3 Stocks to Watch on Wednesday: Intuit Inc. (INTU), Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (LOW) and Tiffany & Co. (TIF)

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Will the streak continue? Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ:INTU), Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) and Tiffany & Co. (NYSE:TIF) are among a batch of companies that are moving hard on earnings early Wednesday morning, providing mixed direction as the markets try to extend their gains for a fifth straight day.

3 Stocks to Watch on Wednesday: Intuit Inc. (INTU), Lowe's Companies, Inc. (LOW) and Tiffany & Co. (TIF)The S&P 500 edged just 0.2% higher on Tuesday, but it was enough to mark the fourth consecutive day of gains. Futures are pointing to more of the same today, with little out there to shake investors from their timid bullishness. Earnings season is starting to wind down, with only a handful of major names reporting.

INTU, LOW and TIF are in that number. Let’s see what they’re on pace to do this morning:

Intuit Inc. (INTU)

INTU shares are nearing double-digit gains Wednesday morning amid a fiscal third-quarter earnings report that impressed Wall Street on several fronts.

While the QuickBooks parent’s Q3 profits slipped 6% year-over-year to $964 million ($3.70 per share), that resulted in an adjusted profit of $3.90 per share that beat analyst expectations by 3 cents. Meanwhile, revenues of $2.54 billion were up 10% from the year-ago quarter and topped estimates of $2.5 billion.

The company also exceeded expectations with its Q4 and full-year forecasts. Intuit now sees fourth-quarter earnings of 16 to 18 cents per share on revenues of $795 million to $815 million. And for the full year, it’s looking for profits of $4.38 to $4.40 per share on sales of $5.13 billion to $5.15 billion.

The company’s results were powered by 59% subscriber growth in QuickBooks, which was more robust than the 49% growth it saw in Q2.

INTU stock is up about 9% in Wednesday’s premarket trade.

Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (LOW)

LOW stock is taking a beating this morning after the company posted a bottom-line miss as part of its first-quarter earnings report.

Lowe’s net income was off 32% year-over-year to $602 million (70 cents per share), and came to $1.03 per share on an adjusted basis — 3 cents shy of the consensus mark. While revenues were 10.7% higher to $16.86 billion, that still wasn’t enough to meet estimates of $16.96 billion.

Same-store sales finished off the disappointment for Q1, coming in 1.9% higher versus expectations of 2.9% growth.

Lowe’s also updated its outlook, expecting to earn $4.30 per share for the full year, though it kept revenue forecasts constant at a 5% improvement. Comps are expected to be 3.5% better.

Now, LOW is in some technical trouble.

Through Tuesday, Lowe’s had been enjoying a strong year of 16% gains to more than double the market. However, the action in LOW stock had been weakening of late, dropping below the 20-day moving average about a week ago, then falling below the intermediate-term 50-day moving average yesterday as shares sold off about 2%. Relative Strength Index (RSI) also dropped to a little below 40 — weak, but not oversold.

LOW stock chart

Things will accelerate this morning, with shares primed to open down roughly 4% around $78.50. Next support comes at the 200-day moving average at $75.25, another 4%-5% lower.

Tiffany & Co. (TIF)

TIF stock is also taking a tumble after its comparable-store sales delivered a Street-shocking decline.

Tiffany’s worldwide comps declined by 3% year-over-year, which was far worse than the 1.1% improvement expected by analysts. Moreover, that marked the sixth straight quarter of declining comps. That figure was dragged lower by a particularly weak performance in the Americas, where same-store sales fell 4%.

The company did manage to score a beat on the bottom line, earning 72 cents per share to top Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S-surveyed analysts’ expectations of 70 cents per share. However, revenues of $899.6 million were well short of estimates for $913.71 million.

TIF shares are about 5% lower in Wednesday’s morning action, which should mark one of the biggest setbacks for the luxury retailer in roughly a year of rallying that has seen the stock recover by about 50%.

Tiffany currently is under pressure from activist investor Jana Partners, which pushed the company to add three independent directors a couple of months ago.

As of this writing, Robert Martin did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities.


Article printed from InvestorPlace Media, https://investorplace.com/2017/05/3-stocks-to-watch-on-wednesday-intuit-inc-intu-lowes-companies-inc-low-and-tiffany-and-co-tif/.

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