ConAgra Foods Inc.’s stock rose 1.1% in premarket trade Thursday, after the packaged food company beat fiscal third-quarter profit and sales expectations. For the quarter ended Feb. 28, earnings were $204.6 million, or 46 cents a share, compared with a loss of $954.1 million, or $2.21 a share, in the same period a year ago. Excluding non-recurring items, adjusted earnings per share were 68 cents, above the FactSet consensus of 58 cents. Revenue rose to $2.92 billion from $2.91 billion, beating the FactSet consensus of $2.86 billion, with both consumer foods and commercial foods sales beating expectations. For the full year, the company expects adjusted EPS, which excludes results from the recent divestiture of its private label business, of $2.05 to $2.07. The stock has climbed 7.8% year to date through Wednesday, while the S&P 500 has gained 1.1%.
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