Stocks in Motion: Kroger
Updated from 11:55 a.m.
Shares of
Revlon
(REV) - Get Report
were among the
NYSE's
winners Tuesday, rising 11.4% after the company's first quarterly profit in six years beat Wall Street's estimates.
The cosmetics company earned $46.2 million, or 12 cents a share, on sales of $378.3 million. Analysts polled by Thomson First Call were expecting earnings of 11 cents a share. A year ago the company posted a loss of $12.6 million, or 18 cents a share, on sales of $368.5 million. Looking ahead, the company said that it would increase its marketing in key brands and new products, especially during the first part of 2005. "This investment will obviously have an impact on the quarterly flow of our results," the company said. Shares traded up 29 cents to $2.84.
Landry's Restaurants
( LNY) fell 5.7% after the company posted mixed fourth-quarter results and warned that first-quarter earnings would fall short of expectations. Excluding items, the company earned 23 cents a share on sales of $259.8 million. Analysts were expecting earnings of 22 cents a share on sales of $267.8 million. A year ago the company earned 5 cents a share on sales of $254.1 million. Looking ahead, Landry's forecast first-quarter earnings of 28 cents to 29 cents a share, well below the 39 cents that analysts had been expecting.
Landry's said additional interest expense related to $850 million in financing, and the extended closing required to obtain a gambling license in Nevada that's related to its acquisition of the Golden Nugget Hotel and Casino, would hurt the company's results not only during the first quarter but during the entire year. It forecast 2005 earnings of $2 a share, below analyst expectations of $2.07 a share. Shares traded down $1.68 to $27.90.
Shares of
CMS Energy
(CMS) - Get Report
fell modestly after the company posted fourth-quarter earnings and offered guidance for 2005. The company posted ongoing earnings of $39 million, or 20 cents a share, on sales of $1.56 billion. Fourth-quarter results benefited from a gain of $21 million, or 12 cents a share, related to a planned repatriation of $80 million from CMS Energy's foreign subsidiaries during 2005 and lower deferred taxes related to the American Jobs Creation Act. Analysts were expecting fourth-quarter earnings of 18 cents a share. Looking ahead, CMS forecast 2005 ongoing earnings of 87 cents to 92 cents a share. Analysts are expecting earnings of 80 cents a share on sales of $5.85 billion. Shares traded down 17 cents to $12.84.
Kroger
(KR) - Get Report
fell 4.9% after the supermarket operator posted fourth-quarter earnings that fell below expectations. Excluding items, the company earned 28 cents a share on sales of $13.7 billion. Analysts were expecting earnings of 34 cents a share on sales of $13.6 billion. A year ago the company posted a loss of $337.4 million, or 45 cents a share, on sales of $13 billion. Last year's results included several one-time items that amounted to $663.1 million, or 89 cents a share. Looking ahead, Kroger expects 2005 earnings to exceed $1.16 a share. Analysts are expecting earnings of $1.29 a share. Shares traded down 87 cents to $16.85.
Shares of
Levitt
( LEV) fell 1.1% after the company posted fourth-quarter results that beat expectations. The homebuilder posted earnings of $17 million, or 85 cents a share, on sales of $177 million. Analysts were expecting earnings of 70 cents a share on sales of $168.9 million. A year ago the company earned $9.5 million, or 63 cents a share, on sales of $99 million. Shares traded down 30 cents to $27.75.
NYSE volume leaders included
Elan
(ELN)
, up 69 cents to $7.13;
Lucent
( LU), down 2 cents to $3.05;
Motorola
( MOT), down 4 cents to $15.36;
Texas Instruments
(TXN) - Get Report
, down $1.03 to $26.34;
Nortel
( NT), down 8 cents to $3.03;
Pfizer
(PFE) - Get Report
, down 42 cents to $26.76;
Time Warner
(TWX)
, down 26 cents to $17.63; and
Exxon Mobil
(XOM) - Get Report
, up 10 cents to $63.10.
Nasdaq
volume leaders included
Intel
(INTC) - Get Report
, down 31 cents to $24.80;
Cisco
(CSCO) - Get Report
, down 12 cents to $18.12;
Microsoft
(MSFT) - Get Report
, down 7 cents to $25.40;
Sun Microsystems
(SUNW) - Get Report
, down 11 cents to $4.37;
Oracle
(ORCL) - Get Report
, up 2 cents to $13.62;
Applied Materials
(AMAT) - Get Report
, down 33 cents to $16.82;
Apple Computer
(AAPL) - Get Report
, down $2.22 to $40.53; and
Sirius Satellite Radio
(SIRI) - Get Report
, down 9 cents to $5.80.