Bed Bath & Beyond: Down the Drain With Earnings

When Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. (NASDAQ: BBBY) released its fiscal fourth-quarter financial results after the markets closed on Wednesday, it posted $1.48 in earnings per share on $3.72 billion in revenue. That compares with consensus estimates of $1.41 in EPS on revenue of $3.67 billion. The same period of last year reportedly had EPS of $1.84 and $3.53 billion in revenue.

Comparable sales in the fiscal 2017 fourth quarter (14 weeks) decreased by approximately 0.6% and included strong sales growth from the company’s customer-facing digital channels and sales from stores that declined in the mid-single-digit percentage range.

The board of directors declared an increase in the quarterly dividend to $0.16 per share. The increased quarterly dividend is payable on July 17 to shareholders of record at the close of business on June 15.

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Looking ahead to the 2018 fiscal full year, the company expects to see EPS to be in the low-to-mid $2.00 range. The consensus estimates call for $2.76 in EPS on $12.07 billion in revenue. The company also listed its goals for the coming year as follows:

Growing its comparable sales, which it expects to begin in fiscal 2018; moderating the declines in its operating profit and net earnings per diluted share, in fiscal 2018 and fiscal 2019; and growing its net earnings per diluted share by fiscal 2020.

Bed Bath & Beyond cash and cash equivalents totaled $346.14 million at the end of the quarter, down from $488.33 million in the same period from last year.

Shares of Bed Bath & Beyond closed Wednesday at $21.50, with a consensus analyst price target of $22.41 and a 52-week trading range of $19.07 to $40.33. Following the announcement, the stock was down over 16% at $17.93 in early trading indications Friday.

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