Jim Cramer Blog

Stocks surged today as investors went bargain hunting following yesterday's sell-off. At the close, the major market averages gained back most of what they lost yesterday, with the Dow ending up 248 points, and 90% of the stocks in the S&P finishing higher. Oil continued to rise on the week, with the price of crude jumping $1.78 to finish at $73.51 a barrel.

In corporate news, tobacco giant Altria Group (NYSE: MO - News) announced that it will spin off its international tobacco business amid an ongoing corporate restructuring. Current Altria CEO Louis Camilleri will serve as chairman and CEO of Philip Morris International, while Michael Szymanczyk will become chairman and CEO of Altria. Its board of directors also increased the dividend 8.7%. Shares rose 1.1%. Subscribers can read our analysis of Altria in today's issue.
In the specialty retailing space, Big Lots (NYSE: BIG - News) shares surged 9.9% after the company earned $23.4 million, or 22 cents a share, in its second quarter, up from $4.3 million, or 4 cents a share, last year. Earnings from continuing operations came in at 21 cents a share, higher than analyst estimates of 12 cents a share. Sales rose to $1.08 billion, while same-store sales increased 5.2%. For its third quarter, the company expects to earn between 9-13 cents a share and sees fourth-quarter EPS coming in at a range of 87-92 cents, higher than analyst estimates of 84 cents.
Investors sent shares of Williams-Sonoma (NYSE: WSM - News) higher by 10.6% after the retailer said sales at its key brands drove revenue higher. For the second quarter, the company said earnings equaled $26 million, or 23 cents a share, down from $35 million, or 30 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Excluding certain items in both years, the company said EPS slipped to 24 cents from 25 cent last year. The figure easily topped Wall Street estimates calling for EPS of 16 cents. Revenues increased 4.1% to $859.4 million. The gourmet cookware chain said it expects full-year earnings to come in at $1.82-1.90, up from its previous forecast of $1.73-1.81 a share.
Technology firm Seagate Technology (NYSE: STX - News) announced late Tuesday that it sees a higher fiscal first-quarter profit due to increased sales of high-end devices. Excluding one-time items, it expects earnings of 62-66 cents a share, which is above its earlier forecast of 40-44 cents a share. It forecasts sales to come in at $3.15-3.23 billion and sees margins rising to 24% from 20. Shares rose 3.8%.

By the BullMarket.com Staff

Labels: BIG, MO, STX, WSM