Among the companies with shares expected to actively trade in
Thursday's session are Best Buy Co. (BBY), Perry Ellis
International Inc. (PERY) and Dollar Tree Inc. (DLTR).
Best Buy Co. (BBY) maintained a dour outlook for consumer
electronic sales for the immediate future, saying it expects
industrywide sales declines during its second and third quarters
for many categories of products which the retailer sells. The
retailer also reported it swung to a fiscal first-quarter profit,
though revenue fell 3.3%, missing analyst's expectations. Shares
fell 2.6% to $24.70 premarket.
Perry Ellis International Inc. (PERY) said its fiscal
first-quarter profit declined 31%, but results still far outpaced
the clothing maker's downbeat expectations. Shares rose 15% to $17
premarket.
Dollar Tree Inc. (DLTR) said its fiscal first-quarter profit
rose 3.6% as sales grew, the results in line with the company's
expectations. The retailer reported higher customer traffic and a
bigger average ticket, with seasonal merchandise and candy among
the leading categories. Shares rose 5% to $52.50 premarket.
Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) reached an agreement with Linn Energy
LLC (LINE) that will add nearly 26,000 acres to U.S. oil-and-gas
properties managed by Exxon's XTO Energy unit. In exchange, Linn
Energy will receive a portion of XTO's interest in the Hugoton gas
field in Kansas and Oklahoma. Specific terms of the deal weren't
disclosed, although the companies said it was a non-monetary
exchange. Linn Energy shares rose 3.2% to $29.20 premarket.
Hess Corp. (HES) agreed to sell its retail business to Marathon
Petroleum Corp.'s (MPC) Speedway LLC unit for total cash
consideration of $2.6 billion. The deal includes Hess's retail
locations, transport operations and shipper history on various
pipelines. It will make Speedway the largest company-owned and
operated convenience-store chain in the U.S. by revenue, Speedway
President Tony Kenney said. Hess shares rose 1.9% to $91
premarket.
NetApp Inc. (NTAP) said its fiscal fourth-quarter profit rose
13%, as lower costs and expenses masked a decline in revenue.
NetApp, which builds storage and data-management products for its
clients, has been facing an increasingly challenging business
environment because of continuing competition from flash memory and
the cloud. Shares rose 31 cents to $34.80 premarket.
Renren Inc. (RENN) swung to a first-quarter profit as the
Chinese social-networking company benefited from a $57.1 million
gain from the sale of its remaining interest in popular daily-deal
site Nuomi.com to Baidu Inc. (BIDU). The deal, which closed in the
first quarter, helped mask a sharp drop in revenue for the quarter.
Shares rose 5.1% to $3.33 premarket.
Sanchez Energy Corp. (SN) agreed to acquire assets in the Eagle
Ford trend of South Texas from Royal Dutch Shell PLC (RDSA,
RDSA.LN, RDSB, RDSB.LN) for about $639 million. Royal Dutch Shell
said the deal, expected to close in the second quarter, is part of
a broader restructuring of its North American shale oil and gas
portfolio. Sanchez Energy shares rose 8.9% to $31.42 premarket.
Sears Holdings Corp. (SHLD) said it plans to close at least 80
stores this year, as its fiscal first-quarter loss widened amid
falling revenue and weak same-store sales. Shares fell 2.9% to
$35.50 premarket.
Watchlist:
Buckle Inc. (BKE) said its fiscal first-quarter profit was
nearly flat from a year earlier, while the clothing retailer's
same-store sales ticked slightly lower. The company's per-share
earnings results were in line with market expectations, though its
net sales missed analysts' forecasts.
L Brands Inc.'s (LB) fiscal first-quarter profit rose 10% as the
retailer reported higher sales at its Bath & Body Works and
Victoria's Secret brands. The company, formerly called Limited
Brands Inc., lowered the top of its full-year earnings outlook
range by five cents a share.
Semtech Corp.'s (SMTC) first-quarter profit fell by nearly half
as the chip manufacturer posted a drop in revenue and slightly
weaker gross margins. However, the company swung to a profit from
the fourth quarter and posted projections for the second quarter
that topped Wall Street projections.
Signet Jewelers Ltd. (SIG) said its fiscal first-quarter profit
rose on top-line growth and higher same-store sales. The company's
earnings just exceeded its expectations, while revenue fell short
of analysts' views. Signet, which owns Kay Jewelers and Jared the
Galleria of Jewelry, earlier this year agreed to buy smaller rival
Zale Corp. for $21 a share in cash.
United Natural Foods Inc. (UNFI) agreed to buy fellow
specialty-foods distributor Tony's Fine Foods for about $195
million, expanding its footprint in the western U.S. and growing
its offerings in cheeses, deli and bakery foods.
Write to Maria Armental at maria.armental@wsj.com and Tess
Stynes at tess.stynes@wsj.com
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