The Dividend Daily

Natural and Organic Foods grocery chain, Whole Foods Market, Inc.(WFM) reported increased profits on Thursday, beating estimates.

The Austin, TX based company reported first quarter profit of $146 million, or 78 cents per share, up 19% from $118 million, or 65 cents per share last year. Analysts expected to see earnings of 77 cents per share.

Revenue for the quarter increased by 13.7% to $3.86 billion, from $3.39 million last year. Analysts expected to see revenue of $3.87 billion.

Looking forward, the company expects to see FY2013 earnings in the range of $2.83 to $2.87 per share. WFM expects to see a 12-14% growth in sales for the year. Analysts are expecting to see EPS of $2.90 with $13.13 billion in revenue.

The company said that it does not expect to see EPS as high as Q1 for the remainder of the quarters in 2013. Tougher margins will cause the company to struggle more during the rest of the year.

Whole Foods shares were down -$6.40, or -6.60% during premarket trading Thursday. The stock has increased 18% in the past year.

The Bottom Line
Shares of Whole Foods Market, Inc.(WFM) have a 0.83% yield, based on Wednesday’s closing price of $96.90.

Whole Foods Market, Inc.(WFM) is not recommended at this time, holding a Dividend.com DARS™ Rating of 3.4 out of 5 stars.

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