00 per hundredweight.
Sow prices are steady. Sows weighing under 450 pounds are
$35.00-$37.00, 400-450 pounds are at $35.00-$37.00, 450-500 pounds
are $35.00-$37.00 and those over 500 pounds are $39.00-$41.00.
The day's total run is estimated at 150 head.
Prices are provided by the Central Livestock Association.
Estimated U.S. Pork Packer Margin Index - Apr 27
All figures are on a per-head basis.
Date Standard Margin Estimated margin
Operating Index at vertically -
integrated operations
*
Apr 27 +$31.82 +$27.34
Apr 26 +$33.09 +$26.74
Apr 25 +$36.42 +$27.71
* Based on Iowa State University's latest estimated cost of production.
A positive number indicates a processing margin above the cost of production of the animals.
Beef-O-Meter
This report compares the USDA's latest beef carcass composite
values as a percentage of their respective year-ago prices.
Beef
For Today Choice 100.3
(Percent of Year-Ago) Select 98.2
USDA Boxed Beef, Pork Reports
Wholesale choice-grade beef prices Thursday fell 3 cents per
hundred pounds, to $219.15, according to the USDA. Select-grade
prices rose 96 cents per hundred pounds, to $206.68. The total load
count was 106. Wholesale pork prices rose 28 cents, to $73.12 a
hundred pounds, based on Omaha, Neb., price quotes.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 27, 2017 17:45 ET (21:45 GMT)
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