Several Wall Street analysts raised their full-year profit forecasts for Sanderson Farms after the chicken producer turned in a robust quarterly earnings performance that raised hopes for the industry's rebound.

Sanderson on Thursday posted fiscal second-quarter earnings that were double what Wall Street had expected. The company said industry conditions had improved overall thanks to production cuts and lower feed costs.

BMO Capital Markets analyst Kenneth Zaslow, who raised his fiscal 2009 profit outlook for Sanderson, said the company's performance in part reflected stronger wing prices. He predicted breast prices would continue to improve while Sanderson's volume would decline modestly on lower production going forward.

Sanderson' ability to improve chicken cutout margins "is quite substantial and in the early stages, while the chicken recovery may be stronger and longer than previous cycles," Zaslow wrote in a note to clients.

Aiding the recovery will be increased leg and wing demand from export markets beyond Russia, resilient wing demand in a recession, and weak industry balance sheets that will limit chicken production, Zaslow said.

Heather Jones, of BB&T Capital Markets, raised profit targets for both 2009 and 2010, predicting stable to slightly higher pricing in the near term and supply-led improvement.

"Retail demand remains strong and export demand has recovered nicely fueled by tight worldwide protein supply, relative value of chicken, and a weakening (U.S. dollar)," she wrote, noting food service remains the weak spot.

Ken Goldman of J.P.Morgan also raised Sanderson's estimates for both this year and next, but cautioned that the stock is fairly valued around $44 despite the improved chicken industry fundamentals.

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