Tag: stock market

J. Crew Group Inc. said Tuesday that it will cut 250 jobs primarily from its corporate headquarters as part of a reorganization of the company. About 150 full-time jobs and 100 open positions will be axed. The company expects about $30 million in annualized pre-tax savings and will take a $10 million first-quarter charge related to the cuts. The company has also announced a number of executive changes. Chief Financial Officer Michael Nicholson will also be responsible for the planning, merchandising, marketing and design functions of the J.Crew brand. Lisa Greenwald has been named chief merchandising officer for the J. Crew brand. She was previously the senior vice president of the Madewell brand. And Libby Wadle has been named the president of the Madewell brand. She was previously the president of the J. Crew brand. Somsack Sikhounmuong was recently named chief design officer for J. Crew, effective April 5, succeeding Jenna Lyons. The SPDR S&P Retail ETF is down 1.3% for the year so far while the S&P 500 index is up 6.8% for the period.

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Dole Food Company is testing the public market again and filed to go public Tuesday. The company filed for an offering of up to $100 million, likely a placeholder amount, and has not specified an exchange or stock symbol. Dole Food recorded $4.51 billion in revenue on top of a $23 million net loss in 2016. The company was taken private by its chief executive David Murdock in November 2013. Since being taken private, Dole says it has bought three new West Coast vessels, gaining greater control of the supply chain, and increased their acreage by 20%. Morgan Stanley, Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Deutsche Bank Securities are the underwriters on the offering.

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U.S. stocks opened higher on Tuesday, with the Dow seeing a particularly strong gain as several key components reported better-than-expected quarterly results. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.7%, or 147 points, to 20,911. The S&P 500 climbed 5.7 points, or 0.2%, to 2,380. The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 21.5 points to 6,006, an advance of 0.4%. The Nasdaq hit a new intraday record and topped 6,000 for the first time ever. Among the biggest companies to report results on Tuesday, McDonald’s Corp climbed 3.2% while Caterpillar Inc. jumped 6.4%. Both topped forecasts in their results, while Caterpillar also raised its full-year outlook. The day’s gains were broad, with 10 of the 11 S&P 500 sectors up on the day. The top performing sector of the day was materials, which rose 0.1%.

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The dollar surged on Tuesday against the Mexican peso after President Donald Trump tweeted that he remains committed to building a wall along the Mexican border. The dollar rose 1.4% to 18.99, its strongest level in a month, after trading at 18.73 late Monday in New York. On Monday, Trump told a group of reporters that he would drop his demand that funding for the border wall be included in a funding bill that must be passed by the weekend to avert a government shutdown. Instead, he said, his administration will return to the issue in September.

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Shares of Amazon.com Inc. slipped 0.2% in premarket trade Tuesday, bucking a strong rally in the broader market, after Raymond James downgraded the ecommerce giant, citing concerns over valuation ahead of first-quarter results. Analyst Aaron Kessler cut his rating to market perform, after being at outperform the past 13 months. Kessler said with the stock near his previous price target of $925, he believed the shares were “fully valued,” especially since investment levels are expected to remain elevated, earnings expectations appear aggressive and the belief price cuts and increasing competition will reduce the potential upside for Amazon’s cloud business. “At current levels, we believe Amazon will need to begin to show greater operating leverage for shares to move meaningfully higher and reach our bull case,” Kessler wrote in a note to clients. “Specifically, we would like to see improved margins/less losses for international, shipping costs, Prime Video.” Amazon is scheduled to report results after Thursday’s close. The stock has soared 21% year to date through Monday, while the S&P 500 has gained 6%.

