Ahead of the Bell: Campbell Soup holds meeting

Campbell Soup said Monday it expects earnings per share, excluding one-time charges and gains, at the top end of its range of 5 percent to 7 percent growth, which translates to $2.05 to $2.09 per share.

Analysts polled by Thomson Financial expect profit of $2.06 per share for the year.

The Camden, N.J.-based food maker also will buy back up to $1.2 billion of its shares.

Stifel Nicolaus & Co. analyst Christopher Growe said pricing has helped more than he expected. Price increases announced in February have been implemented across most of the company's portfolio, Growe said.

"While volumes look a bit weak based on our analysis, the benefit to dollar sales growth from pricing looks to have overcome this," Growe wrote in a client note.

Growe kept a "Hold" rating on the stock, saying there's a chance that investment in new products may limit the company's ability to top expectations.

"We know the level of reinvestment will likely be heavy and while it may not increase significantly, the growth in marketing investments should be sufficient to limit the upside ability to earnings," Growe wrote.

The company is scheduled to release fiscal fourth-quarter results some time in September, and Growe expects strong international sales during the period.

Shares of Campbell Soup closed 4 percent higher on Monday at $33.46.