L Brands Inc.

L Brands stock price target cut to $37 from $45 at Instinet

L Brands stock price target cut to $37 from $45 at Instinet

• Apr. 13, 2018 at 8:30 a.m. ET
• by Tomi Kilgore

L Brands stock price target cut to $42 from $48 at MKM Partners

L Brands stock price target cut to $42 from $48 at MKM Partners

• Apr. 10, 2018 at 7:39 a.m. ET
• by Tomi Kilgore

Victoria's Secret parent L Brands reports February sales growth, sets new stock buyback program

Victoria's Secret parent L Brands Inc. said Thursday that February sales rose 11.5% to $853.9 million from $765.5 million in the same period a year ago, while same-store sales grew 3% for the month. The FactSet same-store-sales consensus for the first fiscal quarter, ending in April, calls for a 2.4% rise. The stock was indicated down about 1.8% in premarket trade. Separately, the company said it had authorized a new $250 million stock-repurchase program, which includes $23.1 million remaining under a previous buyback program. At Wednesday's stock closing price of $43.97, the new buyback program would allow the repurchase of up to 5.7 million shares, or about 2.0% of the shares outstanding. The stock has plunged 23.2% over the past three months, while the SPDR S&P Retail ETF has tacked on 1.4% and the S&P 500 has gained 2.8%.

• Mar. 8, 2018 at 7:25 a.m. ET
• by Tomi Kilgore

L Brands sets new $250 mln stock buyback program

L Brands sets new $250 mln stock buyback program

• Mar. 8, 2018 at 7:17 a.m. ET
• by Tomi Kilgore

U.S. stocks open slightly higher, Powell testimony awaited

U.S. stocks opened flat on Thursday, with trading expected to be light as investors looked ahead to a fresh appearance before Congress by Federal Reserve chief Jerome Powell. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 9 points to 25,017. The S&P 500 was down less than one point to 2,714. The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 5 points to 7,277. All three moved less than 0.1% on the day. The three are also coming off a sizable two-day drop, which included back-to-back declines of more than 1% for both the Dow and the S&P. Powell, whose recent comments before a House panel helped send U.S. stocks lower, is due to testify to the Senate Banking Committee at 10 a.m. Eastern. The new Fed boss on Tuesday highlighted ways he personally thinks the U.S. economic outlook has strengthened, which raised concerns that the Fed could become more aggressive in raising interest rates. In company news, L Brands Inc. fell 9.9% a day after giving a disappointing outlook, while Salesforce.com Inc rose 4.4% after its results.

• Mar. 1, 2018 at 9:31 a.m. ET
• by Ryan Vlastelica

Victoria Secret's L Brands stock tanks on expectations of lower Q1 profit

Shares of Victoria's Secret parent L Brands Inc. fell more than 10% late Wednesday after the retailer reported fourth-quarter per-share profits above expectations but called for lower profits in the first quarter. L Brands said it earned $664 million, or $2.33 a share, in the quarter, compared with $631 million, or $2.18 a share, in the year-ago period. Adjusted for one-time items, the company earned $2.11 a share, compared with $2.03 a share a year ago. Sales rose to $4.82 billion in the quarter, compared with $4.49 billion a year ago. Analysts polled by FactSet had expected earnings of $2.05 a share on sales of $2.82 billion. L Brands said it expects full-year 2018 per-share earnings between $2.95 and $3.25, including earnings per share between 15 cents and 20 cents in the first quarter, reflecting a lower tax rate and an "incremental investment in wages and benefits," mainly for hourly employees, of about $100 million. The analysts surveyed by FactSet expect first-quarter earnings of 31 cents a share and full-year earnings of $3.14 for 2018. L Brands shares ended the regular trading session up 2.4%.

• Feb. 28, 2018 at 5:17 p.m. ET
• by Claudia Assis

Victoria's Secret parent L Brands stock falls 10% after earnings

Victoria's Secret parent L Brands stock falls 10% after earnings

• Feb. 28, 2018 at 5:00 p.m. ET
• by Claudia Assis

L Brands shares spike after fourth-quarter sales beat estimates

L Brands Inc. shares rallied 5.4% in Thursday premarket trading after the retail company reported fourth-quarter sales and same-store sales that beat the FactSet consensus. L Brands portfolio includes Victoria's Secret and Bath & Body Works. Fourth-quarter sales were $4.82 billion, up from $4.49 billion last year and exceeding the FactSet consensus of $4.72 billion. Same-store sales rose 2%, also beating the FactSet guidance for 0.6% growth. Sales for the five weeks ending Feb. 3, 2018 totaled $1.04 billion, up from $805.2 million for the four weeks ending Jan. 28, 2017. January same-store sales that jumped 7% year-over-year. L Brands expects fourth quarter EPS of about $2.05, before the impact of significant items including the tax overhaul. L Brands shares are up 3.7% for the last three months, but down 16.3% for the last year. The S&P 500 index is up nearly 17% for the past 12 months.

• Feb. 8, 2018 at 7:39 a.m. ET
• by Tonya Garcia

Victoria's Secret parent L Brands, Signet could be hurt by late start to the tax season

Victoria's Secret parent company L Brands Inc. and Signet Jewelers Ltd. could get squeezed by the late start to the tax season, say Instinet analysts led by Simeon Siegel. The IRS announced earlier this month that it will begin accepting tax returns on Jan. 29, with nearly 155 million individual tax returns expected to be filed. The tax filing deadline will be April 17 since April 15 is a Sunday and April 16 is Emancipation Day, a legal holiday in Washington D.C. The IRS expects tax refunds to hit bank accounts starting on Feb. 27 if taxpayers choose direct deposit and there are no other problems. "[B]ased on the IRS's announced tax season start, which is the latest since 2014, we expect companies with Valentine's Day exposure (Signet, L Brands) and those reliant on consumers with less disposable income to be the most pressured," Instinet wrote. Last year, companies like Foot Locker Inc. and Wal-Mart Stores Inc. said that the tax refund delay impacted sales early in the calendar year. L Brands shares are down 19.3% for the past year, and Signet shares are down nearly 31% for the period. The S&P 500 index is up 22.8% for the last 12 months.

• Jan. 17, 2018 at 11:04 a.m. ET
• by Tonya Garcia

Victoria's Secret parent L Brands shares slide almost 10% premarket after profit warning

• Jan. 4, 2018 at 7:30 a.m. ET
• by Ciara Linnane