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+DJ Deutsche Cuts Smithfield FY03 EPS View To 87c From 97c

11/25/2002
Dow Jones News Services
(Copyright © 2002 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.)




(MORE) DOW JONES NEWS 11-25-02

08:37 AM

=DJ Smithfield/Deutsche -2: Stock Called Overvalued >SFD



DES MOINES, Iowa (Dow Jones)--Contending that "normalized profits" are unlikely for Smithfield Foods Inc. (SFD) before fiscal 2005, Deutsche Bank Securities Monday cut its fiscal 2003 earnings estimate.

Analyst Eric Katzman lowered his full-year figure to 87 cents a diluted share from 97 cents. The Thomson First Call consensus of eight brokerages is 90 cents.

His estimate for fiscal 2004 is $1.28 and for 2005 is $2.10. The consensus for fiscal 2004 is $1.78, but no figure for fiscal 2005 is posted.

Katzman retained his hold rating on Smithfield, saying that "recent stock performance is overdone and too far ahead of fundamentals." With shares trading recently at $18.93, he said they appear "slightly overvalued."

-By Richard Gibson, Dow Jones Newswires; 515-282-6830; [e-mail]