NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / April 13, 2018 / Shares of J. C. Penney and Bed Bath and Beyond were two retailers dragged into the red on Thursday after the latter reported fourth quarter results and a dismal outlook forward.

RDI Initiates Coverage on:

Bed Bath & Beyond Inc.
https://www.rdinvesting.com/report/?ticker=BBBY

J. C. Penney Company, Inc.
https://www.rdinvesting.com/report/?ticker=JCP

Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. shares closed down 19.95% on nearly 38 million shares traded on Thursday. The stock hit a brand new low of $17.19 during intra-day trading after announcing a weak outlook when it reported fourth quarter results. The specialty home goods retailer reported net sales of $3.72 billion, which represented an increase of 5.4% YOY. It also reported that comparable-store sales saw a 0.6% decline. Earnings per share was $1.48, a drop from $1.84 in the fourth quarter of 2016. Analysts were waiting for $1.39 a share so this was still a beat. Looking at fiscal 2018. the company is expecting net earnings per diluted share in the low to mid $2.00 range. Analysts had been expecting $2.76. CFO Sue Lattmann has said that the company is "making heavy investments in people, processes and technology as we continue the transformational work necessary to accomplish our goals." The company's board of directors also declared an increase in the quarterly dividend from $0.15 to $0.16 per share. It will be payable on July 17th to shareholders of record at the close of business on June 15th.

Access RDI's Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. Research Report at:
https://www.rdinvesting.com/report/?ticker=BBBY

J. C. Penney Company, Inc. shares closed down 8.55% on Thursday on roughly 20 million shares traded. The struggling retailer didn't have any remarkable news itself but saw losses after retailer Bed Bath and Beyond sank when it gave a disappointing outlook. Shares of J. C. Penney dropped 30% in March. It was in March that the department store company released fourth quarter results and revealed that it saw comparable sales rise by 2.6%. Net income also soared to $254 million from $192 million a year ago due to improving gross profit margin. Unfortunately the company also reported that cash balances had fallen from $762 million to below $350 million. Investors weren't so enthused to learn that J. C. Penney also took out $400 million of loans at an annual interest rate of 8.63%. The company is still struggling in its turnaround plans.

Access RDI's J. C. Penney Company, Inc. Research Report at:
https://www.rdinvesting.com/report/?ticker=JCP

Our Actionable Research on Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. (NASDAQ: BBBY) and J. C. Penney Company, Inc. (NYSE: JCP) can be downloaded free of charge at Research Driven Investing.

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SOURCE: RDInvesting.com