The new earnings season doesn't kick off until Alcoa (AA) reports its first-quarter results on April 11, but a few stragglers are still reporting their earnings for the previous quarter this week. The most prominent earnings reports on tap are Wednesday's results from Bed Bath & Beyond (BBBY) and from Monsanto (MON). Here's what analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expect to see.

Bed Bath & Beyond

During its fiscal fourth quarter, the nation's largest domestics retailer opened new stores and its CEO sold shares. Analysts anticipate that the New Jersey-based company will report per-share earnings of 97 cents, an increase of 11.3% from the same quarter of last year. The company also is expected to post revenue of $2.4 billion for the three months that ended in February, a 6.3% rise from a year earlier.

Continue reading Week in Preview: Bed Bath & Beyond, Monsanto and Pier 1 Earnings

Week in Preview: Bed Bath & Beyond, Monsanto and Pier 1 Earnings originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 03 Apr 2011 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Tesla Motors (TSLA) has rallied 16%, following an upgrade to Overweight from Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley. April 29 and 30 calls are active. April call option implied volatility is at 61, June is at 63; above its 26-week average of 52 according to Track Data, suggesting larger price movement.

Bed Bath & Beyond (BBBY) April 50 calls are active on 4,800 contracts with option implied volatility at 37; its 26-week average of 31 according to Track Data, suggesting larger price movement into Q4 results expected to be released on April 6.

Update is by Stock Specialist Paul Foster of theflyonthewall.com

Options Update: Tesla Motors Calls Active as Shares Rally on Analyst Upgrade originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 31 Mar 2011 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst Upgrades

• Expedia (EXPE) to buy from hold at Citigroup.
• Weatherford (WFT) to outperform from market perform at Wells Fargo.
• Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF) to buy from neutral at BofA/Merrill.
• MDC Holdings (MDC) to outperform from neutral at Credit Suisse.
• AutoNavi (AMAP) to buy from neutral at Goldman.
• Ciena (CIEN) and Nvidia (NVDA) to neutral from underweight at JPMorgan.
• Canadian Pacific (CP) to outperform from market perform at Raymond James.
• First Midwest (FMBI) and Quiksilver (ZQK) to buy from hold at Jefferies.
• Sonic (SONC) to neutral from negative at Susquehanna.
• MIPS Technologies (MIPS) to buy from hold at Benchmark Co.
• Arrow Electronics (ARW) and Avnet (AVT) to buy from hold at Stifel Nicolaus.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: ANF, BBBY, CIEN, CP, EXPE, ICE, NVDA, QCOM, SONC ...

Analyst Calls: ANF, BBBY, CIEN, CP, EXPE, ICE, NVDA, QCOM, SONC ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 08 Mar 2011 11:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Companies continue to file quarterly reports late in the season, and a few are poised to spread some early holiday cheer for investors this week. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expect strong earnings results from Nike (NKE), Bed Bath & Beyond (BBBY) and Darden Restaurants (DRI), among others. Here's a quick look (for more details, see the DailyFinance Week in Preview).

Analysts forecast Nike's fiscal-second quarter earnings to come in at 88 cents per share, a 13.6% increase from the same period of last year. The world's leading athletic footwear maker also is expected to post revenue of $4.8 billion for the three months that ended in November. That's 9.3% more than the same period a year earlier. Note that Nike's earnings have not fallen short of consensus estimates in the past five quarters.

Continue reading Week in Preview: Late Season Earnings from Nike, Bed Bath & Beyond, Darden

Week in Preview: Late Season Earnings from Nike, Bed Bath & Beyond, Darden originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 19 Dec 2010 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst Upgrades

• Goldman upgraded Eaton (ETN) to conviction buy from neutral.
• AECOM Technology (ACM) was upgraded to outperform from neutral at Macquarie.
• Piper Jaffray upgraded Hologic (HOLX), Gen-Probe (GPRO) and Qiagen (QGEN) to overweight from neutral.
• GeoMet (GMET) was upgraded to accumulate from neutral at Global Hunter.
• Accretive Health (AH) was upgraded to outperform from neutral at RW Baird.
• Morgan Stanley upgraded Reinsurance Group (RGA) to overweight from equal weight.
• BofA/Merrill upgraded Clearwire (CLWR) to neutral from underperform.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: BA, BBBY, CI, CLWR, DFS, DLTR, ETN, MET, MO, WSM ...

