Taste of Home Entertaining
July 27, 2006

Reader's Digest has successfully turned around its QSP youth fund-raising division and could have similar success as it expands operations internationally, according to S&P analyst James Peters, who has a buy recommendation on the stock. In a May 18 report, Peters also points to expected revenue growth from new products and new business ventures, such as recently launched party planning business Taste of Home Entertaining.

Shares finished at $13.81 on July 26, up 5.2% from a 52-week low touched on June 13. Still, some analysts spot few factors likely to improve the stock price further, particularly as Reader's Digest's full-year earnings tend to be weighed toward December-quarter results. "We do not see a catalyst for [the] shares near term, given its seasonality and general economic concerns," Merrill Lynch analyst Karl Choi wrote in a July 10 report. Choi has a neutral recommendation on the stock. (Merrill owns 1% or more of Reader's Digest stock and makes a market in the securities.)

View the Taste of Home Entertaining review