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Tronc Inc. said on Wednesday that it has sold the Los Angeles Times and the San Diego Union-Tribune for $500 million to businessman Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong. Shares of Tronc rose 66% in premarket trade after the news. The sale includes various other titles in the California News Group. Dr. Soon-Shiong is acquiring the newspapers through his private investment vehicle Nant Capital, and in addition to the $500 million price tag there is the assumption of $90 million in pension liabilities. Tronc Chief Executive Officer Justin Dearborn said the sale will allow the company to repay all of its outstanding debt. “We will have a versatile balance sheet that will enable us to be even more aggressive in executing on our growth strategy as a leading player in news and digital media,” Dearborn said in a statement. The news of the sale comes just weeks after the LA Times newsroom won a hard fought battle against Tronc management to unionize. In addition to selling the LA Times and other news titles, Tronc acquired a majority stake in BestReviews for an undisclosed amount, and the company announced a new national digital strategy. The company said in a separate news release that with its enhanced balance sheet Tronc will launch a digital growth strategy through a newly reorganized Tribune Interactive division. Shares of Tronc are up more than 34% in the last 12 months, while the S&P 500 index is up nearly 18% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 24%.

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A little more volatility, and “some” correction in markets can be healthy, said Dallas Fed President Rob Kaplan on Wednesday. Speaking in Frankfurt, Germany, Kaplan said he did not think the volatility seen in stock markets so far over the past five days had implications for the health of the underlying economy, according to reports. Kaplan said he thought the Fed should stick to its previously announced plan to gradually raise interest rates.

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Dick’s Sporting Goods Inc. will benefit from two near-term same-store sales drivers, according to the latest note from J.P Morgan: the Eagles Super Bowl win and new Little League bat regulations. “From a similarities perspective, both the Cubs and Eagles have rabid fans that have been starved for a championship for decades,” analysts wrote. About 4% of Dick’s stores are in Illinois, and about 5% are in the eastern part of Pennsylvania, Delaware and South Jersey. NFL jerseys are popular items and are more expensive than baseball t-shirts, analysts say. According to data provided by inMarket, a geo-location marketing firm, Dick’s traffic in Philadelphia was up 22% on Monday, February 5 versus the average Monday. J.P. Morgan expects about 100 basis-point same-store sales uplift from the big game. New Little League bat regulations could give the first quarter a 50-to-75 basis point lift as all participating teams replace their bats. The boost is similar to a previous regulation change that affected high school and college baseball in 2012. J.P. Morgan rates Dick’s shares overweight with a $43 price target. Dick’s shares are up nearly 26% for the last three months, but down 40.1% for the last 12 months. The S&P 500 index is up 17.5% for the past year.

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Shares of CBOE Global Markets Inc. tumbled 5.5% in premarket trade Wednesday, after the options and futures exchange was downgraded at J.P. Morgan, which cited risks associated with the “massive deterioration of value” in short-VIX strategies. Analyst Kenneth Worthington cut his rating to neutral, after being at overweight the past 14 months. He slashed his stock price target to $110, which is 5.9% below Tuesday’s closing price of $116.94, from $131. “While the liquidation and fall of various [exchange-traded notes] represents a risk to VIX Futures volumes, we see this as potentially the tip of the iceberg with a likely reduction in VIX Futures trading activity looking out 1-2 months,” Worthington wrote in a note to clients. “We also see some risk to volumes in VIX options.” The VIX refers to the CBOE Market Volatility Index . The VelocityShares Daily Inverse VIX Short-Term ETN, which was designed to bet against rising volatility, will be liquidated on Feb. 21 after it lost more than 80% of its value in after-hours trade on Monday. CBOE’s stock has plunged 14.4% the past three sessions and the broader-market selloff caused a spike in volatility. The stock has still gained 3.1% over the past three months, while the S&P 500 tacked on 4.0%.

