Category: Stock Market News

Tribune Media Co. said its chief executive, Peter Liguori, will step after fiscal fourth-quarter results are reported in early March. The broadcasting company, which networks include WGN America, said it will work with Korn Ferry to find a new CEO. In the meantime, the company named Peter Kern, who is on the board of directors, as interim CEO. “Following the successful completion of several financial, strategic and creative initiatives, culminating in the pending sale of Gracenote, Tribune Media is well advanced in its transformation to a more focused broadcast and cable networks company,” Liguori said. “I believe that now is the ideal time for a new leader to steer today’s Tribune.” The stock, which was still inactive in premarket trade, has tumbled 13% over the past three months, while the S&P 500 has gained 6.4%.

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Kimbell Royalty Partners, LP, an owner of mineral and royalty interests, set a price range of $19 to $21 for its initial public offering Wednesday. The company plans to sell 5 million common units to raise a maximum of $105 million. It has granted underwriters the option to buy an additional 750,000 units. The company has been approved to list on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “KRP.” The lead underwriters on the offering are Raymond James, RBC Capital Markets and Stifel.

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The U.K. government will publish a White Paper outlining its Brexit strategy, British Prime Minister Theresa May said Wednesday. Several lawmakers from May’s Conservative Party as well as from the opposition Labour Party had called for the government to issue a White Paper – a government policy document on an upcoming Act of Parliament. May didn’t say when the White Paper will be published. The U.K. government, after losing a court ruling Tuesday, is sending a bill to parliament for authority to trigger Article 50 to kick off the process for the U.K. to exit the European Union. The pound rose above $1.26 for the first time since mid-December after May’s announcement.

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Shares of Boeing Co. climbed 1.3% in premarket trade Wednesday, after the aerospace and defense contractor beat profit and sales expectations, but provided a downbeat sales outlook. Earnings rose to $1.63 billion, or $2.59 a share, from $1.03 billion, or $1.51 a share, in the same period a year ago. Excluding non-recurring items, adjusted earnings per share came to $2.47, above the FactSet consensus of $2.34. Revenue slipped 1% to $23.29 billion, but beat the FactSet consensus of $23.13 billion. Commercial aerospace sales rose 1% to $16.24 billion, just shy of the FactSet consensus of $16.53 billion, while military aircraft sales declined 18% to $2.62 billion but beat expectations of $2.61 billion. Network and space systems sales fell 8% to $1.80 billion, but was above the FactSet consensus of $1.76 billion. For 2017, Boeing expects adjusted EPS of $9.10 to $9.30, surrounding the FactSet consensus of $9.25, while revenue guidance of $90.5 billion to $92.5 billion was below expectations of $92.96 billion. The stock has soared 29% over the past 12 months, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average has rallied 25%.

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Brinker International Inc. shares sank 4.6% in Wednesday premarket trading after the restaurant company reported second-quarter earnings and sales that missed consensus and cut its guidance. Brinker, whose brands include Chili’s Bar & Grill and Maggiano’s Little Italy, reported net income of $34.6 million, or 69 cents per share, down from $47.7 million, or 80 cents per share, for the same period last year. Adjusted EPS was 71 cents, falling short of the 74-cent FactSet forecast. Sales for the quarter totaled $748.7 million, down from $765.7 million last year and missing the $786.0 million FactSet consensus. Systemwide same-restaurant sales fell 3.1% for the quarter. Brinker now sees full-year adjusted EPS in the range of $3.05 to $3.15, and revenue down 2% to 2.5% from the $3.3 billion reported in 2016. The FactSet estimate is for EPS of $3.55 and sales of $3.2 billion. Same-store sales are expected to be down 1.5% to 2.0%, compared with a flat FactSet estimate. Brinker shares are down nearly 4% for the past year while the S&P 500 index is up 21.5% for the same period.

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President Donald Trump said Wednesday morning he will ask for a “major investigation” into voter fraud. His statement, on Twitter, came a day after his White House spokesman said Trump believes millions of votes were cast illegally in the presidential election. But spokesman Sean Spicer did not provide any evidence for Trump’s belief.

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United Technologies Corp. reported Wednesday fourth-quarter earnings that fell to $1.01 billion from $3.28 billion. Earnings per share, including discontinued operations, fell to $1.25 a share, from $4.16. Excluding non-recurring items, adjusted EPS was $1.56, matching the FactSet consensus. Revenue rose to $14.66 billion from $14.30 billion, just shy of the FactSet consensus of $14.71 billion. Among the industrial conglomerate’s segments, Otis sales of $3.06 billion compared with the FactSet consensus of $3.07, Pratt & Whitney sales of $3.99 billion beat the FactSet consensus of $3.85 billion and aerospace systems sales of $3.60 billion fell shy of expectations of $3.68 billion. The company affirmed its 2017 adjusted EPS outlook of $6.30 to $6.60 and its sales outlook of $57.5 billion to $59 billion. “Despite an uncertain global macro environment, our growing aerospace backlog and strategic investments in the commercial businesses position us well to generate higher organic growth in 2017, and we remain on track to our 2020 targets,” said Chief Executive George Hayes. The stock, which was still inactive in premarket trade, has run up 31% over the past 12 months, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average has gained 21%.

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President Donald Trump is expected to sign a number of executive orders this week cracking down on immigration. Among them are plans to build a wall along the border with Mexico, and orders to block immigrants from seven Middle Eastern and African countries. Immigration by most refugees would be temporarily suspended for months, Reuters reported Tuesday, until the vetting process can made tougher. Immigrants from Syria, Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen would be blocked from getting visas, Reuters reported. The Associated Press reported Tuesday that the wall announcement would come Wednesday, with more immigration restrictions coming later in the week. Both the border wall and a crackdown on Middle Eastern immigration would be consistent with promises Trump made during his presidential campaign.

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Cisco Systems Inc. announced an agreement Tuesday to acquire AppDynamics Inc. for $3.7 billion, just before the tech startup was set for an initial public offering that would have valued the company at potentially half that total. AppDynamics increased its price range in a filing Tuesday morning, which was expected to be one of the last steps before the software firm sold its first batch of public shares. The IPO was expected to value AppDynamics at a similar or lower level to its most recent private investment, which placed a $1.9 billion price tag on the company. AppDynamics tracks and manages data and performance from business-focused applications, which could be a selling point for Cisco as it looks to provide more software to its large enterprise customers. “As companies across industries are expanding their digital infrastructure, IT departments are faced with vast amounts of complex, siloed data,” wrote Rob Salvagno, Cisco’s head of mergers and acquisitions, in a blog post. “AppDynamics helps many of the world’s largest enterprises translate this data into business insights and empowers them to drive value for their customers in today’s digital world.” Cisco shares gained about 0.2% in late trading after the acquisition was announced Tuesday evening.

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Texas Instruments Inc. shares fluctuated between gains and losses in the extended session Tuesday after the chip maker topped Wall Street estimates for its latest quarter. Texas Instruments shares declined 0.6% to $76.61 a share at last check after hours, following a 1.8% gain during the regular session. The company reported fourth-quarter earnings of $1.02 a share on revenue of $3.41 billion. Analysts surveyed by FactSet had estimated earnings of 81 cents a share on revenue of $3.32 billion. The company noted that earnings included a benefit of 14 cents a share for items not accounted for its outlook. For the first quarter, Texas Instruments forecast earnings of 78 cents to 88 cents on revenue of $3.17 billion to $3.43 billion. Analysts expect 75 cents a share on revenue of $3.21 billion.

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