Category: Stock Market News

Assured Guaranty Ltd. said Wednesday it will raise its quarterly dividend by 9.6% to 14.25 cents a share from 13 cents a share. The credit enhancement company’s new dividend will be payable March 22 to shareholders of record on March 8. Based on Tuesday’s stock closing price of $41.36, the new annual dividend rate implies a dividend yield of 1.38%, compared with the aggregate S&P 500 dividend yield of 2.01%, according to FactSet. Assured Guaranty’s stock, which was still inactive ahead of the open, has soared 71% over the past 12 months while the S&P 500 has gained 22%.

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SpaceX has been forced to delay a shipment to the international space station after a navigation error, the Associated Press reported Wednesday. The problem with the GPS arose as the supply ship, called the Dragon, was less than a mile from the orbiting outpost, the AP reported. SpaceX said the problem can be resolved before another attempt to delivery supplies on Thursday, said the AP.

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Garmin Ltd. shares jumped 6% in premarket trade Wednesday, after the company blew past earnings estimates for the fourth quarter and offered upbeat guidance for 2017. The GPS maker said it had net income of $136.6 million, or 72 cents a share, in the fourth quarter, up from $132.4 million, or 70 cents a share, in the year-earlier period. Adjusted per-share earnings came to 73 cents, well ahead of the FactSet consensus of 58 cents. Sales rose to $860.8 million from $781.4 million, also ahead of the FactSet consensus of $793 million. Growth was driven by strong sales in the company’s outdoor, fitness, marine and aviation segments, Chief Executive Cliff Pemble said in a statement. For 2017, the company is expecting adjusted EPS of $2.65 and sales of about $3.02 billion. The current FactSet consensus is for 2017 EPS of $2.66 and $2.97 billion. Shares have gained 23% in the last 12 months, while the S&P 500 has gained 21.7%.

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Shares of Mobileye N.V. climbed 3% in premarket trade Wednesday after the company reported stronger-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings. The company, which provides technology that helps power driverless cars, reported net income of $32.6 million, or 14 cents a share, compared with $18.8 million, or 8 cents a share, in the year-earlier period. Excluding one-time items, non-GAAP earnings were 22 cents, topping the average analyst estimate of 20 cents, according to FactSet. Revenue for the three-month period climbed 45.6% to $104.6 million from $71.8 million in the year-earlier period, beating the consensus estimate of $96.4 million. Mobileye attributed the results to stronger demand for autonomous-vehicle technology that helped spur new business from automakers. Mobileye stock has increased more than 18% in the past three months and 59% in the past year, outperforming the S&P 500 , which is up 7% in the past three months and 22% in the past year.

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Chevron Corp. has signed a preliminary deal with China’s Zhenhua Oil, a state-run oil and gas explorer, to sell its major natural gas fields in Bangladesh for about $2 billion, Reuters reported, citing Beijing-based oil executives. Bangladesh, with rights of first refusal on those gas fields, could scupper the deal, as its national oil company Petrobangla is trying to drum up financing to purchase them, the report said, citing sources. A spokesperson for Zhenhua Oil, Zhang Xiodi, declined to comment to Reuters. A spokesperson for Chevron could not immediately be reached for comment.

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Grupo Aeromexico SAB de CV said its board would accept Delta Air Lines Inc.’s offer to acquire a 49% stake in the company. Back in November, Delta offered to increase its interest in the Mexican airline from its current 4.3% stake for 43.59 pesos a share, and on Feb. 13 boosted that offer to 53 pesos a share because of a decline in the peso. Since November, Aeromexico shares have risen 25% in local currency and last closed at 46.93 pesos a share. Aeromexico, in a statement, said its board “considers such price is both supported from a financial perspective and represents fair value.” Delta shares declined 0.1% to $51.15 after hours.

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Toll Brothers Inc. said late Tuesday it would start paying a quarterly dividend to shareholders. The Horsham, Pa.-based luxury home builder said its board approved a quarterly dividend of 8 cents a share payable on April 28 to shareholders of record as of April 14. Previously, Toll Brothers said it did not pay a dividend on the belief that “earnings are best utilized by investing in internal growth opportunities, such as expansion within current geographic markets and into new geographic territories,” according to the company’s website. Shares of Toll Brothers slipped 0.4% to $31.86 after hours.

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Shares of Papa John’s International Inc. fell more than 3% late Tuesday as the pizza chain reported quarterly sales below Wall Street expectations. Papa John’s said it earned $32.6 million, or 88 cents a share, in the quarter, compared with $24.7 million, or 62 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Adjusted for one-time items, the company earned 69 cents a share, compared with 62 cents a share a year ago. Quarterly sales rose 5.5% to $440 million. North America comparable sales rose 3.8% in the quarter and 3.5% in 2016, while international comparable sales rose 5.6% for the three-month period and 6% for the year, the company said in a statement. Analysts polled by FactSet had expected adjusted earnings of 66 cents a share on sales of $447 million.

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Facebook Inc. is in discussions with Major League Baseball to air one game a week on its social network, Reuters reported Tuesday. Social networks believe their platforms are a “second screen” that sports fans rely on while watching games, and are eager to test the popularity of combining the viewing of video and the commentary that takes place on social networks into a single feed. Offering a free weekly baseball game would be one way to counter social-networking rival Twitter Inc.’s ambitions in sports broadcasting. Twitter began streaming a weekly National Football League game on Thursday nights last year. Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg discussed Facebook’s video ambitions last month in a conference call related to earnings, saying Facebook would focus on short-form video with an eye toward longer-form offerings in the future. “We want people to think of Facebook as a place for interesting and relevant video content from professional creators as well as their friends,” Zuckerberg said then. “Last year, we started to invest in more original video content to help seed the ecosystem, and we’re planning to do more in 2017.” Reuters cited two anonymous sources in its report, adding that one said the talks were at an advanced stage.

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First Solar Inc. shares rose 1.6% late Tuesday after the solar-panel maker and solar-power developer reported fourth-quarter adjusted earnings and sales above expectations. First Solar said it lost $6.92 a share in the quarter, versus earnings of $1.63 a share in the year-ago period. Adjusted for one-time items, First Solar earned $1.24 a share in the quarter. Sales fell to $480 million in the quarter from $942 million a year ago. Analysts polled by FactSet had expected adjusted earnings of $1.01 a share on sales of $404 million for the Tempe, Ariz., company in the quarter. First Solar also tweaked higher its expectations for 2017 sales to between $2.8 billion and $2.9 billion, from a range between $2.5 billion and $2.6 billion. Shares ended the regular trading session up 5.1%.

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