Retail

Bed Bath & Beyond: Down the Drain With Earnings

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When Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. (NASDAQ: BBBY) released its fiscal fourth-quarter financial results after the markets closed on Wednesday, it posted $1.48 in earnings per share on $3.72 billion in revenue. That compares with consensus estimates of $1.41 in EPS on revenue of $3.67 billion. The same period of last year reportedly had EPS of $1.84 and $3.53 billion in revenue.

Comparable sales in the fiscal 2017 fourth quarter (14 weeks) decreased by approximately 0.6% and included strong sales growth from the company’s customer-facing digital channels and sales from stores that declined in the mid-single-digit percentage range.

The board of directors declared an increase in the quarterly dividend to $0.16 per share. The increased quarterly dividend is payable on July 17 to shareholders of record at the close of business on June 15.

Looking ahead to the 2018 fiscal full year, the company expects to see EPS to be in the low-to-mid $2.00 range. The consensus estimates call for $2.76 in EPS on $12.07 billion in revenue. The company also listed its goals for the coming year as follows:

Growing its comparable sales, which it expects to begin in fiscal 2018; moderating the declines in its operating profit and net earnings per diluted share, in fiscal 2018 and fiscal 2019; and growing its net earnings per diluted share by fiscal 2020.

Bed Bath & Beyond cash and cash equivalents totaled $346.14 million at the end of the quarter, down from $488.33 million in the same period from last year.

Shares of Bed Bath & Beyond closed Wednesday at $21.50, with a consensus analyst price target of $22.41 and a 52-week trading range of $19.07 to $40.33. Following the announcement, the stock was down over 16% at $17.93 in early trading indications Friday.

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