Category: Stock Market News

Bassett Furniture Industries Inc. said Tuesday that it will pay a year-end special dividend of 35 cents a share, payable Dec. 15 to shareholders of record on Dec. 1. The previously announced regular quarterly dividend of 11 cents a share will be paid out on Nov. 24. The home furnishings maker and marketer said it plans to open at least six new stores in 2018, and to make “significant” investments in technology, improve its retail real estate portfolio and replace a portion of its truck fleet with new equipment. “Despite these upcoming investments, management and our Board of Directors believe that the strength of our balance sheet makes this special dividend an appropriate use of capital at this time,” said Chief Executive Rob Spilman. The stock, which was still inactive in premarket trade, has soared 25% year to date, while the S&P 500 has climbed 16%.

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Meridian Bank, a Philadelphia-based commercial bank, priced its initial public offering at $17, the low end of its $17 to $19 price range, according to Renaissance Capital, a manager of IPO exchange-traded funds. The bank sold 2.35 million shares to raise $40 million. The shares will start trading on Nasdaq later Tuesday under the ticker symbol “MRBK.”

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Shares of Under Armour Inc. rose 1.1% in premarket trade Wednesday, after the athletic apparel and gear maker was upgraded at Susquehanna Financial, which said the previous bearish thesis has already been played out with the recent tumble in price. Analyst Sam Poser raised the rating to neutral, after being at negative the past nine months, but cut his price target to $11 from $15. Since Oct. 31, when the company reported third-quarter results, the stock had plunged 29% to close at a 5 1/2-year low on Friday, before bouncing 3.5% on Monday. “Downside now more limited as [Under Armour] may have set the bar low enough to allow the company to hit the reset button,” Poser wrote in a note to clients. “Further, we believe [Under Armour] is becoming somewhat more cognizant of its recent mistakes.” Poser said, however, that there are still no signs that the company is willing to pull back on distribution, so business will likely be challenging for some time. The stock has plummeted 59% year to date through Monday, while the S&P 500 has gained 16%.

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Shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. rose 1.5% in premarket trade Tuesday, after the cruise operator’s profit beat helped offset a downbeat outlook. Net income for the quarter to Sept. 30 rose to $752.8 million, or $3.49 a share, from $693.3 million, or $3.21 a share, from a year ago. The company said the negative EPS impact from recent hurricanes was 20 cents. The results beat the FactSet EPS consensus of $3.40. Revenue rose to $2.57 billion from $2.56 billion, matching the FactSet consensus. Passenger ticket revenue slipped to $1.89 billion from $1.90 billion, just shy of the FactSet consensus of $1.90 billion, while onboard and other revenue grew to $676.4 million from $663.8 million to come up just short of the FactSet consensus of $677.2 million. Gross cruise costs per available passenger cruise days (APCDs) increased 5.6%. For the current fourth quarter, the company expects adjusted EPS of $1.15 to $1.20, below the FactSet consensus of $1.26. The stock has run up 53% year to date through Monday, while the S&P 500 has gained 16%.

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Shares of AMC Entertainment Holding Inc. were down nearly 6% in premarket trade despite the cinema chain reporting third-quarter earnings after the bell on Monday that were above Wall Street’s expectations. AMC reported a loss of 33 cents per share, after earnings of 31 cents during the same period a year ago. The loss was narrower than FactSet’s consensus of a 36 cents loss. AMC revenue was $1.18 billion, above FactSet’s $1.16 billion consensus. Analysts had, however, been lowering earnings expectations for AMC and other film exhibitors as box office revenue through the quarter slumped. B. Riley analyst Eric Wold wrote after AMC’s earnings report that the company showed upside, and that the weak box office overshadowed underlying theater trends. Wold wrote that AMC’s earnings beat, during a weak period at the box office, helps demonstrate AMC’s theater remodeling strategy. “While the weak box office environment masked the improvements being made across the various circuits, we continue to believe the re-seat and enhanced F&B strategy is helping to position AMC for stronger results in 2018,” Wold wrote. Shares of AMC have declined nearly 64% in the year to date, while the S&P 500 index is up close to 16% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average is up more than 19%.

