Walgreens Revises Rite Aid Deal, ConAgra Expands Stock Repurchase Plan

Mukesh Buch
29 Jun, 2017
New York City

Acuity Brands net soared. Conagra net jumped 29% but sales declined 9%. Constellation Brands net surged. Greenbrier net fell 7%. McCormick lifted fiscal outlook. Rite Aid net loss widened. Walgreens Boots terminated merger deal with Rite Aid.

[R]10:55 AM New York – Acuity Brands net soared. Conagra net jumped 29% but sales declined 9%. Constellation Brands net surged. Greenbrier net fell 7%. McCormick lifted fiscal outlook. Rite Aid net loss widened. Walgreens Boots terminated merger deal with Rite Aid.[/R]

Tollbooth Index declined 136.15 or 1.1% to 12,019.96.

Earnings Review

Acuity Brands, Inc ((AYI)) surged 11.9% or $21.45 to $201.18 after the lighting solutions provider reported net sales in the third-quarter ending in May jumped 5% from a year ago to $891.6 million.

Net income in the quarter soared 11% to $82.2 million or $1.90 per diluted share from $74 million or $1.69 in the same quarter last year.

Bassett Furniture Industries Inc ((BSET)) soared 10.7% or $3.50 to $36.30 after the home furnishings retailer said revenues in the second-quarter ending on May 27 advanced 7% from a year ago to $114.1 million.

Comparable store sales in the quarter jumped 8.4% to $67.1 million.

Net income in the quarter surged 70.1% to $5.8 million or 54 cents per diluted share from $3.4 million or 31 cents in the same quarter last year.

Conagra Brands Inc ((CAG)) slumped 2.5% or 94 cents to $36.43 after the packaged food maker reported net sales in the fourth-quarter ending on May 28 declined 9.3% from a year ago to $1.9 billion.

Net income in the quarter jumped 28.7% to $151.3 million or 36 cents per diluted share from $117.6 million or 27 cents in the same quarter last year.

ConAgra said profit jumped after the company slimmed down on promotions and jettisoned low-margin products and sharpened focus on improving margins by adding premium products and increase prices in some products.

The packaged food maker said it will buy back $1 billion of additional shares and repurchase authorization of about $1.38 billion.

Constellation Brands, Inc ((STZ)) jumped 5.9% or $10.89 to $194.57 after the beer, wine and spirits producer said sales in the first-quarter ending in May advanced 3.4% from a year ago to $2.1 billion.

Net income in the quarter surged 26.5% to $402.8 million or $2 per diluted share from $318.3 million or $1.55 in the same quarter last year.

GMS Inc ((GMS)) plunged 9.5% or $3 to $28.51 after the wallboard and suspended ceilings systems distributor stated revenues in the fourth-quarter ending in April surged 16.7% from a year ago to $615 million.

Net income in the quarter jumped 60.7% to $14.3 million or 34 cents per diluted share from $8.9 million or 27 cents in the same quarter last year.

The Greenbrier Companies Inc ((GBX)) slumped 2.8% or $1.40 to $48.60 after the railroad freight car equipment maker said in the third-quarter ending in May declined 22.4% from a year ago to $439.2 million.

Net income in the quarter dropped 7.3% to $32.8 million or $1.03 per diluted share from $35.4 million or $1.12 in the same quarter last year.

Greenbrier forecasted fiscal 2017 new railcar deliveries in the range of 15,000 units to 16,000 units and revenues between $2.1 billion and $2.3 billion and diluted earnings per share in the range of $3.45 to $3.65.

McCormick & Company, Inc ((MKC)) dropped 2.2% or $2.20 to $96.75 after the spices, seasoning mixes flavorful products maker reported sales in the second-quarter ending in May increased 5% from a year ago to $1.1 billion.

Net income in the quarter jumped 6.6% to $100 million or 79 cents per diluted share from $93.8 million or 73 cents in the same quarter last year.

McCormick lifted diluted earnings per share estimate to between $3.94 and $4.02 from $3.69 reported in the same period a year ago.

Rite Aid Corporation ((RAD)) tumbled 26.4% or $1.04 to $2.89 after the drugstore chain retailer said revenues in the first-quarter ending on June 3 plunged 4.9% from a year ago to $7.8 billion.

Same store sales for the quarter dropped 3.9% and the number of prescriptions filled in decreased 1.1% and front-end store sales declined 1.5%.

Net loss in the quarter widened to $75.3 million or 7 cents per diluted share from $4.6 million or break even in the same quarter last year.

Separately today, Rite Aid and Walgreens Boots Alliance mutually agree to terminate the merger agreement after struggling to win antitrust approval.

In a separate deal with the company, Walgreens agreed to buy 2,186 stores, three distribution centers and related inventory of the Rite Aid''s stores for $5.18 billion.

Rite Aid will receive termination fee of about $325 Million.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc ((WBA)) rose 8 cents to $77.17 after the drug retailer reported sales in the third-quarter ending in May rose 2.1% from a year ago to $30.1 billion.

Net income in the quarter jumped 5.3% to $1.2 billion or $1.07 per diluted share from $1.1 billion or $1.01 in the same quarter last year.

The drugs stores operator lifted the lower end of its guidance for fiscal year 2017 by 8 cents per share and estimated adjusted diluted net earnings per share of $4.98 to $5.08.