Investing

Earnings Previews: Kyndryl, Star Bulk Carriers, Target, TJX Companies

Target Corp.

In Monday morning trading, the Dow Jones industrials were down 0.22%, the S&P 500 down 0.15% and the Nasdaq was 0.07% lower.

Before U.S. markets opened on Monday, Bitfarms reported a GAAP loss per share of $0.01, far better than the expected GAAP loss of $0.05 per share, and it also beat the revenue estimate. The stock traded up more than 7% in morning trading.
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Workhorse reported a net loss of $25 million in its first quarter, worse than last year’s net loss of $22.1 million. Revenue came in far below estimates as deliveries have been delayed until at least late next month. The stock traded down more than 6%.

After U.S. markets close on Monday, Canoo and Nu Holdings are scheduled to report quarterly earnings. Home Depot, iQIYI, Sea Limited and Tencent Music are expected to share their results Tuesday morning.

Here is a look at four companies scheduled to report results later on Tuesday or first thing Wednesday morning.

Kyndryl

Since IBM spun off its managed infrastructure group into Kyndryl Holdings Inc. (NYSE: KD) in October 2021, the new company’s shares are down by about 65%. Over the same period, IBM stock has added 10%. Last month, Kyndryl confirmed that it is laying off staff in an effort to reduce costs, and last week, a former Kyndryl employee filed a lawsuit against the company alleging age discrimination. The lawsuit makes the claim that Kyndryl, like IBM, continues a policy of firing long-tenured and high-salaried employees. The company reports earnings after markets close Tuesday.

Of just four analysts covering the stock, one has a Strong Buy rating and the rest have Hold ratings. At a recent price of around $14.20 a share, the upside potential based on a median price target of $16.00 is about 12.7%. At the high price target of $22.00, the upside potential is 55%.


Analysts expect Kyndryl to report fiscal fourth-quarter revenue of $4.15 billion, which would be down 3.5% sequentially and about 6.3% year over year. Analysts have also forecast a loss per share of $0.44, down from earnings per share (EPS) of $0.12 in the prior quarter and better than a loss per share of $0.54 in the year-ago quarter. For the full 2023 fiscal year ending in March, Kyndryl’s loss per share is forecast at $1.47, compared to last year’s loss of $1.26 per share, on sales of $16.92 billion, down 8.7% year over year.

The company is not expected to post a profit until fiscal 2025. Revenue is expected to decline slightly to $16.48 billion by 2025, and the enterprise value-to-sales ratio is 0.3. The stock’s 52-week trading range is $7.93 to $17.21. Kyndryl does not pay a dividend, and the total shareholder return for the past year was 34.7% as the share price improved by 39%.

Star Bulk Carriers

As the name implies, Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ: SBLK) ships dry bulk cargoes like ore, coal and grain globally with a fleet of 128 vessels of various sizes. The Greece-based carrier has seen its stock decline by about 34% over the past 12 months. But that is not what attracts investors. A massive dividend yield of $5.10 nearly offsets the 12-month share price decline of $5.90. But an investor who bought in at the 52-week low got a nice payback of around $8.50 plus the dividend. With shipping stocks, it is always about timing. Star reports earnings late Tuesday.
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Of six analysts covering the stock, five have a Buy rating. At a share price of around $18.60, the upside potential based on a median price target of $30.00 is 61.3%. At the high target of $33.00, the upside potential is 77.4%.

For the company’s first quarter of fiscal 2023, analysts anticipate revenue of $163.58 million, down about 25.8% sequentially and by 46.8% year over year. Adjusted EPS are forecast at $0.29, down 68.2% sequentially and 83.1% lower year over year. For the full fiscal year, EPS are forecast to come in at $3.37, down 43.2%, on sales of $922.81 million, down 19.8%.

Star Bulk stock trades at 2.2 times expected 2023 EPS, 4.7 times estimated 2024 earnings of $3.95 and 3.2 times estimated 2025 earnings of $5.87 per share. The stock’s 52-week range is $16.85 to $33.99. Star Bulk pays an annual dividend of $5.10 (yield of 27.36%). Total shareholder return for the past year was negative 19.50%.

Target

Target Corp. (NYSE: TGT) posted its 52-week high one year ago and plummeted after the company missed the consensus EPS estimate by nearly 30%. The stock has recovered somewhat but is still down more than 27% for the 12-month period.

Investors and analysts are concerned that consumer spending has slowed and will slow more in the remainder of the year. Macy’s and Nordstrom shares are down by around the same amount as Target, while Walmart, which reports Thursday morning, has posted a share price gain of nearly 6% over the past 12 months, and TJX, reporting Wednesday morning, has added 41.2% in the period. Target, which is lumped together with the more upscale retailers, also reports results Wednesday morning.

Of 36 analysts covering Target, 20 have a Buy or Strong Buy rating and 16 rate it at Hold. At a share price of around $158.00, the upside potential based on a median price target of $180.00 is about 13.9%. At the high price target of $220.00, the upside potential is 39.2%.
The consensus first-quarter 2024 revenue estimate is $25.31 billion, down 19.4% sequentially but up 0.5% year over year. Adjusted EPS are forecast at $1.79, down 5.3% sequentially and by 18.3% year over year. For the full year ending in January, analysts expect Target to report EPS of $8.42, up almost 40%, on sales of $111.23 billion, up 1.9%.
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Target stock trades at 18.7 times expected 2024 EPS, 14.9 times estimated 2025 earnings of $10.56 and 12.9 times estimated 2026 earnings of $12.19 per share. The stock’s 52-week range is $137.16 to $223.30. The company pays an annual dividend of $4.32 (yield of 2.73%). Total shareholder return for the past year was negative 25.79%.

TJX Companies

TJX Companies Inc. (NYSE: TJX) operates around 3,000 retail stores worldwide under well-known names like T.J. Maxx, Marshall’s and HomeGoods. Over the past 12 months, the share price has risen by around 41.1%. TJX raised its quarterly dividend by nearly 14% for the June 1 payment date. TJX reports results early Wednesday.

Bed Bath & Beyond’s bankruptcy filing led Bernstein analyst Aneesha Sherman to comment in late April that TJX could receive a disproportionate boost from the bankruptcy. TJX’s HomeGoods and T.J. Maxx stores attract the same kind of customers who shopped at Bed Bath & Beyond, and many of those TJX stores are located within five miles of the Bed Bath & Beyond locations.

Of 23 analysts covering TJX, 16 have a Buy or Strong Buy rating and six others rate it at Hold. At a share price of around $78.60, the upside potential based on a median price target of $88.50 is 12.6%. At the high price target of $95.00, the upside potential is 20.9%.


First-quarter revenue is forecast to come in at $11.82 billion, down 18.6% sequentially but 3.6% higher year over year. Adjusted EPS are pegged at $0.71, down 19.7% sequentially and up 4.4% year over year. For the 2024 fiscal year ending in January, analysts expect EPS of $3.54, up 13.7%, on sales of $53.19 billion, up 6.5%.

TJX’s stock trades at 22.2 times expected 2024 EPS, 20.1 times estimated 2025 earnings of $3.91 and 18.0 times estimated 2026 earnings of $4.37 per share. The stock’s 52-week range is $53.69 to $83.13. TJX pays an annual dividend of $1.34 (yield of 1.69%). Total shareholder return for the past 12 months was 43.06%.

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