Category: Stock Market News

Ford Motor Co. announced Thursday a number of executive appointments as new Chief Executive Jim Hackett rounded out his management team, including leaders of the three key segments of global markets, global operations and mobility. Among the appointments, Sherif Marakby is appointed to the newly created position of vice president of autonomous vehicles and electrification, Neil Schloss will be chief financial officer and Jeff Lemmer will be chief operating officer of mobility. David Schoch, president of Asia Pacific, said he plans to retire after 40 years with the company. Ford had confirmed earlier this week that Hackett would replace Mark Fields as CEO, as Fields announced his retirement. Ford’s stock, which edged up 0.3% in premarket trade, has dropped 9.7% year to date through Wednesday, while the S&P 500 has gained 7.4%.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.

…read more

From:: Stock Market News

The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite on Thursday were on pace to open at all-time intraday highs, extending the previous sessions upbeat trade, in the wake of minutes from the Federal Reserve. Those minutes were being read as pointing to a relatively tempered pace of rate hikes for the central bank, which is supportive for stocks that have risen amid ultralow rates. The S&P 500 index was looking at opening above its May 16 intraday high of 2,405.77, while the Nasdaq Composite Index was set to eclipse an intraday all-time high of 6,170.16, also reached on May 16, according to FactSet data. Futures for the S&P 500 and those for the Nasdaq-100 were both pointing to healthy opening gains, despite a slump in crude-oil futures after the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and other major oil producers on Thursday in Vienna agreed to extend a pact to limit crude production to the first quarter of 2018, but didn’t deepen those reductions. Still, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was on track to post an open in the green, though about 0.5% away from its March 1 intraday record of 21,169.11. Futures for the Dow were showing a 0.3% gain.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.

…read more

From:: Stock Market News

International Game Technology Plc. shares slid 10% in premarket trade Thurday, after the company posted weaker-than-expected earnings for the first quarter. The company said it had a net loss of $55 million, or 27 cents a share, in the quarter, after a loss of $86.4 million, or 46 cents a share, in the year-earlier period. Adjusted per-share earnings came to 29 cents, below the FactSet consensus of 47 cents. Revenue fell to $1.15 billion from $1.28 billion and also fell short of the FactSet consensus of $1.19 billion. “The decline in revenue reflects comparisons with the high jackpot levels of the prior year, new Italy Lotto concession dynamics, and lower gaming product sales,” the company said in a statement. The company updated its outlook to reflect the planned sale of DoubleDown Interactive to an affiliate of DoubleU Games, a global social casino operator, for $825 million. That deal is expected to close in the second quarter. The company is now expecting full-year adjusted EBITDA of $1.6o billion to $1.68 billion. Shares are down 18% in 2017 through Wednesday, while the S&P 500 has gained 7%.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.

…read more

From:: Stock Market News

International Game Technology Plc. shares slid 10% in premarket trade Thurday, after the company posted weaker-than-expected earnings for the first quarter. The company said it had a net loss of $55 million, or 27 cents a share, in the quarter, after a loss of $86.4 million, or 46 cents a share, in the year-earlier period. Adjusted per-share earnings came to 29 cents, below the FactSet consensus of 47 cents. Revenue fell to $1.15 billion from $1.28 billion and also fell short of the FactSet consensus of $1.19 billion. “The decline in revenue reflects comparisons with the high jackpot levels of the prior year, new Italy Lotto concession dynamics, and lower gaming product sales,” the company said in a statement. The company updated its outlook to reflect the planned sale of DoubleDown Interactive to an affiliate of DoubleU Games, a global social casino operator, for $825 million. That deal is expected to close in the second quarter. The company is now expecting full-year adjusted EBITDA of $1.6o billion to $1.68 billion. Shares are down 18% in 2017 through Wednesday, while the S&P 500 has gained 7%.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.

…read more

From:: Stock Market News

Sanderson Farms Inc. shares rose as much as 8.8% in premarket trade Thursday after the company reported second-quarter profit and revenue beats. Earnings for the latest quarter rose to $66.9 million, or $2.94 per share, from $47.6 million, or $2.11 per share in the year-earlier period. Adjusted earnings-per-share were $2.94, compared with the FactSet consensus of $2.72. Revenue rose to $802.0 million from $692.1 million, compared with the FactSet consensus of $770.7 million. Shares of Sanderson Farms have risen 27% over the last three months, compared with a 1.6% rise in the S&P 500 .

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.

…read more

From:: Stock Market News

Sears Holdings Corp. shares soared 10.4% in Thursday premarket trading after the retailer reported first-quarter sales that beat estimates. Net income was $244 million, or $2.28 per share, compared with a loss of $471 million, or $4.41 cents per share, for the same period last year. The adjusted loss was $2.15 per share versus the FactSet consensus for a loss of 71 cents per share. The FactSet consensus includes just two estimates. Revenue was $4.3 billion, down from $5.4 billion last year but ahead of the $4.1 billion FactSet consensus. The revenue decline was largely driven by a reduction in the number of Kmart and Sears full-line stores. Same-store sales fell 11.2% in the quarter, driven primarily by declines in grocery and household, pharmacy, apparel and home, the company said. A domestic same-store-sales decline of 12.4% was driven by decreases in appliances, footwear and tools. Sears recently announced agreements to reduce its debt burden, and the company said it has already put $700 million in annualized cost savings into place. The cost-savings target is $1.25 billion. Sears’ cash balances were $264 million as of April 29, compared with $286 million on Jan. 28. Sears shares are down more than 40% over the past year, while the S&P 500 index is up 15% in that 52-week period.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.