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Coal company Peabody Energy Corp. said Wednesday its board has initiated a quarterly dividend of 11.50 cents a share. The dividend will be payable March 5 to shareholders of record as of Feb. 19. “The Peabody board of directors will evaluate dividends on a quarterly basis, taking into consideration the company’s cash flows and alternative means to create shareholder value,” the company said in a statement. Shares were not yet active in premarket trade.

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Hain Celestial Group Inc. reported fiscal second-quarter net income of $47.1 million, or 45 cents, up from $27.2 million, or 26 cents per share, for the same period last year. Adjusted EPS was 41 cents. Sales totaled $775.2 million, up from $740.0 million. The FactSet consensus was for EPS of 42 cents and sales of $776.0 million. The company’s brands include the namesake tea brand, Rudi’s Organic Bakery and Walnut Acres Organic. Hain Celestial U.S. sales fell 3% to $270.3 million while Hain Celestial U.K. sales rose 12% to $238.2 million, and Hain Pure Protein sales increased 4% to $159.0 million to $159.0 million. For fiscal 2018, the company expects adjusted EPS of $1.64 to $1.75, which includes an 8-to-9 cents tax overhaul benefit, and sales of $2.967 billion to $3.036 billion. The FactSet consensus is for EPS $1.65 and sales of $2.99 billion. Hain shares are indicating lower in Wednesday premarket trading, and are down 6.3% for the last year. The S&P 500 index is up 17.5% for the past 12 months.

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New York Stock Exchange parent Intercontinental Exchange Inc. said Wednesday that it will raise its quarterly dividend by 20% to 24 cents a share, from 20 cents a share. The new dividend is payable March 29 to shareholders of record on March 15. Based on Tuesday’s stock closing price of $72.27, the new annual dividend rate implies a dividend yield of 1.33%, compared with the S&P 500’s implied dividend yield of 1.88%. The stock, which was indicated up nearly 1% in premarket trade, has rallied 10.2% over the past three months through Tuesday, while the S&P 500 has gained 4.0%.

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Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. said Wednesday that it will offer its 71,000 staffers enhanced benefits and bonuses, the latest company to announce employee perks tied to the tax overhaul. Qualified hourly and salaried workers will receive a one-time bonus of up to $1,000. Additional paid parental leave will be available for “everyone from hourly managers to salaried employees.” Chipotle is now offering life insurance and short-term disability insurance for hourly restaurant managers. And more training programs, including a formal classroom program, has been added. Chipotle already offers benefits like $5,250 in tuition reimbursement. Chipotle reported fourth-quarter earnings late Tuesday. The company’s shares are down 8.6% in Wednesday premarket trading, and down 23.7% for the last year. The S&P 500 index is up 17.5% for the past 12 months.

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Biogen Inc. shares declined 0.6% in premarket trade Wednesday after the company said its therapy failed to meet primary and secondary efficacy endpoints in a phase 2b trial for acute ischemic stroke. More detailed results from the trial will be made public in a future scientific forum, the company said. The results do not affect the therapy’s currently-approved indications, such as multiple sclerosis, Biogen said. The company did not say if it would continue developing natalizumab, though it did say it plans to study another compound, BIIB093, in large hemispheric infarction mid-year. Biogen shares have surged 6.2% over the last three months, compared with a 4% rise in the S&P 500 and a 5.8% rise in the Dow Jones Industrial Average .

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NRG Energy Inc. announced a series of asset sales Wednesday to raise $2.8 billion in total cash proceeds. The power company said it has agreed to sell its stake in NRG Yield, the holding company for its power generation assets, and in its renewables platform to Global Infrastructure Partners for $1.377 billion in cash. That deal is expected to close in the second half. The company has also agreed to sell stakes in certain ROFO pipeline assets to NRG Yield for cash proceeds of $407 million. NRG has also entered an agreement to sell its South Central business to Cleco Corporate Holdings LLC for $1.0 billion in cash. The company said it expects to make further asset sales in 2018 and is revising its total asset sales cash proceeds target to about $3.2 billion.

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From:: Stock Market News