Tag: stock market

Target Corp. shares rallied 8% in premarket trading after the retailer reported third-quarter earnings that beat estimates and raised its guidance. Net income totaled $608 million, or $1.06 per share, up from $549 million, or 87 cents per share, for the same period last year. Adjusted earnings per share were $1.04, beating the 83-cent FactSet consensus. Revenue totaled $16.4 billion, down from $17.6 billion, but beating the $16.3 billion FactSet consensus. Same-store sales dropped 0.2% versus a FactSet estimate of down 1%. Target raised its fourth-quarter same-store sales guidance to a range of down 1% to up 1% from down 2% to flat. The retailer expects both EPS and adjusted EPS of $1.55 to $1.75. The FactSet consensus is for a same-store sales decline of 0.8% and EPS of $1.60. Target shares are down 1.6% for the year so far while the S&P 500 Index is up 6.7% for the same period.

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Shares of Lowe’s Cos. tumbled 5.5% in premarket trade Wednesday, after the home improvement retailer reported fiscal third-quarter profit and sales that missed expectations. Earnings for the quarter to Oct. 28 fell to $379 million, or 43 cents a share, from $736 million, or 88 cents a share, in the same period a year ago. Excluding non-recurring items, adjusted earnings per share came to 88 cents, below the FactSet consensus of 96 cents. Revenue rose to $15.74 billion from $14.36 billion, but missed the FactSet consensus of $15.84 billion. Same-store sales increased 2.7%, missing the FactSet consensus for 3.0% growth. For the full fiscal year, Lowe’s expects revenue growth of 9% to 10% and EPS of $3.52. The FactSet consensus implies revenue growth of 9.7% growth and EPS of $4.00. “Our third-quarter operating results were below our expectations due to slower sales in the first two months of the quarter,” said Chief Executive Robert A. Niblock. “While we expected moderation in the second half of the year, traffic slowed more than we anticipated in August and September before improving in October, which put pressure on our profitability in the quarter.” He said the company was currently evaluating “meaningful incremental opportunities to drive shareholder value.” The stock has dropped 9.2% year to date through Tuesday, while the SPDR S&P Retail ETF has gained 4.2% and the S&P 500 has climbed 6.7%.

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St. Louis Federal Reserve President James Bullard said Wednesday that he still is inclined to support an interest-rate rise next month, according to a Wall Street Journal report on a speech he gave in London. Bullard said the short-term outlook for monetary policy is unchanged following Donald Trump’s win in the White House race. “A single policy rate increase, possibly in December, may be sufficient to move monetary policy to a neutral setting,” Bullard said in the speech at an event hosted by UBS Group AG. The Fed official last week said Trump’s win should break the gridlock in Washington, adding that he’s not concerned about the central bank’s independence becoming curtailed.

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Oil futures edged down in electronic trading late Tuesday after the American Petroleum Institute reported a 3.65 million-barrel rise in U.S. crude supplies for the week ended Nov. 11, according to sources. Analysts polled by S&P Global Platts forecast a decline of 2 million barrels in stockpiles. Supply data from the Energy Information Administration will be released Wednesday. December crude was at $45.76 a barrel in electronic trading, below the contract’s settlement of $45.81 on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

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Snap Inc., the parent company of Snapchat, has filed confidentially for an initial public offering, the Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday, citing sources familiar with the matter. The offering could value Snap between $20 billion and $25 billion, a source told the WSJ. The company had filed the papers ahead of the presidential election and could go public as early as March, according to the article.

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Gap Inc. named Teri List-Stoll as the company’s new chief financial officer, effective Jan. 17, the retailer said Tuesday. List-Stoll. who replaces Sabrina Simmons, previously served as CFO of Dick’s Sporting Goods and Kraft Foods Group . Gap shares were unchanged in late trading after closing at $29.84.

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Oil futures settled sharply higher on Tuesday to end at their highest level in two weeks. Prices got a boost from talk of renewed efforts by members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries to reach an agreement later this month to curtail output. December West Texas Intermediate crude rose $2.49, or 5.8%, to settle at $45.81 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

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Gold futures climbed Tuesday, with prices rebounding from a string of six-consecutive session declines. December gold rose $2.80, or 0.2%, to settle at $1,224.50 an ounce, recouping a small portion of the more than 6% drop it tallied over the past six sessions.

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Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin was nominated House speaker on Tuesday by his fellow Republicans. House GOP members voted unanimously to pick Ryan, who currently holds the speaker post. The full House must also take a vote for speaker, in January.

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Viacom Inc. on Tuesday said it’s agreed to buy Argentina-based TV network operator Television Federal S.A. (Telefe) for $345 million in cash. Telefe reaches 95% of all households in Argentina, according to a news release and the network produces more than 3,000 hours of Spanish-language video content each year. Telefe also has a library of 33,000 hours of local content. Viacom, which operates MTV, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central and Paramount Pictures, hopes this acquisition can help strengthen Viacom International Media Networks position in Latin America. Shares of Viacom are down more than 6% in the year to date, underperforming the S&P 500 Index , which is up more than 6%.

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