Stocks to Watch: Home Depot, Avon (Update 1)

NEW YORK -- Dow component Home Depot (HD) reported first-quarter earnings of $1 billion, or 68 cents a share, up from year-earlier earnings of $812 million, or 50 cents.

The latest quarter included a gain of 3 cents a share from the termination of a senior secured loan.

The No. 1 home-improvement retailer was expected by analysts to earn 65 cents a share in the first quarter.

Home Depot also lifted its 2012 guidance saying it sees sales rising 4.6%, up from a previous estimate of 4%. Earnings guidance for 2012 was also raised to $2.90 a share, up from $2.72 a share.

Shares of Home Depot fell 4.31% in premarket trading Tuesday to $47.73.

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J.C. Penney (JCP) reports first-quarter results Tuesday and analysts expect a loss of 10 cents a share on revenue of $3.46 billion.

The report will give investors the first look into how consumers are responding to the new pricing strategy and image changes at the department store retailer being implemented by CEO Ron Johnson since he came on board from Apple in November.

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Coty said late Monday that Avon Products (AVP) has taken too long to respond to its $10.7 billion buyout offer so Coty withdrawing the bid.

"Two months is enough," Coty Chairman Bart Becht said in a letter to Avon's board. "Consequently, as our deadline to begin discussions expired today, our proposal is withdrawn."

Shares of Avon tumbled 13.45% in premarket trading Tuesday to $18.14.

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JPMorgan Chase (JPM) CEO Jamie Dimon will meeting with shareholders on Tuesday following the bank's disclosure last week that it lost more than $2 billion on a trading strategy that went wrong.

Shares of JPMorgan rose 1.15% to $36.20 in premarket trading Tuesday.

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Groupon (GRPN), the online daily deals company, reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings after Monday's closing bell.

Groupon reported first-quarter earnings of 2 cents a share on revenue of $559.3 million. Analysts had forecast a profit of a penny a share on revenue of $530.6 million.

The Chicago-based company said it expects second-quarter revenue to be between $550 million and $590 million. The current consensus estimate is for revenue of $558.7 million.

Groupon shares rose 15.04% in premarket trading Tuesday to $13.50.

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TJX (TJX) is expected by analysts to report first-quarter earnings of 54 cents a share on revenue of $5.8 billion.

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-- Written by Joseph Woelfel



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