Category: Stock Market News

Shares of StoneMor Partners L.P. plunged 36% toward a seven-year low in premarket trade Friday, after the company said it will slash its quarterly dividend in half in an effort to enhance liquidity. The cemetery operator said that preliminary data on third-quarter results prompted the general partner and board of directors to cut the the third-quarter cash distribution to 33 cents a share from 66 cents a share a year ago. The company said as part of its effort to re-grow its salesforce, it has recently engaged a national recruiting firm, increased in-house recruiting efforts and hired a national vice president of sales. “The general partner strongly believes that this reduction, while disappointing, will protect and position the partnership to achieve our longer-term expectations for future growth of the business,” said Robert Hellman, chairman of the general partner. The stock, which was on track to open at the lowest level since September 2009, has lost 7.2% year to date through Thursday, while the S&P 500 has gained 4.4%.

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Shares of Mastercard Inc. rose more than 2% in premarket trade on Friday after the credit and debit card company reported third-quarter earnings above Wall Street expectations. Net income for the quarter came in at $1.2 billion, or $1.08 per share, compared with $977 million, or 86 cents during the same period a year ago. The FactSet consensus on earnings per share was for 98 cents. Revenue hit $2.9 billion, compared with $2.5 billion a year ago and above FactSet’s $2.7 billion revenue consensus. Mastercard said purchase volume was up 5% in the quarter. Shares of Mastercard have gained more than 6% in the year to date, outperforming the S&P 500 Index , which is up more than 4%.

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Exxon Mobil Corp. shares slid 1.2% in premarket trade, after the company missed revenue estimates for the third quarter. Exxon said it had net income of $2.65 billion, or 63 cents a share, in the quarter. down from $4.24 billion, or $1.01 a share, in the year-earlier period. Revenue fell to $58.7 billion from $67.3 billion. The FactSet consensus was for EPS of 58 cents and revenue of $60.4 billion. Chief Executive Rex Tillerson said the operating environment remained challenging in the quarter. The oil giant cut capital and exploration spending by 45% to $4.2 billion. Shares are up 11.5% in the year so far, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average has gained 4%.

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Shares of Royal Caribbean Cruised Ltd. ran up 3.8% in premarket trade Friday, after the cruise operator beat third-quarter earnings expectations. Earnings for the quarter to Sept. 30 rose to $693.3 million, or $3.21 a share, from $228.8 million, or $1.03 a share, in the same period a year ago. Excluding non-recurring items, adjusted earnings per share came to $3.20, above the FactSet consensus of $3.10. Revenue increased to $2.56 billion from $2.52 billion, just shy of the FactSet consensus of $2.58 billion, as both passenger ticket and onboard and other revenue were below expectations. Net yields on a constant-currency basis was 2.9%, above the FactSet consensus of 2.2%. Looking ahead, the company expects fourth-quarter constant-currency net yields of 6.0%, compared with the FactSet consensus of 6.4%, and 2016 adj. EPS of $6.00 to $6.10 vs. the FactSet consensus of $6.03. The stock has tumbled 33% year to date through Thursday, while the S&P 500 has gained 4.4%.

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Hershey Co. shares were indicated higher in Friday premarket trading after the chocolate company reported third-quarter earnings that beat estimates. Net income totaled $227.4 million, or $1.06 per share, up from $257.2 million, or $1.17 per share, for the same period last year. Adjusted earnings per share were $1.29, beating the $1.18 FactSet consensus. Revenue totaled $2.0 billion, up from $1.96 billion last year and beating the $1.99 billion FactSet estimate. Hershey expects full-year 2016 revenue to rise 1%, while the FactSet consensus indicates a 3.7% increase, and adjusted earnings per share in the range of $4.28 to $4.32, up from the previous estimate of $4.24 to $4.28. Hershey shares are up 7% for the year so far while the S&P 500 Index is up 4.4% for the same period.

