U.S. Movers: Carnival, Dollar General, Jefferies, Walgreen

Mukesh Buch
22 Mar, 2011
New York City

Carnival first quarter net income fell to $152 million. Dollar General fourth quarter net income soared 6.4% to $222.5 million. Jefferies Group first quarter net earnings increased 21% to $87.3 million. Walgreen second quarter net earnings increased to $739 million.

[R]11:20 AM New York – Carnival first quarter net income fell to $152 million. Dollar General fourth quarter net income soared 6.4% to $222.5 million. Express net income in the quarter rose to $48.4 million. Jefferies Group first quarter net earnings increased 21% to $87.3 million. Walgreen second quarter net earnings increased to $739 million.[/R]

Of 30 the stocks in the Dow, 16 increased and 14 decreased.

Of the stocks in the Dow Jones Industrial Average, Merck & Co. led the gainers with a rise of 1.07%, followed by increase in McDonald’s Corporation of 0.69%, in Verizon Communications Inc. of 0.58%, in Kraft Foods Inc. of 0.44%, in Johnson & Johnson of 0.36%.

Caterpillar Inc. led the decliners with a fall of 0.92%, followed by decline in Alcoa Inc. of 0.88%, in Hewlett-Packard Company of 0.75%, in United Technologies Corporation of 0.72%, in Bank of America Corporation of 0.64%.

Other Movers

Apple Inc. ((AAPL)) rose 0.3% or $1.30 to $340.60 after the electronic gadget maker accused Amazon.com Inc for using its “App Store” for mobile software developer program.

American Greetings Corporation ((AM)) rose 0.7% or 16 cents to $22.61.

Cephalon, Inc. ((CEPH)) declined 1.6% or 91 cents to $55.96 after the biopharmaceutical company agreed to acquire all of the outstanding capital stock of Gemin X Pharmaceuticals, Inc., for $525 million.

Carnival Corporation ((CCL)) plunged 2.9% or $1.21 to $39.80 after the cruise and vacation company reported first quarter net revenue increased to $3.42 billion from $3.18 billion a prior year.

Net income in the quarter decreased to $152 million or 19 cents per diluted share compared to $175 million or 22 cents per share a year ago.

Dollar General Corporation ((DG)) increased 2.3% or 72 cents to $31.10 after the discount retailer reported fourth quarter net sales increased 9.4% to $3.49 billion from $3.18 billion a prior year. Fourth quarter same store sales increased 3.8%. Net income in the quarter soared 6.4% to $222.5 million or 64 cents per diluted share compared to $87.2 million or 26 cents per share a year ago.

For the full year revenues increased 10.5% to $13.04 billion from $11.80 billion a prior year. Same store sales increased 4.9%. Net income surged 4.8% to $627.8 million or $1.82 per diluted share compared to $339.4 million or $1.04 per diluted share a year ago.

Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group, Inc. ((DTG)) gained 3.1% or $1.83 to $59.32 after the vehicle rental provided preliminary guidance for the first quarter of 2011. The Company expects rental revenue for the first quarter to be flat to down 1%. The unfavorable impact of the winter storms on rental revenues for the quarter is estimated at $5 to $10 million. The Company noted that it expects gains from sales of vehicles to be only $7 million in the first quarter of 2011.

Express, Inc. ((EXPR)) soared 5.1% or 89 cents to $18.29 after the specialty apparel retail reported fourth quarter sales increased 14% to $621.5 million from $546.8 million a prior year. Comparable store sales increased 12%. Net income in the quarter rose to $48.4 million or 55 cents per diluted share compared to $46.0 million or 60 cents per share from a year ago period.

For the full year revenues increased 11% to $1.9 billion from $1.7 billion a prior year. Comparable store sales increased 10%. Net income surged to $127.4 million or $1.48 per diluted share compared to $75.3 million or $1.00 per diluted share a year ago.

