Ketchup is Playing Catch Up (NYSE:HNZ)

You have got to see this!  The stock chart for H.J. Heinz Company (NYSE:HNZ) shows it has been locked in a solid uptrend since March, logging just over a 40% gain.  The price channel for the stock (shown by the blue and purple lines in the chart below) is well-defined and holding steady.  It’s price is on the upper line, which means that technically speaking it should come down a bit toward the lower line and potentially present a great opportunity for interested buyers of HNZ.

H.J. Heinz Company (NYSE:HNZ) will report earnings Nov. 24 before the market opens.  With 12 analysts following, the average estimate is for the company to produce an EPS of $0.69, which is lower than year ago of $0.87.  The $0.69 EPS is also just a penny lower than the estimate 7 days ago.  Heinz has shown a reasonable growth of 5.7% average per year of the past 5 years, edging out its Industry average of 3.4%.  The company is project to have 8% growth per years over the next 5 years.

All eyes will be on Heinz for their upcoming earnings on Tuesday.  The past five quarters (count them, 5!) have all resulted in earnings surprises for the company.  Unfortunately, the company was taken down with the broad market even though it was surprising at earnings.  That was largely due to the overall earnings decreasing even though the company was beating expectations. 

Good luck to investors playing the HNZ earnings call.

Disclosure: No positions.