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Phillips 66 Partners LP said Friday it had net earnings of $83.1 million, or 57 cents per unit, in the third quarter. The master limited partnership did not provide a year-earlier comparison, but said it earned $73.2 million, or 51 cents per unit, in the second quarter. Revenue rose to $144.3 million from $140.4 million. The FactSet consensus was for earnings of 60 cents per unit and revenue of $147 million. In the quarter, the company formed the STACK joint venture, increased its ownership in the Explorer Pipeline and progressed the eastern leg of Bayou Bridge Pipeline, said Greg Garland, Phillips 66 Partners chief executive in a statement. “Additionally, the October acquisition of crude, product and NGL logistics assets from Phillips 66 increased our run-rate EBITDA to approximately $580 million,” he said. “We remain on track to achieve $1.1 billion of run-rate EBITDA by the end of 2018.” Shares were not yet active in premarket trade, but are down 23% in the year to date, while the S&P 500 has gained 4%.

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Shares of Xerox Corp. fell 1.5% in light premarket trade Friday, after the imaging and business process company missed third-quarter sales expectations, and revised its profit outlook to the lower end of previous guidance. For the quarter to Sept. 30, the company swung to a profit of $181 million, or 17 cents a share, from a loss of $34 million, or 4 cents a share, in the same period a year ago. Excluding non-recurring items, adjusted earnings per share came to 27 cents, matching the FactSet consensus. Revenue fell 3% to $4.21 billion from $4.33 billion, below the FactSet consensus of $4.31 billion. The company expects fourth-quarter adjusted EPS of 32 cents to 35 cents, compared with the FactSet consensus of 34 cents, and narrowed its 2016 adjusted EPS outlook to $1.11 to $1.14 from $1.10 to $1.20. Xerox said it remained on track to complete its separation by year end. “In an important period for Xerox when our separation-related activities ramped up significantly, we delivered solid financial results despite challenging market conditions,” said Chief Executive Ursula Burns. The stock has dropped 10% year to date through Thursday, while the S&P 500 has gained 4.4%.

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The U.K. government prevailed in legal challenges related to the U.K.’s pending exit from the European Union, media reports said Friday, sending the pound to an intraday low of $1.2125. The Northern Ireland High Court ruled the government is able to launch Brexit talks with the EU without holding a parliamentary vote. Politicians from Sinn Féin, the Alliance Party, the Green Party and the Social Democratic and Labour Party, according to the BBC, had raised a pair of legal challenges for their stance that the U.K. government, led by Britain’s Prime Minister Theresa May, could not trigger Article 50 without a parliamentary vote. Northern Ireland in June voted 56% to 44% in favor of remaining in the EU.

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Baker Hughes Inc. shares jumped in the extended session Thursday following a report that General Electric Co. was in talks to acquire the oil-field services company. Baker Hughes shares rallied 15% to $62.50 after hours, while GE shares slipped 1.4% to $28.22. Late Thursday, The Wall Street Journal reported that talks to acquire Baker Hughes, which has a market cap of $23 billion, were ongoing, citing people familiar with the matter. At Thursday’s close, Baker Hughes shares were up 18% year to date, but were off 28% from a five-year high set back in July 2014.

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Amazon.com Inc. bulls beware, because the 5.1% after-hours tumble in the stock, after the e-commerce giant missed earnings expectations, may have marked the end of an 8 1/2-month long uptrend. The stock had closed Thursday at $818.36, right at an uptrend line that started at the Feb. 9 closing low, and also connected the closing lows in mid-September and last week. The break of an uptrend line suggests a new downtrend may be starting. The stock was trading around $777 after the close, which would also put it below its 50-day moving average, which extended to $799.05. The last time the stock closed below the 50-day MA, which many chart watchers use to track the short-term trend, was March 21. The stock had run up 70% while above the uptrend line through Thursday, and 46% while it has been above its 50-day MA. In comparison, the S&P 500 has climbed 15% since Feb. 9.

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