Upcoming AWS Coverage on RH Post-Earnings Results

LONDON, UK / ACCESSWIRE / April 13, 2017 / Active Wall St. announces its post-earnings coverage on Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. (NASDAQ: BBBY). The Company posted its financial results for the fourth quarter and full year of fiscal 2016 on April 05, 2017. The home goods retailer reported a 3.4% increase in revenue and also declared an increase in dividend. Register with us now for your free membership at:

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One of Bed Bath & Beyond's competitors within the Home Furnishing Stores space, RH (NYSE: RH), reported on March 28, 2017, its fourth quarter and fiscal 2016 financial results. AWS will be initiating a research report on RH in the coming days.

Today, AWS is promoting its earnings coverage on BBBY; touching on RH. Get our free coverage by signing up to:

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Earnings Reviewed

For the three months ended February 25, 2017, Bed Bath & Beyond's net sales were approximately $3.53 billion, up approximately 3.4% from net sales of approximately $3.42 billion reported in Q4 FY15. This increase is primarily due to a 3% increase in non-comparable sales, including PMall, One Kings Lane, and new stores and the Company's comparable sales increase of approximately 0.4%. Comparable sales from customer-facing digital channels grew in excess of 20% while comparable sales from stores declined in the low single-digit percentage range during Q4 FY16. The Company's sales topped analysts' consensus of $3.50 billion.

During Q4 FY16, Bed Bath & Beyond's gross margin was approximately 38% compared to approximately 38.6% in the prior year's same period. This decrease as a percentage of net sales was primarily due to an increase in net direct-to-customer shipping expense and an increase in coupon expense, resulting from increases in redemption and the average coupon amount. The inclusion of One Kings Lane reduced total Company gross margin as a percentage of net sales by approximately 12 basis points, while the inclusion of PMall contributed 19 basis points to the total Company gross margin.

For Q4 FY16 Bed Bath & Beyond reported net earnings of $268.7 million, or $1.84 per diluted share, compared with $303.5 million, or $1.91 per diluted share, for Q4 FY15, which included approximately $0.06 per diluted share of a net benefit for certain non-recurring items. The Company's earnings numbers surpassed market expectations of $1.77 per share.

Fiscal 2016 Full Year Results

Bed Bath & Beyond's net sales for FY16 were approximately $12.2 billion, up approximately 0.9% from net sales of approximately $12.1 billion in FY15. Comparable sales for the fiscal full year decreased by approximately 0.6% for fiscal 2016 compared with an increase of approximately 1.0% in fiscal 2015.

For the fiscal full year, Bed Bath & Beyond reported net earnings of $685.1 million, or $4.58 per diluted share, compared with $841.5 million, or $5.10 per diluted share, in the corresponding period a year ago which included approximately $.06 per diluted share of a net benefit for certain non-recurring items.

Capital Allocation

Bed Bath & Beyond ended the year with approximately $578 million in cash and cash equivalents and investment securities. Retail inventories were approximately $2.9 billion at cost, an increase of approximately 2.2% compared to the end of the prior year's same period.

Capital expenditures for the year were approximately $374 million with some of the anticipated spend for 2016 moving into 2017.

Bed Bath & Beyond's board of directors declared an increase in quarterly dividend to $.15 per share. The increased quarterly dividend is payable on July 18, 2017, to shareholders of record at the close of business on June 16, 2017.

During Q4 FY16, the Company repurchased approximately $171 million of its common stock, representing approximately 4.1 million shares, under its existing $2.5 billion share repurchase program. As of February 25, 2017, the program had a remaining balance of approximately $1.7 billion, and is expected to be completed sometime in fiscal 2020.

Store Update

During Q4 FY16, Bed Bath & Beyond opened 9 new stores and closed 4 stores. For the full year, the Company opened 29 stores and closed 13 stores. Bed Bath & Beyond's store openings during the year included new store formats such as Beyond at Liberty View and the 2 new andThat! stores plus additional Bed Bath & Beyond and buybuy BABY stores in Canada and new markets, primarily for Cost Plus World Market and Harmon Face Values.

Fiscal 2017 Outlook

Bed Bath & Beyond is modeling a low- to mid-single digit percentage increase in consolidated net sales for the full year. The Company is expecting gross margins deleverage for 2017, including increases in net direct-to-customer shipping expense and coupon expense.

Bed Bath & Beyond is forecasting a decline in net earnings per diluted share in the percentage range of low-single digits to 10% for FY17. In fiscal 2017, Bed Bath & Beyond plan to open 30 new stores and close approximately 15 to 20 stores.

Stock Performance

At the close of trading session on Wednesday, April 12, 2017, Bed Bath & Beyond's stock price fell 1.89% to end the day at $38.46. A total volume of 2.35 million shares were exchanged during the session, which was above the 3-month average volume of 2.30 million shares. The Company's shares are trading at a PE ratio of 8.36 and have a dividend yield of 1.30%. In addition, the stock currently has a market cap of $5.72 billion.

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SOURCE: Active Wall Street