Category: Stock Market News

Barnes & Noble Inc. said Wednesday that it is introducing the new Nook Tablet 7, a seven-inch Android tablet with access to Nook books, audiobooks and the Nook store, along with the Google Play store. The device, priced at $49.99, also features front- and rear-facing camera, Bluetooth connectivity, and more. The new Nook will be available on Nov. 25, Black Friday. In its 2017 fiscal first quarter, Barnes & Noble reported that Nook sales fell 25% to $41 million. Barnes & Noble also said it is bringing back its signed editions, offering autographed copies of books written by more than 100 authors including Ina Garten and Tony Bennett, starting on Black Friday. Barnes & Noble shares are up 0.2% in Wednesday trading, and up nearly 37% for the year so far. The S&P 500 Index is up 6.4% for 2016 to date.

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U.S. stocks opened lower on Wednesday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average on track to slip after posting four straight record closes, as a dramatic post-election rally showed signs of exhaustion. The S&P 500 shed 5 points, or 0.2%, to 2,174. The Dow fell 58 points, or 0.3%, to 18,874. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 21 points, or 0.4%, at 5,253.

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Kimberly-Clark Corp. said Wednesday that Michael Hsu has been appointed chief operating officer, part of the company’s succession planning. Hsu is currently group president for North American consumer products, overseeing the nearly $8 billion North American personal care and consumer tissue businesses. He’ll join the board effective Jan. 1, 2017. Kimberly-Clark’s regional businesses in Asia-Pacific, Latin America and Europe, the Middle East and Africa, along with the North American and Professional businesses will all report to Hsu. Elane Stock, group president of Kimberly-Clark International has announced her intention to leave the company. Kimberly-Clark will name a new North American consumer products group president “in the near future,” the company said. Kimberly-Clark shares are inactive in premarket trading, but down 10.6% for the year so far. The S&P 500 Index is up 6.7% for 2016 to date.

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Allison Transmission Holdings Inc. said Wednesday it has set a new $1 billion stock repurchase program, lasting through Dec. 31, 2019. That is in addition to the current $500 million stock buyback program, which the car transmissions maker expects to complete by the end of 2016. The new repurchase program follows the completion of review of the company’s business and potential initiatives to enhance shareholder value. The company said it consulted with a number of shareholders, including its largest shareholder ValueAct Capital, its fourth-largest shareholder Ashe Capital Management and its fifth largest shareholder Longview Asset Management. Allison’s stock, which was still inactive in premarket trade, has rallied 20% year to date, while the S&P 500 has gained 6.7%.

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Koch Industries Inc. said Wednesday it will invest over $2 billion, through its Koch Equity Development LLC (KED) subsidiary, in cloud software company Infor, as Koch looks to expand on its digital strategies across industries. Infor’s cloud strategy uses Amazon.com Inc.’s Amazon Web Services. “The support we are providing to Infor marks one of the largest investments KED has ever made and demonstrates the confidence we have in Infor’s technology, team and business model,” said President Matt Flamini of KED. The investment, in the form of preferred and common equity, is expected to close in early 2017.

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Sears Holdings Corp. said Wednesday that it will offer free shipping on all e-commerce purchases, no minimum purchase necessary, starting at 6 p.m. Nov. 23 and extending through Thanksgiving Day. Black Friday doorbusters will be available online all day on Thanksgiving, prior to most store openings. The retailer is also offering Shop Your Way members the chance to shop deals from the Black Friday ad on Nov. 20 between 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. Sears shares are inactive in premarket trading, and down about 40% for the year so far. The S&P 500 Index is up 6.7% for the same period.

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Sysco Corp. said Wednesday it is raising its quarterly divided by 6% to 33 cents a share. The food services company said the new dividend is payable Jan. 27 to shareholders of record as of Jan. 6. Shares were not yet active in premarket trade, but have gained 30% in the year so far, while the S&P 500 has gained 6.7%.

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Target Corp. shares rallied 8% in premarket trading after the retailer reported third-quarter earnings that beat estimates and raised its guidance. Net income totaled $608 million, or $1.06 per share, up from $549 million, or 87 cents per share, for the same period last year. Adjusted earnings per share were $1.04, beating the 83-cent FactSet consensus. Revenue totaled $16.4 billion, down from $17.6 billion, but beating the $16.3 billion FactSet consensus. Same-store sales dropped 0.2% versus a FactSet estimate of down 1%. Target raised its fourth-quarter same-store sales guidance to a range of down 1% to up 1% from down 2% to flat. The retailer expects both EPS and adjusted EPS of $1.55 to $1.75. The FactSet consensus is for a same-store sales decline of 0.8% and EPS of $1.60. Target shares are down 1.6% for the year so far while the S&P 500 Index is up 6.7% for the same period.

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Shares of Lowe’s Cos. tumbled 5.5% in premarket trade Wednesday, after the home improvement retailer reported fiscal third-quarter profit and sales that missed expectations. Earnings for the quarter to Oct. 28 fell to $379 million, or 43 cents a share, from $736 million, or 88 cents a share, in the same period a year ago. Excluding non-recurring items, adjusted earnings per share came to 88 cents, below the FactSet consensus of 96 cents. Revenue rose to $15.74 billion from $14.36 billion, but missed the FactSet consensus of $15.84 billion. Same-store sales increased 2.7%, missing the FactSet consensus for 3.0% growth. For the full fiscal year, Lowe’s expects revenue growth of 9% to 10% and EPS of $3.52. The FactSet consensus implies revenue growth of 9.7% growth and EPS of $4.00. “Our third-quarter operating results were below our expectations due to slower sales in the first two months of the quarter,” said Chief Executive Robert A. Niblock. “While we expected moderation in the second half of the year, traffic slowed more than we anticipated in August and September before improving in October, which put pressure on our profitability in the quarter.” He said the company was currently evaluating “meaningful incremental opportunities to drive shareholder value.” The stock has dropped 9.2% year to date through Tuesday, while the SPDR S&P Retail ETF has gained 4.2% and the S&P 500 has climbed 6.7%.

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St. Louis Federal Reserve President James Bullard said Wednesday that he still is inclined to support an interest-rate rise next month, according to a Wall Street Journal report on a speech he gave in London. Bullard said the short-term outlook for monetary policy is unchanged following Donald Trump’s win in the White House race. “A single policy rate increase, possibly in December, may be sufficient to move monetary policy to a neutral setting,” Bullard said in the speech at an event hosted by UBS Group AG. The Fed official last week said Trump’s win should break the gridlock in Washington, adding that he’s not concerned about the central bank’s independence becoming curtailed.

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