SuperValu Is About to Spoil

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- If you're a current SuperValu (SVU) investor, Wednesday's earnings release must have you feeling like you invited friends over for a grill out only to find your dog jumped up on the table and stole your steaks. If you haven't already panicked out of your position, you likely will find Supervalu bouncing back later in the week.

SVU data by YCharts

Grocers Supervalu, Kroger (KR) and Safeway (SWY) have sat in the reduced-for-quick-sale bin for the past three years or longer. One grocer standing apart from the pack is Whole Foods Market (WFM).

Wal Mart Stores (WMT) and Target (TGT) are not strictly grocers, however, they aggressively compete in the space. Along with Whole Foods, Wal-Mart's stock has enthusiastically appreciated in the last couple of years.

SuperValu has lost about 24% of its marketcap from Wednesday's close. The loss in market cap is the result of the company announcing a suspension of the nine cents a share dividend, an earnings miss, and hiring Goldman Sachs (GS) and Greenhill (GHL) to look for a buyer of the company.

Once in a blue moon, a "Hail Mary" pass with 3 seconds on the clock from 67 yards to the goal will land just right to win the game. Basically this turkey is cooked with no hope other than a distant "Hail Mary" pass completion to find a buyer.

No one in their right mind will buy this company under current conditions. Add in Obamacare obligations around the corner in 2014, and any hopes for a profit are gone. Without a reasonable chance to find a buyer of the operation, the only thing left is to keep the doors open or sell assets for 10 cents on the dollar.

Goldman Sachs probably will have an easier time selling the lotto tickets in the customer service booth in the stores as an investment idea vs. selling the entire chain of stores. Lotto tickets probably have a better chance of paying off too.

Unfortunately for investors, the situation is melting faster than an ice carving on the Las Vegas strip. SuperValu is running low on cash for things like payroll and other expenses. To address a possible liquidity crisis, SuperValu is replacing their senior credit facility with an asset-based lending facility (now lenders are demanding hard assets like real estate for loans), dropped the dividend (management should have dropped the dividend before now), and cutting back on store capital expenditures.

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