Dividend.com: Smucker's in Sweet Spot

Foot Locker Misses EPS Estimates, Cuts Guidance

Foot Locker(FL Quote) just reported a third-quarter profit that missed EPS estimates by 7 cents.

The company's sales fell 3.5% to $1.31 million, as same-store sales dipped 1.7% during the quarter. The company, which operates the Foot Locker, Lady Foot Locker, Kids Foot Locker, and Champs Sports retail chains, is lowering its outlook on tepid consumer sales.

The company now sees EPS for 2008 to fall into a range of 50 cents to 63 cents per share, below its prior view of 70 cents to 85 cents.

We had removed shares of FL from our "Recommended" list on Sept.17, when the stock traded at $17.19. The company has a 7.86% dividend yield based on last night's closing stock price of $7.63. We are getting concerned about the dividend payout at these current levels. The company is approaching a key $5 technical level, last seen in late 1999. We would be looking elsewhere for better investment opportunities.

Foot Locker is not recommended at this time, holding a Dividend.com Rating of 3.0 out of 5 stars.

Salesforce.com Third-Quarter Profit Grows 55%

Salesforce.com(CRM Quote) reported late Thursday that its third-quarter profit rose 55% to $10.1 million, or 8 cents per share, for the quarter ended Oct. 31, up from $6.5 million, or 5 cents per share, a year prior.

The company, which sells monthly subscriptions that allow employees to call up its customer management programs on any computer with an Internet connection, saw a 36% boost in customers.

As for the company's guidance, it now sees fourth-quarter earnings of 6 cents to 7 cents a share and revenue of $284 million to $285 million. Wall Street expects the company to post earnings of 8 cents a share and revenue of $273.6 million in the fourth quarter. Shares are approaching a key technical support area of $20 to $21 a share. If that fails to hold, the next area of support is at the $10-13 price level. We would be careful trying to catch a bottom in the name, which does not currently pay a dividend.