This morning, Kraft Foods (KFT: scorecard, quote, chart) reaffirmed its 2008 guidance, but said it expects to take a charge of 4 cents per share from the recent split-off of its Post cereals business. The firm is expecting earnings of at least $1.88 per share, including the charge. Excluding the charge, the company expects to earn $1.92 per share. Analysts are currently forecasting a profit of $1.93 per share. Kraft also said it expects revenue growth of at least 6% for the year.

Looking ahead to 2009, the company stated that it would report earnings of at least $2 per share, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.06 per share.

The shares of the food maker are slightly lower this morning on the news. The stock had rallied from its July 1 low of $28.04 to its August 18 high of $33.10 for a gain of 18%. The stock is beginning to roll over, however, falling below brief support from its 10-day moving average. This rollover also coincided with the stock hitting resistance at the 33 level an area that halted the shares in May, and is also home to the stock's 20-month trendline.

Meanwhile, pessimism reigns supreme on the shares. The Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio rests at 1.19, as put open interest outnumbers call open interest among near-term options. This reading is also higher than 98% of all those taken during the past year. Furthermore, short interest accounts for more than 11% of the company's float, while 11 of the 14 analysts following the shares rating them a "hold" or worse. With the shares once again headed lower, this pessimism is to be expected.