Companies and Brands

Blue Buffalo Wows Investors With Earnings and Guidance

Chris Lange

Published: March 8, 2016 4:32 pm

Last Updated: January 13, 2020 12:12 pm

Blue Buffalo Pet Products, Inc. (NASDAQ: BUFF) reported fourth quarter financial results after the markets closed Tuesday. The company had $0.16 in earnings per share (EPS) on $265 million in revenue compared to Thomson Reuters consensus estimates that called for $0.14 in EPS on $259.20 million in revenue.

In terms of guidance for the 2016 full year, the company expects to have EPS in the range of $0.72 to $0.74 on revenues in the range of $1.12 billion to $1.14 billion. There are consensus estimates that call for $0.70 in EPS on $1.13 billion in revenue.

Considering the success with its Heartland manufacturing plant, the company is announcing an expanded three-year, $200 million capital investment program to build two new manufacturing facilities as well as an R&D center.

On the books, cash and cash equivalents totaled $224.3 million compared to $95.79 million in the same period from the previous year.

Kurt Schmidt, CEO of Blue Buffalo, commented:

I am pleased with our fourth quarter results. Blue Buffalo delivered a strong finish to a strong year. We continued to gain share, improve our margins and invest in new legs of growth. In addition, given the successful completion and ramp-up of our Heartland facility, we are announcing an expanded three-year, $200 million capital investment program to increase our manufacturing and R&D capabilities.

Shares of Blue Buffalo closed Tuesday down 4.7% at $18.56, with a consensus analyst rpice target of $24.86 and a 52-week trading range of $15.19 to $28.80. Following the release of the earnings report the stock was up 9% at $20.25 in the after-hours trading session.