…read more

From:: Stock Market News

Signet Jewelers Ltd. shares slid 3.3% in premarket trade Thursday, after the company missed earnings estimates for its fiscal first quarter. Signet said it had net income of $78.5 million, or $1.03 a share, in the quarter to April 29, down from $146.8 million, or $1.87 a share, in the year-earlier period. Sales fell to $1.403 billion from $1.578 billion. Same-store sales fell 11.5%. The FactSet consensus was for EPS of $1.67, sales of $1.469 billion and a same-store sales decline of 8.3%. “As anticipated, we had a very slow start to the year as continued headwinds in the overall retail environment were exacerbated by a slowdown in jewelry spending and company specific challenges,” Chief Executive Mark Light said in a statement. “However, Signet’s Q1 same store sales improved sequentially, when normalized for Mother’s Day, and we were pleased with the holiday’s results. ” The company reaffirmed fiscal 2018 guidance of a same-store sales decline in the low-to-mid single digits, and EPS of $7.00 to $7.40. The company also unveiled plans to outsource its credit portfolio through a phased process, that begins with the sale of $1.0 billion of prime credit quality receivables to Alliance Data Systems Corp. . Shares are down 47% in 2017, while the S&P 500 has gained 7$.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.

…read more

From:: Stock Market News

Dollar Tree Inc. said Thursday it had net income of $200.5 million, or 85 cents a share, in its fiscal first quarter to April 29, down from $232.7 million, or 98 cents a share, in the year-earlier period. Excluding an impairment charge related to Dollar Express, EPS came to 98 cents, matching the FactSet consensus. Sales rose 4% to $5.29 billion to also match the FactSet consensus. Same-store sales rose 0.5%, below the FactSet consensus of 1.2%. The discounter said it now expects second-quarter sales to range from $5.18 billion to $5.28 billion, compared with a FactSet consensus of $5.24 billion. It expects second-quarter EPS of 80 cents to 88 cents, compared with a consensus of 89 cents. Full-year sales are expected to range from $21.95 billion to $22.25 billion, compared with a prior forecast of $21.94 billion to $22.33 billion. EPS is expected to range from $4.17 to $4.43. Shares were down 3.4% premarket, but are up 1.2% in 2017 through Wednesday, while the S&P 500 has gained 7%.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.

…read more

From:: Stock Market News

Hormel Foods Corp. reported Thursday a fiscal second-quarter net profit of $210.9 million, or 39 cents a share, compared with $215.4 million, or 40 cents a share, in the same period a year ago. The FactSet consensus for earnings per share was 40 cents. The branded food company said revenue for the quarter to April 30 slipped to $2.19 billion frmo $2.30 billion, below the FactSet consensus of $2.23 billion, as misses in grocery products and Jennie-O Turkey Store sales offset a beat in refrigerated foods sales. Looking ahead, the company expects results at Jennie-O Turkey Store will push 2017 EPS to the low end of the previously-provided guidance range of $1.65 to $1.71. “We expect the pressure on Jennie-O Turkey Store to continue for the remainder of the fiscal year given the oversupply in the turkey industry,” said Chief Executive Jim Snee. The stock, which was still inactive in premarket trade, has gained 1.7% year to date, while the S&P 500 has climbed 7.4%.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.

…read more

From:: Stock Market News

Shares of Best Buy Co. Inc. soared 10% in premarket trade Thursday, after the consumer electronics retailer beat profit expectations, reported a surprise increase same-store sales and provided an upbeat outlook. The net profit for the quarter to April 29 fell to $188 million, or 60 cents a share, from $229 million, or 70 cents a share, in the same period a year ago. Excluding non-recurring items, adjusted earnings per share rose to 60 cents from 43 cents, beating the FactSet consensus of 40 cents. Revenue increased to $8.53 billion from $8.44 billion, above the FactSet consensus of $8.28 billion. Same-store sales grew 1.6%, compared with the FactSet consensus of a decline of 1.3%, with domestic growth of 1.4% beating expectations of a 1.8% decline. The company expects second-quarter revenue of $8.6 billion to $8.7 billion, above the FactSet consensus of $8.48 billion, and adjusted EPS of 57 cents to 62 cents, which surrounds expectations of 59 cents. “Compared to our expectations going into the quarter, our revenue was higher due to strong performance in gaming, a better-than-expected result in mobile, and the improvement of overall sales trends due to the arrival of delayed federal tax refund checks,” said Chief Executive Hubert Joly. The stock has rallied 18% year to date through Wednesday, while the S&P 500 has gained 7.4%.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.

…read more

From:: Stock Market News