TSC Ratings' Updates: Bunge (at TheStreet.com)

The following ratings changes were generated on Thursday, Oct. 9. We've downgraded global agribusiness and food company Bunge from buy to hold. The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its robust revenue growth, impressive record of earnings per share growth and compelling growth in net income. However, as a counter to these strengths, we also find weaknesses including a generally disappointing performance in the stock itself and poor profit margins. BG's very impressive revenue growth of 73.1% greatly exceeded the industry average of 38.8%, appearing to boost EPS, which increased significantly in the most recent quarter compared with the same quarter a year ago. We feel this trend should continue. During the past fiscal year, Bunge increased its bottom line by earning $5.87 vs. $4.25 in the prior year.... [read full story]