J.P. Morgan: NWL Will Meet Or Exceed FY11 EPS Guidance

Newell Rubbermaid Inc. NWL posted normalized Q1 EPS of $0.30, “which was ahead of our estimate of $0.27 and Bloomberg consensus of $0.28,” J.P. Morgan reports. “Top line was in-line with our expectations, which was the low on the Street heading into the quarter, while gross margin performance came in better than anticipated,” J.P. Morgan writes. “The stock dropped 3.4% on Friday (S&P flat), which we believe was an overreaction. Although Q2 numbers will likely move down, we are comfortable that NWL will meet or even exceed the high end of their FY11 EPS guidance range.” Newell Rubbermaid closed Friday at $19.06.