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Mallinckrodt PLC shares dropped 8.6% in premarket trade Tuesday after the company reported third-quarter profit and revenue misses. Earnings for the latest quarter declined to $63.7 million, or 66 cents per share, from $115 million, or $1.06 per share in the year-earlier period. Adjusted earnings-per-share were $1.97, above the FactSet consensus of $1.81. Revenue declined to $793.9 million from $887.2 million, below the FactSet consensus of $807.8 million. Mallinckrodt shares have dropped 23.8% over the last three months to $31.18, compared with a 4.4% rise in the S&P 500 .

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Teligent Inc. shares dropped 38.1% in premarket trade Tuesday after the company reported third-quarter profit and revenue misses late Monday and lowered its 2017 revenue guidance. The company reported a loss of $6.33 million, or a loss of 12 cents per share, wider than a loss of $2.70 million, or a loss of 5 cents per share in the year-earlier period. Adjusted loss-per-share was 8 cents, below the FactSet consensus of a loss of 1 cent. Revenue declined to $13.66 million from $16.15 million, below the FactSet consensus of $19.1 million. The latest results were affected by generic approval delays — the company had four products approved in the latest quarter and now has 32 applications on file with the Food and Drug Administration, it said — and more competition for one of Teligent’s largest products. Teligent now expects 2017 revenue of $65 million to $67 million, below previous guidance of $75 million to $85 million. Teligent shares have plummeted 26.7% over the last three months to $5.25, compared with a 4.4% rise in the S&P 500 .

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Organic products maker Hain Celestial Group Inc. said Tuesday it had net income of $19.8 million, or 19 cents a share, in its fiscal first quarter to end September, up from $8.6 million, or 8 cents a share, in the year-earlier period. Adjusted per-share earnings came to 23 cents, matching the FactSet consensus. Sales rose 4% to $708.3 million, ahead of the FactSet consensus of $697 million. The company said it still expects fiscal 2018 sales of $2.967 billion to $3.036 billion and adjusted EPS of $1.63 to $1.80. Shares were not yet active premarket, but have fallen 12% in 2017, while the S&P 500 has gained 16%.

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Shares of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. sank 3.6% in premarket trade Tuesday, after the Israel-based generic drug maker’s credit rating was cut by two notches into “junk” territory by Fitch Ratings. Teva’s most active bonds, the 3.150% notes that mature in October of 2026, fell about 3 points to 83 cents on the dollar, sending its yield up to 5.466%. The spread widened by 27 basis points to 315 basis points over comparable Treasuries. The credit rating agency said the cut in the rating, down to BB from BBB-, reflects concerns over “significant operational stress” at a time when it needs to reduce debt. “Pricing pressure in Teva’s North American generics segment and erosion of sales of Copaxone will continue to weigh on free cash flow in the near term, requiring the company to continue to sell assets or find external capital resources to meed debt obligations in 2018 and 2019 and beyond,” Fitch said in a statement. The rating outlook is negative. Teva’s stock has plunged 66% year to date through Monday, while the SPDR S&P Pharmaceuticals ETF has gained 5.4% and the S&P 500 has climbed 16%.

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SeaWorld Entertainment Inc. reported third-quarter earnings on Tuesday that were below Wall Street expectations. Net income for the quarter was $55.03 million, or 64 cents per share, down from $65.66 million, or 77 cents per share during the same quarter a year ago. FactSet’s per-share earnings consensus was 80 cents. SeaWorld revenue was $437.71 million, down from $485.32 in the year-earlier period, and below FactSet’s $457.00 million revenue consensus. SeaWorld said that park attendance during the quarter fell by 732,000 guests year-over-year. Shares of SeaWorld were inactive in premarket trade. The company said it implemented a cost savings and restructuring plan that will see 350 jobs cut. SeaWorld plans to meet its goal of $40 million in net cost savings by the end of 2018. Shares of SeaWorld have declined nearly 41% in the year to date, while the S&P 500 index is up close to 16% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average is up more than 19%.

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