Analyst Calls: BA, BBBY, CI, CLWR, DFS, DLTR, ETN, MET, MO, WSM ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 12 Nov 2010 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

I was a little hesitant about Bed Bath & Beyond (BBBY) back in April. I think it's a very competent retailer, but I wondered if the company's shares might have been a bit overvalued at the time. This past June, management released some disappointing guidance, pressuring the stock.

Wednesday after the bell, the company posted Q2 numbers. They were impressive. According to the Associated Press, earnings per share of 70 cents beat analyst projections by seven pennies. The comps were even better. Same-store sales increased over 7%; last year at this time, the chain experienced a slight contraction in the metric.

Continue reading Bed Bath & Beyond Earnings: Time to Buy or Sell?

Bed Bath & Beyond Earnings: Time to Buy or Sell? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 23 Sep 2010 09:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Bed Bath & Beyond Drops on Disappointing Forecast

Bed Bath & Beyond Drops on Disappointing Forecast originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 24 Jun 2010 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Bed Bath & Beyond (BBBY), whose colleagues include Target (TGT) and Wal-Mart (WMT), reported another good quarter Wednesday after the market closed up shop. In fact, during the after-hours session, the stock went past the 52-week high of $45.14, an indicator that shareholders may have more gains to look forward to.

According to the press release, net income increased over 50% to 86 cents per diluted share in the fourth quarter. According to our earnings preview, the call was for 73 cents per diluted share.

Continue reading Bed Bath & Beyond Does It Again

Bed Bath & Beyond Does It Again originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 08 Apr 2010 08:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Williams-Sonoma (WSM), a retailer of high-end merchandise whose concepts include Pottery Barn and West Elm, reported results for the fourth quarter earlier today. If you were trading this name ahead of the numbers, you made out, because the market gave this stock a nice bid on the news.

On an adjusted basis, net income came in at 86 cents per share; the company made 31 cents per share in the comparable period on the same basis. According to our preview, the bottom line beat estimates by twelve pennies. Total sales revenue increased 8%. Same-store sales jumped a very attractive 7.6%; the metric was down double-digits last time around.

Continue reading Williams-Sonoma Popular with Investors After Q4 Report

Williams-Sonoma Popular with Investors After Q4 Report originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 22 Mar 2010 13:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading AMR Finds New Way to Nickel and Dime You

AMR Finds New Way to Nickel and Dime You originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 09 Feb 2010 09:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The 2009 equity market recovery has led to an increase in Q ratios for the world's largest retailers. What does this mean? They're using their tangible assets effectively and have demonstrated the strength of intangible factors, such as brand and operational efficiency, to create shareholder value.

"Q" is the ratio of a public company's market capitalization to the market value of its tangible assets. So, a Q ratio of above one means that investors value the company's non-tangible assets -- e.g., brand, differentiation, innovation, customer experience and customer loyalty -- and see these factors as reasons to pay a higher price per share. A company with a Q ratio of below one can't generate a sufficient return on its physical assets. According to Deloitte, this could create an arbitrage opportunity, as it may be ripe for an acquisition.

Continue reading Emerging Markets and Electronics Retailers Sport Best Intangible Values

Emerging Markets and Electronics Retailers Sport Best Intangible Values originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 11 Jan 2010 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Bed Bath & Beyond (BBBY) scored in its fiscal third quarter. Sales rose well over 10%. Same-store sales increased a very impressive 7.3%. The real star, however, was the net income number. Earnings per diluted share soared 71% higher to 58 cents.

Wow, huh? Bed Bath & Beyond's management really benefited from the improving times. You've also got to give some credit to good retail positioning. Analysts weren't counting on much more than 43 cents per share, according to Earnings.com. In addition, I found the nine-month statement of cash flows a pleasing document to read.

Continue reading Bed Bath & Beyond Surpasses Estimates, Delivers Good Comps in Q3

Bed Bath & Beyond Surpasses Estimates, Delivers Good Comps in Q3 originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 07 Jan 2010 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expect for-profit education provider Apollo Group Inc. (APOL) to start of the new year right when it reports fiscal first quarter 2010 results this week. During the three months that ended in November, Apollo's subsidiary, Apollo Global, saw management changes and its University of Phoenix was recertified to participate in Title IV programs.

Apollo Group is expected to report that earnings rose 22.8% from a year ago to $1.45 per share. Revenue for the quarter is expected to total $1.2 billion, which is 25.9% higher than a year ago. So far, the forecast is for similar year-over-year growth of EPS and revenue in the second quarter. This Phoenix-based company has topped earnings estimates in the past five quarters, by as much as 13 cents per share.