Global Power Equipment Group Inc ((GLPW)) declined 2.5% 64 cents to $24.75 after the power generation equipment maker said fourth quarter revenue decreased to $121.9 million from $163.0 million a prior year. Net income in the quarter was $4.2 million or 27 cents per diluted share compared to net loss of $4.0 million or 26 cents per share a year ago.

Jefferies Group, Inc. ((JEF)) rose 0.9% 23 cents to $24.77 after the securities and investment bank reported first quarter net revenue soared 31% to $758.3 million from $580.1 million a prior year. Net earnings in the quarter increased 21% to $87.3 million or 42 cents per diluted share compared to $72.1 million or 35 cents per share a year ago.

Jaguar Mining Inc. ((JAG)) slipped 1.5% or 8 cents to $5.17 after the gold producer said fourth quarter revenue increased 13% to $44.6 million from $39.5 million a prior year. Net loss in the quarter improved to $9.5 million or 11 cents per diluted share compared to $29.4 million or 36 cents per share a year ago.

Neogen Corporation ((NEOG)) rose 0.9% or 36 cents to $40.34 after the food and animal safety reported third quarter revenue grew 25% to $42.2 million from $33.8 million a prior year. Net income in the quarter increased 27% to $4.94 million or 21 cents per diluted share compared to $3.88 million or 17 cents per share a year ago.

PDI, Inc. ((PDII)) slumped 2.2% or 20 cents to $8.60 after the promotional service provider reported fourth quarter revenue surged 94% to $44.7 million from $23.1 million a prior year. Net loss in the quarter was $2.5 million or $0.18 per diluted share compared to $18.4 million or $1.30 per share a year ago.

Research In Motion Limited ((RIM)) rose 0.2% or 13 cents to $62.30 after the Canada based wireless solution provider said the BlackBerry® PlayBook™ tablet can begin placing their orders today. Research In Motion ((RIMM)) and Best Buy ((BBY)) a preferred retailer for the BlackBerry PlayBook.

The BlackBerry PlayBook with Wi-Fi will come in three models, featuring 16GB, 32GB or 64GB of storage at $499, $599 and $699 respectively. It scheduled to be available from all Best Buy stores and Best Buy Mobile stores in the US, as well as Best Buy and Future Shop* stores in Canada, on April 19.

Research In Motion also today announced plans to make the highly-anticipated BlackBerry® PlayBook™ tablet available in more than 20,000 retail outlets in the U.S. and Canada.

Schiff Nutrition International, Inc. ((WNI)) gained 3.5% or 30 cents to $8.82 after the nutritional supplement maker said third quarter net sales grew to $57.7 million from $53.3 million a prior year. Net income in the quarter fell to $4.0 million or 14 cents per diluted share compared to $5.7 million or 20 cents per share a year ago.

Tiffany & Co. ((TIF)) fell 0.5% or 33 cents to $59.89 after the holding company reported fourth quarter sales increased 12% to $1,101.2 million from $981.4 million a prior year. Comparable store sales increased 11%. Net income in the quarter soared to $181.2 million or $1.41 per diluted share compared to $140.3 million or $1.09 per share a year ago.

For the full year revenues increased 14% to $3.1 billion from $2.7 billion a prior year. Comparable store sales increased 10%. Net income surged to $368.4 million or $2.87 per diluted share compared to $264.8 million or $2.12 per diluted share a year ago.

Walgreen Co. ((WAG)) tumbled 7.6% or $3.19 to $38.78 after the drugstore chain reported second quarter net revenue soared 8.9% to $18.5 billion from $17.0 million a prior year.

Total comparable stores sales increased 4.1% and front-end comparable drugstore sales increased 4.3%. Prescriptions filled during the quarter increase 6.9% to 205 million.

Net earnings in the quarter increased to $739 million or 80 cents per diluted share compared to $669 million or 68 cents per share a year ago. Company now fills one in every five U.S. retail prescriptions with industry leading 20.1% market share.