Stocks to watch Friday: Lexmark, New York & Co.
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- Among the stocks that could see active trade in Friday's session are
Financials, led by J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) , stand out in Friday's earnings roster.
Lexmark (LXK) lowered its sales and earnings forecast for the second quarter and said it sees little prospect for improvement over the latter half of 2012. Management cited a "weaker- than-expected demand environment," most notably in Europe, as well as "unfavorable changes" in foreign-exchange rates. As revised, the Lexington, Ky.-based company sees turning a quarterly profit of 87 cents to 89 cents a share on an adjusted basis, down from a prior estimate of 95 cents to $1.05 a share. Restructuring- and acquisition-related adjustments are pegged at about 34 cents a share for the latest quarter, up from the 30 cents previously forecast. On the top line, Lexmark said it now anticipates quarterly revenue will have dropped about 12% on a year-over-year basis. In April, management had projected the size of the drop in revenue at 7% to 9%. Lexmark said it will report second-quarter results July 24.
Also late Thursday, New York & Co. (NWY) said it anticipates a "significantly" narrower operating loss for the second quarter ending July 28. "We are encouraged by our second-quarter performance to date, which reflects strong product acceptance across our summer assortments, particularly during the Mother's Day period, and continued progress on our strategic initiatives," said Gregory Scott, chief executive of retailer specializing in women's fashion apparel and accessories, in a statement. Among other things, management foresees improvement in New York & Co.'s gross margin of between four and five percentage points compared to the year-ago quarter. Operating loss is forecast to narrow to a range of $5 million to $7 million from the prior year's $15.1 million. And quarterly comparable-store sales are expected to rise "slightly" from a year ago, with New York & Co.'s quarter-end store count reflecting six fewer outlets in operation. The retailer said it will report quarterly results in the third week of August.
Darden Restaurants Inc. (DRI) agreed to acquire the Yard House USA Inc. chain for $585 million in cash. Yard House, with 39 restaurants across 13 states offering contemporary American cuisine, will become part of Orlando-based Darden's specialty restaurant group. The deal's expected to dilute Darden's earnings to the tune of 3 cents to 5 cents a share for fiscal 2013 and will contribute to the bottom line starting in fiscal 2014, the company said. Acquisition-related costs are expected to total about 7 cents to 10 cents a share. The total transaction price of $585 million to be paid to private-equity firm TSG Consumer Partners, management and investors includes about $30 million of cash tax benefits that Darden said it expects to realize over fiscal 2013 and fiscal 2014.
The board of
,
,
, Copyright ©2013. All rights reserved.