Continue reading The Week in Preview: Starting Off the Year on an Up Note: APOL, BBBY, FDO ...

The Week in Preview: Starting Off the Year on an Up Note: APOL, BBBY, FDO ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 03 Jan 2010 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Bed Bath & Beyond (NASDAQ: BBBY), a chain that competes with Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) and Target (NYSE: TGT), issued Q2 numbers on Wednesday after the conclusion of the regular trading session. Net sales increased over 3%, and earnings per diluted share expanded by 13% to 52 cents. The retailer beat expectations by four pennies, according to the earnings preview.

This is a good showing for the retailer. As we all know, the economy continues to show signs of improvement. At least, that's what the pundits and the headlines have been telling us. An earnings report like this from a retailer does offer some evidence that the worst is behind us.

Continue reading Bed Bath & Beyond beats in Q2; fundamentals and technicals improving

Bed Bath & Beyond beats in Q2; fundamentals and technicals improving originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 24 Sep 2009 08:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. (NASDAQ: BBBY), the largest domestic superstore chain in the U.S., is scheduled to discuss its second quarter 2009 results Wednesday in a conference call at 5:00 PM ET. You can catch the live webcast of the call on the company's website.

The retailer easily beat Wall Street expectations in the first quarter, and for the three months that ended in August, analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expect the New Jersey-based company to report net income of $0.48 per share, two pennies per share better than a year ago. Revenue for the second quarter is expected to be 2.8% higher to $1.9 billion.

Continue reading Bed Bath & Beyond Q2 earnings preview

Bed Bath & Beyond Q2 earnings preview originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 23 Sep 2009 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Bed Bath & Beyond on the move after earnings

Bed Bath & Beyond on the move after earnings originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 25 Jun 2009 17:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Here are some highlights from this past week's earnings coverage from BloggingStocks:

• Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. (NASDAQ: BBBY) easily topped Q4 earnings estimates but same-store sales fell.
• Brinker International Inc. (NYSE: EAT) forecast Q3 earnings that are well above analysts' estimates.
• Constellation Brands Inc. (NYSE: STZ) said it narrowed its loss in Q4 despite restructuring costs.
• Excel Maritime Carriers Ltd. (NYSE: EXM) is expected to fall short of Q4 earnings expectations.
• Family Dollar Stores Inc. (NYSE: FDO) reported strong Q2 results and and raised its outlook for Q3.

Continue reading Earnings highlights: Family Dollar, Bed Bath & Beyond, Alcoa, Wells Fargo and more

Earnings highlights: Family Dollar, Bed Bath & Beyond, Alcoa, Wells Fargo and more originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 11 Apr 2009 11:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Oil jumps over 5% as traders take a positive stance on the economy

Oil jumps over 5% as traders take a positive stance on the economy originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 09 Apr 2009 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Bed Bath & Beyond (NASDAQ: BBBY) reported earnings for the fourth quarter on Tuesday after the market closed its doors. In the after-hours session, the retailer's stock rallied mightily, rising over $3.50, or better than 14%. Let me tell you, that was impressive. As was the beat on the bottom line.

As I wrote in my preview piece, the market was looking for 44 cents per share. Bed Bath & Beyond did its job and delivered 55 cents per share. Net sales decreased by less than 1%. Granted, no one likes to see the top line contract even a little, but considering how bad retail has been, I actually find this to be a small victory. Unfortunately, the same-store sales weren't good. They dropped over 4%. Also, operating profit and cash from operations saw a decline.

Continue reading Bed Bath & Beyond goes beyond the call of duty in Q4

Bed Bath & Beyond goes beyond the call of duty in Q4 originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 08 Apr 2009 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The good news, though, is that Bed Bath & Beyond actually has a decent history in terms of beating Wall Street expectations. If that holds, then investors might be pleasantly surprised when Q4 numbers are issued. When I wrote about the retailer's last earnings release, I was pretty bearish. And I was very wrong. I questioned why the stock should be purchased. Well, the stock has been doing well as of late, and is up on the year-to-date frame as of this writing. A commenter named Rich set me straight and rightfully proposed that the liquidation of a competitor might have temporarily dampened things; once the competitor was gone, he said, Bed Bath & Beyond might prosper.

Continue reading Earnings preview: Will Bed Bath & Beyond beat this week?

Earnings preview: Will Bed Bath & Beyond beat this week? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 06 Apr 2009 15:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.