When Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. (NASDAQ: BBBY) released its fiscal second-quarter financial results after the markets closed on Wednesday, the company said that it had $0.36 in earnings per share (EPS) and $2.94 billion in revenue. That compared with consensus estimates of $0.50 in EPS and $2.96 billion in revenue, as well as the $0.67 per share and $2.94 billion posted in the same period of last year.
During the latest quarter, comparable sales decreased by roughly 0.6%, and that included strong sales growth from the retailer’s customer-facing digital channels and sales from stores that declined in the mid-single-digit percentage range.
Also in this time, the company repurchased about $41 million of its common stock, representing 2.1 million shares, under its existing $2.5 billion share repurchase program. As of September 1, 2018, the program had a remaining balance of roughly $1.4 billion.
The board of directors declared a quarterly dividend of $0.16 per share payable on January 15, 2019, to shareholders of record at the close of business on December 14, 2018.
Looking ahead to the fiscal full year, the company said in the conference call that it estimates comparable sales to be relatively flat with last year and that EPS will be at the low end of its previously modeled range, at about $2. Consensus estimates currently call for $2.27 in EPS and $12.22 billion in revenue for the year.
Shares of Bed Bath & Beyond closed Wednesday at $18.81, with a consensus analyst price target of $17.82 and a 52-week range of $16.52 to $24.74. Following the announcement, the stock was down about 16% at $15.75 in early trading indications Thursday.
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