Category: Stock Market News

Kraft Heinz Co. shares rose 2% in late trading Thursday after the food company swung to gains and reported sales in line with forecast. Kraft Heinz said it earned 23 cents a share in the fourth quarter, versus a loss of 4 cents a share in the year-ago period. Adjusted for one-time items, the company said it earned 62 cents a share, from 56 cents a share a year ago. Revenue reached $7.12 billion, down 5% from the year-ago period. Analysts polled by FactSet had expected the food company to report adjusted earnings of 58 cents a share on of $7 billion. “The important integration work and financial results we delivered in 2015 set a solid base on which we can drive sustainable growth across our global business,” Kraft Heinz CEO Bernardo Hees said. “We are working to implement proven management methodologies, remove inefficient spending and streamline our organization, while investing in our brands and innovation to drive long-term profitable growth.”

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Oil futures erased early losses to end sharply higher Thursday, turning north after news reports said Venezuela’s oil minister announced his country would meet with fellow oil producers next month in an effort to stabilize prices. West Texas Intermediate crude futures on the New York Mercantile Exchange finished with a gain of 92 cents, or 2.9%, at $33.07 a barrel. Venezuela oil minister Eulogio Del Pino said Russia, Saudi Arabia and Qatar would participate in the meeting, according to news reports.

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Halliburton Co. stock dropped 1% after the energy company announced it would cut 5,000 jobs, or about 8% of its workforce, citing “ongoing market conditions,” according to The Wall Street Journal. The company already announced 22,000 job cuts amid low oil prices. Halliburton shars are down 26.4% for the past year while the S&P is down 8.1% for the same period.

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Gold futures were little-changed Thursday, as the yellow metal appeared to take a pause after two straight days of sharp gains. April gold closed 30 cents, or less than 0.1%, lower at $1,238.80 an ounce. Gold is looking at a 0.2% weekly gain. The precious commodity has benefited from haven bids amid uncertainty about the global economy, the emergence of negative interest rates in Japan and Europe, and the prospect of rates being lower for longer in the U.S.

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Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval said Thursday he is not interested in being considered for a seat on the Supreme Court. Wednesday, the Washington Post reported Sandoval, a Republican, was being vetted by the White House for a possible nomination. Sandoval said in a statement that he notified the White House he doesn’t want to be considered “at this time” for a nomination and that he told Senate leaders the same thing. President Barack Obama is planning to name a candidate to fill the seat of the late Antonin Scalia, though Republicans say they will not hold hearings.

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Bankrate Inc.’s stock plunged $5.88, or 46%, to a record low in active trade Thursday, as disappointing results and outlook, and concerns over Google’s product changes, put the shares on course for their biggest-ever one-day price and percentage decline. Volume of about 2.3 million shares in the first half-hour of trade was already three times the full-day average over the past 30 days, according to FactSet. The stock’s second-biggest percentage decline was 22% in October 2012. The online personal finance content company, which went public in June 2011 at an initial-public-offering price of $15, reported late Wednesday fourth-quarter profit and sales that missed expectations. The company said “forward visibility is limited,” while it assessed the impacts of the Google developments, which include the termination of its Compare Credit Cards service, and the displaying of additional paid ads on top of search results. RBC downgraded bankrate Thursday to sector perform from outperform, and slashed its stock price target to $9 from $16.

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Restoration Hardware Holdings Inc.’s stock plunged $12.54, or 24%, in active morning trade Thursday, putting it on track to suffer the biggest one-day price and percentage declines since the home furnishings retailer went public in November 2012. The stock was trading at the lowest level seen since May 6, 2013, on volume that was already more than the full-day average, according to FactSet. The selloff comes after the company provided a fiscal fourth-quarter profit and sales outlook that was well below expectations. The second-biggest one-day decline was when it fell $9.02, or 12, on Sept. 11, 2013 after reporting results. The stock has plunged 58% over the past three months, while the S&P 500 has lost 7.4%.

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U.S. stocks opened slightly higher Thursday, shrugging off economic reports and a rout in China’s stock market and falling oil prices. The S&P 500 opened 7 points, or 0.4%, higher at 1,937. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 50 points, or 0.4%, to 16,541. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq Composite began the day up 15 points, or 0.3%, at 4,557.

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Shares of Cablevision Systems Corp. were down less than 1% in premarket trade after the company reported net income of $32.15 million, or 12 cents per share for the fourth quarter. That’s a significant decline compared with earnings of $55.98 million, or 21 cents per share in the year earlier period. The FactSet consensus for per share earnings during the quarter was 14 cents. Revenue for the quarter was $1.629 billion, a less than 1% decline compared with last year’s $1.631 billion. FactSet’s revenue consensus was $1.64 billion. Cable subscribers declined by 10,000, but that was offset by an addisition of 25,000 Internet subscribers. The cable, phone and Internet provider added 13,000 total customers in the quarter across all services. Cablevision suspended its share buyback program and doesn’t plan to pay any dividends as it as awaits its acquisition by Altice to close. The company expects the deal to close during the second quarter.

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AMC Networks Inc. shares are up 1% in premarket trading after the company announced revenue that beat expectations, driven by advertising on the AMC channel. AMC said it had net income of $90 million, or $1.23 per share, in the fourth quarter, up from $78 million, or $1.06 per share, for the same period last year. The FactSet consensus was $1.23. Revenue for the quarter was $679 million, up from $609 million last year and exceeding the FactSet consensus of $675 million. AMC’s networks include AMC, WE tv, BBC America, IFC and SundanceTV. Revenue growth was led by a 13.4% increase in advertising revenue to $289 million, the company said in a Thursday release, largely from AMC, which airs programs including “The Walking Dead” and “Better Call Saul.” AMC Networks shares are down 5.2% for the year so far, but up 2.4% for the past year. The S&P 500 is is down 5.6% for the year-to-date.

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