U.S. Movers: Bed Bath, ConAgra, Discover Financial, Lennar, Red Hat

Mukesh Buch
23 Jun, 2011
New York City

Bed Bath first quarter net profit climbed 31%. ConAgra fourth quarter net income surged 184%. Discover Financial second quarter net soared to $593 million. Lennar second quarter net earnings slumped 65%. Nissan estimates fiscal year net income of 270 billion yen.

[R]11:20 AM New York – Bed Bath first quarter net profit climbed 31%. ConAgra fourth quarter net income surged 184%. Discover Financial second quarter net soared to $593 million. Lennar second quarter net earnings slumped 65%. Nissan estimates fiscal year net income of 270 billion yen.[/R]

Of 30 the stocks in the Dow, 2 increased and 28 decreased.

Of the stocks in the Dow Jones Industrial Average, Pfizer Inc. led the gainers with a rise of 2.37% followed by increase in The Home Depot, Inc. of 0.86%.

Chevron Corporation led the decliners with a fall of 3.2%, followed by decline in Alcoa Inc. of 3.20%, in Exxon Mobil Corporation of 3.07%, in Caterpillar Inc. of 2.87% and in General Electric Company of 2.53%.

Other Movers

Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. ((BBBY)) gained 3.7% or $2.02 to $56.09 after the domestic merchandise retail stores operator reported first quarter revenues rose 9.7% to $2.11 billion from $1.92 billion in the year-ago quarter. On a same-store basis, sales grew about 7% compared with an increase of nearly 8.4% a year before.

Net profit in the quarter climbed 31.2% to $180.6 million or 72 cents per diluted share compared to $137.6 million or 52 cents per share last year.

ConAgra Foods, Inc. ((CAG)) rose 0.1% or 3 cents to $25.43 after the food processing company reported fourth quarter net sales grew 5.3% to $3.21 billion from $3.05 billion in the same quarter last year. Net income in the quarter surged 183.4% to $254.9 million or 61 cents per diluted share compared to $90.6 million or 20 cents per share a year ago.

Discover Financial Services ((DFS)) increased 1% or 24 cents to $23.83 after the direct banking and payment services provider reported second quarter second quarter net interest income rose to $1.19 billion from $1.15 billion in the same quarter last year. Net income in the quarter soared to $593 million or $1.09 per diluted share compared to $185 million or $0.33 per share a year ago.

H.B. Fuller Company ((FUL)) increased 8.3% or $1.86 to $23.81 after the chemical manufacturer reported second quarter net revenue increased 13.2% to $393.7 million from $347.9 million in the same quarter last year. Net income in the quarter grew 6.4% to $25.1 million or 50 cents per diluted share compared to $11.0 million or 22 cents per share in the prior-year quarter.

Herman Miller, Inc. ((MLHR)) advanced 9% or $2.18 to $26.18 after the furniture and fixtures maker said fourth quarter net sales soared 37.3% to $441.5 million from $321.5 million in the same quarter last year. Net earnings in the quarter surged 714.3% to $17.1 million or 30 cents per diluted share compared to $2.1 million or break even per share a year ago.

IHS Inc. ((IHS)) slumped 7.1% or $6.28 to $81.71 after the publicly traded business information services company reported second quarter revenues increased 22% to $325.1 million from $266.5 million in the year-ago quarter.

Net income in the quarter rose 0.5% to $38.7 million compared to net income of $38.5 million in the year-ago period. Earnings per share were down to $0.59 from $0.60 last year, reflecting a higher share count for the quarter.

Lennar Corporation ((LEN)) rose 0.5% or 9 cents to $18.19 after the home builder reported second quarter total revenues declined 6% to $764.49 million from $814.48 million last year. Net earnings in the quarter slumped 65% to $13.79 million or 7 cents per diluted share compared to net earnings of $39.72 million or 21 cents per share in the prior-year quarter.

Nissan Motor Co., Ltd., the Japan-based automobile manufacturer estimates fiscal year 2011 net income of 270 billion yen or $3.38 billion on net revenues of 9.4 trillion yen or $117.5 billion. In addition, operating profit is estimated to be 460 billion yen or $5.75 billion for the full year.

Paychex, Inc. ((PAYX)) increased 1.2% or 35 cents to $30.06 after the staffing and outsourcing service provider said fourth quarter total revenue increased 5% to $522.7 million from $496.2 million in the same quarter last year. Net income in the quarter gained 3% to $118.9 million or 33 cents per diluted share compared to net income of $115.5 million or 32 cents per share in the prior-year quarter.

For fiscal year 2011, total revenue increased 4% to $2.1 billion from $2 billion in the prior year. Annual net income rose 8% to $515.3 million or $1.42 per share from $477.0 million or $1.32 per share in the previous year.

Rite Aid Corporation ((RAD)) gained 2.7% or 3 cents to $1.13 after the retail drugstore chain reported first quarter revenue flat to $6.4 billion from $6.4 billion in the same quarter last year. Same store sales for the quarter increased 0.8%. Net loss in the quarter narrowed to $63.1 million or 7 cents per diluted share compared to $73.7 million or 9 cents per share a year ago.

Red Hat, Inc. ((RHT)) increased 4.7% or $2.09 to $45.81 after the world''s largest seller of Linux software stated first quarter total revenue rose 27% to $264.75 million from $209.14 million in the same quarter last year. Net income in the quarter edged higher 35% to $32.5 million or 17 cents per diluted share compared to net income of $24.1 million or 12 cents per share for the year-ago quarter.

Steelcase Inc. ((SCS)) advanced 2% or 21 cents to $10.61 after the furniture and fixtures provider said first quarter revenue surged 23% to $639.4 million from $541.8 million in the same quarter last year. Net income in the quarter was $7.5 million or 6 cents per diluted share compared to net loss of $11.1 million or 8 cents per share in the prior-year quarter.