Oil prices’ steady crawl higher toward $50 per barrel is doing wonders for the stock market, which enjoyed some healthy gains again Wednesday. The S&P 500 increased 0.7%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average finished the day 0.8% higher. The Energy Select Sector SPDR (ETF) (NYSEARCA:XLE) was up 1.5% to bring its five-day gains to 3.55%.
The good times could continue today, as a number of companies look to head higher in Thursday’s trading. That would include Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. (USA) (NYSE:LGF), PVH Corp (NYSE:PVH) and Dollar General Corp. (NYSE:DG).
Here’s what you need to know:
Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. (USA) (LGF)
LGF was up by double digits on Thursday morning after the company posted a surprise profit.
Lions Gate earned 7 cents per share in its first quarter, which was just half of what it made in the year-ago quarter, but still far better than analysts’ expectations for a 2-cent loss. Revenues of $791.2 were up 22.5% and easily hurdled Wall Street’s estimate for $738.7 million. That included record TV revenues of $248.8 million.
The success of Orange Is the New Black, among other things, helped make up for weak outings for Allegiant and the bomb Gods of Egypt.
LGF shares were pacing 11% higher on Thursday morning, which would put the stock at highs last seen in late April.
PVH Corp (PVH)
PVH — the apparel company behind brands such as Calvin Klein and Van Heusen — was also up Thursday thanks to a strong showing in its most recent quarter.
Earnings for Q1 came to $1.50 per share on an adjusted basis, which was enough to beat the mark set by Zacks’ Investment Research-polled analysts by a dime. Revenues of $1.92 billion came in just ahead of expectations for $1.9 billion.
PVH also raised its outlook for the current quarter to earnings in the range of $1.25 a share to $1.30 a share, higher than analysts’ estimate of $1.21 a share. That should fuel full-year profits of $6.45 to $6.55 per share.
PVH shares are popping 7% in Thursday’s premarket trading.
Dollar General Corp. (DG)
Lastly, Dollar General shares were on their way higher thanks to a Street-beating Q1 report.
Dollar General’s comparable-store sales growth of 2.2% was just shy of Wall Street’s expectations for 2.4%, and overall, revenues of $52.7 billion, while up from the year-ago period’s $4.92 billion, couldn’t meet the consensus mark of $5.28 billion.
However, a huge earnings beat of $1.03 per share versus 84 cents estimated — helped in large part by lower utility costs — had Wall Street breathing a sigh of relief, as retail has been a mostly garbage sector in the earnings confessional this season.
However, low cost has been doing well, with Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE:WMT) impressing investors last week, and Dollar Tree, Inc. (NASDAQ:DLTR) jumping on its own strong report this morning.
DG shares are up 4% ahead of Thursday’s bell.
As of this writing, Karl Utermohlen did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities.
