Stocks to Watch: Finisar, Kroger (Update 2)

NEW YORK - Finisar ( FNSR) reported non-GAAP earnings of $21.9 million, or 23 a share, in the three months ended Jan. 29, up slightly from an equivalent profit of $21.5 million, or 23 cents a share, in the second quarter ended in October.

Revenue totaled $243 million in the latest quarter, up 0.6% from $241.5 million in the second quarter.

The average estimate of analysts polled by Thomson Reuters was for earnings of 22 cents a share in the third quarter on revenue of $245 million.

Shares were dropping 8.8% to $18.50 in premarket trading Thursday.

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Kroger (KR), the grocery retailer, reported fourth-quarter adjusted earnings of 50 cents a share on sales of $21.4 billion. Analysts expected profit of 49 cents a share on sales of $21.43 billion.

Shares were rising 1.9% to $24.25.

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Pet products retailer PetSmart ( PETM )reported fourth-quarter profit of $102 million, or 91 cents a share, on sales of $1.64 billion, beating the average analyst estimate of earnings of 90 cents a share on sales of $1.62 billion.

The company is forecasting 2012 earnings of $3.02 to $3.16 a share, above consensus projections of $2.54 a share, according to a Thomson Reuters poll. Total sales growth should come in between 7.5% to 8.5%, which is essentially in line with estimates.

Shares were falling 1.8% to $54.75.

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Fast-food chain Wendy's (WEN) reported fourth-quarter income from continuing operations of $4.3 million, or 4 cents a share, on revenue of $615 million.

Wall Street analysts predicted earnings of 3 cents a share on revenue of $609.1 million.

Shares were rising 1.4% to $5.14.

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Bank of America (BAC) plans to introduce a monthly fee for customers with basic checking accounts unless they agree to bank online, buy more products or maintain certain balances, according to The Wall Street Journal .

Bank of America pilot programs in Arizona, Georgia and Massachusetts now are experimenting with charging $6 to $9 a month for an "Essentials" account, the newspaper said, which cited a memo distributed to employees.

Last fall, the bank pulled back from introducing a new $5 debit-card charge after customers criticized the move.

Shares were up 0.6% to $8.02.

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Carmakers such as Ford (F) and General Motors (GM) are expected to announce February sales on Thursday.

Ford shares were up 0.2% to $12.41.

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The board of CVR Energy (CVI), an independent petroleum refiner and marketer of transportation fuels, is urging stockholders to reject investor Carl Icahn's hostile tender offer to acquire all outstanding shares of CVR Energy for $30 a share in cash and a "contingent cash payment right," saying that it is inadequate and not in the best interests of its stockholders.

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Kinder Morgan (KMI) can move ahead with its $21 billion deal to buy El Paso (EP) after a judge declined to stop the deal.

The deal to merge North America's two largest natural gas pipeline companies is expected to close in the second quarter.

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Foot Locker (FL) is expected to earn 51 cents a share on revenue of $1.49 billion in the fourth quarter ended in January.

-- Written by Joseph Woelfel and Andrea Tse



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