Energizer Holdings Inc. - Value

Energizer Holdings Inc. (ENR) saw sales rise in the fiscal third quarter due to the launch of the Schick Hydro. The company has a forward P/E of just 11.3, under the industry average of 13.1.

Energizer Holdings manufactures consumer products mainly under 3 brands: Energizer batteries (yes- the Energizer Bunny), Schick razors and grooming products and Playtex feminine care products.

Energizer Surprised by 40.1% in the First Third Quarter

On July 27, Energizer reported its fiscal 2010 third quarter results and beat the Zacks Consensus for the third time in the last four quarters.

Earnings per share were $1.35 compared to the Zacks Consensus of 96 cents. The company earned $1.13 in the year ago quarter.

Sales rose 8% to $79.3 million due to the launch of the Schick Hydro product as well as the inclusion of Edge and Skintimate shave preparations. Sales of Personal Care products rose 11% in the quarter.

The Household Product segment, which includes batteries, saw sales climb 4% but there was still underlying weakness in this category as more devices are using built-in rechargable battery systems, especially in the developed world.

The company is evaluating its strategy for the future in this category given the trend.

Outlook for the Full Year

The company didn't provide earnings guidance but it expects its full year advertising and promotion to be at or slightly below 11% of net sales.

It also holds a neutral outlook for commodities costs as it forecasts them to be between $3 million and $5 million for the rest of the year. This is in line with the costs from 2009.

Zacks Consensus Estimates Rise

With the big beat in the fiscal third quarter, the analysts have been adjusting their full year estimates higher.

12 out of 13 estimates have climbed for 2010 in the last 30 days, pushing the Zacks Consensus to $5.71 from $5.27 in that time period.

This is earnings growth of 12.2%.

Value Fundamentals

In addition to the low P/E, Energizer also has an attractive price-to-book ratio of 2.3.

The company's return on equity is a stellar 20.3%, much higher than the industry at 15.9%.

Energizer is a Zacks #1 Rank (strong buy) stock.

Tracey Ryniec is the Value Stock Strategist for Zacks.com. She is also the Editor in charge of the market-beating Zacks Value Trader service. You can follow her at twitter.com/traceyryniec.

 
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