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NEW YORK — Shares of Procter & Gamble Co. declined on Thursday after the consumer products company posted declines in profit and sales in the fourth quarter, and an analyst said its prices are higher than many rivals.
The stock declined $2.30, or 4.3 percent, to $51.61 in afternoon trading. The stock has ranged from $43.93 to $73.57 over the past year.
P&G on Wednesday said its fiscal fourth-quarter profit sank 18 percent, and sales declined 11 percent. It was Bob McDonald's first quarter as chief executive.
The company said plans to cut some of its prices to revive sales as shoppers gravitate toward cheaper products amid the recession. Sales of discretionary items like electric shavers and power toothbrushes were weak, for example.
Some analysts said most of P&G's troubles were traceable to the broader economic malaise.
"P&G is not a broken company. It's just a whole lot more discretionary and premium-skewed than many in its peer group and where it was in the last consumer recession," said Deutsche Bank analyst Bill Schmitz.
Schmitz said consumers are choosing value, and warned that P&G's price gaps with competitors remain high.
The shares don't have much further to fall but could fluctuate until growth resumes, said Schmitz. He rates the shares "Hold."
So far this year, P&G stock has retreated 12.8 percent.
