Sanderson Farms To Report 4Q Earnings On 12/14

Goldman Sachs has published a research report on Sanderson Farms SAFM in anticipation of the company's 4Q earnings report, scheduled for 12/14. In the report, Goldman writes "We see neutral-to-negative trading bias on the earnings report. First, SAFM is likely to give a cautious appraisal of the current chicken supply outlook. Second, the company may guide to greater feed cost inflation than is currently embedded in the consensus view. SAFM recently discussed corn prices including basis of around $6 per bushel, which is worse than our base case assumption. Third, though recent management commentary suggests 4Q results will be strong on the back of robust chicken prices and favorable feed costs, we don't expect this to be a positive catalyst for two reasons: (1) we believe a solid 4Q10 print is already expected and (2) investors are likely to look through the print towards incremental challenges in 2011." Goldman Sachs maintains its Sell rating and $35 price target. Sanderson Farms, Inc. closed yesterday at $40.94.