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JetBlue Airways Corp. shares rose 3% in Tuesday premarket trading after the company reported first-quarter earnings that beat estimates. Net income was $85.0 million, or 25 cents per share, down from $207.0 million, or 61 cents per share, last year. The FactSet consensus was 22 cents. Total revenue was $1.60 billion, down from $1.62 billion last year and below the $1.62 billion FactSet consensus. Passenger revenue per available seat mile (RASM) was down 5.8% year-over-year to 10.68 cents, and operating expense per available seat mile (CASM) was down 4.8% to 11.81 cents. JetBlue sees a second-quarter capacity increase between 4% and 6% year-over-year. RASM is expected to increase between 3% and 6% compared with last year. And CASM excluding fuel is expected to grow between 4.5% and 6.5% in the second quarter. JetBlue shares are down 3% for the year so far, but up 6.8% for the last 12 months. The S&P 500 index is up 6% for 2017.

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Shares of Caterpillar Inc. rose 6% in premarket trade Tuesday after the company beat first-quarter earnings expectations and issued an upbeat outlook. It reported net income of $192 million, or 32 cents per share, down from $271 million, or 46 cents per share, in the year-earlier period. Excluding restructuring costs, it reported earnings per share of $1.28. The FactSet consensus was for earnings per share of 63 cents. Revenue was $9.82 billion, up from $9.46 billion in the year-earlier period and above the FactSet consensus of $9.26 billion. Caterpillar raised its 2017 revenue outlook to $38 billion to $41 billion, above the FactSet consensus of $37.9 billion. It expects profit per share of $2.10 at the midpoint of sales or $3.75 excluding restructuring costs, compared to the FactSet consensus of $3.25. It expects higher restructuring costs for the year, amounting to $1.25 billion. Shares of Caterpillar have gained 4.4% month-to-date, compared to the S&P 500’s gain of 0.5%.

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Shares of 3M Co. surged 1.9% in premarket trade Tuesday, after the diversified industrial and consumer products company beat first-quarter profit and sales expectations. Net earnings rose to $1.32 billion, or $2.16 a share, from $1.28 billion, or $2.05 a share, in the same period a year ago. The FactSet consensus was for earnings per share of $2.07. Revenue increased to $7.69 billion from $7.41 billion, above the FactSet consensus of $7.49 billion, as sales of its industrial, safety and graphics, health care and electronics and energy businesses topped forecasts while consumer came up a bit shy. The company raised its 2017 outlook for local-currency sales growth outlook to 2% to 5% from 1% to 3%, and its EPS outlook to $8.70 to $9.05 from $8.45 to $8.80. The stock has rallied 8.8% year to date through Monday, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average has gained 5.1%.

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Tyson Foods Inc. said early Tuesday that it has agreed to acquire AdvancePierre Foods Holdings Inc. in a deal valued at $4.2 billion, including $3.2 billion in equity value and $1.1 billion in assumption of AdvancePierre debt. Tyson’s offer is $40.25 per share for AdvancePierre’s outstanding shares, above the $36.67 value of AdvancePierre shares as of Monday’s close. AdvancePierre stock rose 9.1% in premarket trade Tuesday after the news. The deal is expected to close in the third quarter. Tyson shares have surged 4.4% over the last three months, and AdvancePierre shares have surged 33.2%, compared with a 3.3% rise in the S&P 500 .

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Defense company Lockheed Martin Corp. said Tuesday it had net income of $763 million, or $2.61 a share, in the first quarter, down from $806 million, or $2.91 a share, in the year-earlier period. The number included charges that reduced earnings by 39 cents a share. Adjusted per share earnings of $2.61 included a 16 cents special charge, the company said. The FactSet consensus was for EPS of $2.79. Sales rose to $11.1 billion from $10.4 billion, just below the FactSet consensus of $11.2 billion. The company said it now expects full-year sales of $49.5 billion to $50.7 billion, compared with a prior forecast of $49.4 billion to $50.6 billion. It expects full-year EPS of $12.15 to $12.45 compared with a prior forecast of $12.25 to $12.55. Shares slid 2.6% premarket, but are up 10.5% in the year so far, while the S&P 500 has gained 6%.

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