Supervalu Shares Chomped

Supervalu (SVU Quote) shares were socked Tuesday after the grocer lowered its profit targets for the fiscal year, noting weaker sales and customer headwinds.

Shares -- which already were trading near 52-week lows ahead of the news -- recently were down $4.91, or 14%, to $29.38.

The Minneapolis-based company said it now expects fiscal 2008 earnings of $2.91 to $2.97 a share, before one-time acquisition related costs. That's down from its prior forecast for earnings of $2.93 to $3.03 a share.

Supervalu also lowered its sales view, projecting same-store growth of 0.5% to 1%. In October, it projected sales growth at the low end of a 1% to 2% range. ...