Shares of Bed, Bath & Beyond (NASDAQ:BBBY) rose 6% after the company reported fourth quarter earnings late Wednesday.The company reported EPS of $1.48, better than analyst estimates of $1.38 per share. Revenues for the quarter rose 9.1% year-over-year to $2.73 billion, better than consensus estimates of $2.66 billion.Bed Bath & Beyond is currently above its 50-day moving average (MA) of $62.63 and above its 200-day of $59.65.
Vodafone (NYSE:VOD) said it bought 12.5 million of its own shares yesterday on the London Stock Exchange.The firm intends on holding the shares in Treasury.Vodafone Group (NYSE:VOD) has potential upside of 21.1% based on a current price of $27.55 and an average consensus analyst price target of $33.35.
Chrysler (PINK:FIATY) plans on installing Sirius’ (NASDAQ:SIRI) new satellite radios in its cars.The move makes it the first automaker to add the ability to its vehicles.While Sirius is still working with a number of other car makers Chrysler will carry the radios exclusively for a year.The radios will be able to record content and carry Spanish language channels as well.
Jobless claims declined once again in the week ending March 31, the Wall Street Journal reports. The decline is seen as a continued reassurance that U.S. employers are hiring more and firing less. The rate of jobless claims has been decreasing steadily since fall of 2011.The jobless claims fell to an estimated 357,000, indicating a 6,000 decrease. The claims for the previous week were revised upwards to 363,000, an increase from 359,000. The moving four week average of claims, which is seen as a less volatile way of measuring the fluctuations in the job market, lowered to 361,750, a 4,250 drop.On Friday, the government will release a broader assessment of the labor market. Economists expect that the U.S. Economy added 203,000 jobs in March. If these expectations are met, it would be the fourth month in a row that more than 200,000 jobs were added to the economy.In spite of these gains, economists are currently predicting that the unemployment will stick at 8.3% for the next month. The stagnation of the unemployment rate is likely a result of previously discouraged workers reentering the labor market. The rate that jobs are being added to the economy is not currently fast enough to counteract those workers reentering the market.
Most US retailers reported YoY March same store sales growth above estimates, led by gains of apparel and department stores, such as Target, Gap, Macy’s and Nordstrom. March is a month when retailers like to sell merchandise at full price, but the good numbers we see represent both price and volume. The warmer weather definitely helped with the volume, but the general sentiment of the discretionary consumption is markedly improving.Consumer confidence inched up last week to the highest level in 4 years and continuing claims for unemployment benefits came in less than expected at 3,338,000. So despite of the difficult situation in Europe that’s effecting the global market, our domestic indicators are reaffirming the gradual recovery.For more news and updates, keep it right here at the Financial News Network. I’m Julia Sun.Companies with March SSSG Beat:Target (TGT) +7.3% vs +5.6% Guides Q1 higherGap (GPS) +8.0% vs +4.4% Macy’s (M) +7.3% vs +4.7% Ltd Brands (LTD) +8.0% vs +4.4%Nordstrom (JWN) +8.6% vs +5.7%TJX (TJX) +10% vs +4.9% Guides Q1 higherRoss Stores (ROST) +10% vs +4.6% Kohl’s (KSS) +3.6% vs +2.4% Zumiez (ZUMZ) +14.1% vs +8.9%Stage Stores (SSI) +4.7% vs +3.3%Cato (CATO) +5.0% vs (3.5%)Bebe (BEBE) +7.2% vs +5.9%Rite Aid (RAD) +3.6% vs +2.4% Companies with March SSSG Missed:Costco (COST) +6.0% vs +6.4% Saks (SKS) +6.3% vs +6.4%Walgreen (WAG) (6.8%) vs (4.8%)Wet Seal (WTSLA) (7.8%) vs (5.0%)Buckle (BKE) +6.4% vs +9.1
This holiday shortened fourteenth trading week of 2012 comes to a close with investors focused on the long term effects of the European Central Bank’s liquidity injections, as well as ongoing problems in Spain and Greece. Hi.
After two days of declines, the markets struggled to recover, even as investors took in some positive news from the jobs sector. The Labor Department is reporting that the number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits fell by 6000 last week, to a seasonally adjusted 357,000.
Tanger Factory Outlet Centers (SKT) announced its quarterly dividend of 21 cents per share, an increase of about 5% over its prior dividend in January of 20 cents. The cash dividend of $0.21 per share will be payable on May 15, 2012 to shareholders of record on April 30, 2012.
As the saying goes, there are many possible reasons for an insider to sell a stock, but only one reason to buy — they expect to make money. So let’s look at two noteworthy recent insider buys.
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