Most major U.S. indices surged higher on Monday, with financials ahead of the pack, gaining 1.7%. The S&P 500 Index and Nasdaq Composite each gained 1.1%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 1.2% by day’s end.
Kroger Co (NYSE:KR), Layne Christensen Company (NASDAQ:LAYN) and Limoneira Company (NASDAQ:LMNR) all made headlines after hours Monday.
Here’s what you should know:
Kroger Co (KR)
Kroger stock took a hit as the company was downgraded by several analysts.
Out of the 26 analysts covering the stock, nine have issued a “buy” rating on it, while three rated it a “sell” and 14 a “hold.” BMO Capital lowered the company’s price target from $24 to $20.
Its average price target currently sits at $23.59, which is 10.5% above its current $21.27 stock price. Oppenheimer analysts issued a “market perform” rating on the stock.
Meanwhile, Deutsche Bank lowered its position from “buy” to “hold.”
KR shares fell 0.2% after the bell Monday, but have since reversed to a premarket gain of about 0.8%.
Layne Christensen Company (LAYN)
Layne Christensen shares gained after the bell as the company posted its quarterly earnings results.
The company posted a loss of 11 cents per share during its second quarter of fiscal year 2018, topping analysts’ expectations of a 14-cent-per-share loss. In the year-ago period, the company lost 27 cents per share.
On an adjusted basis, the company earned $10 million, ahead of the $7.2 million it brought in a year ago. Layne Christensen’s revenue impressed as well at $126.2 million, which topped analysts’ consensus estimate of $122.99 million.
The company’s total backlog was $182.8 million at the end of the quarter, July 31, 2017. At the end of the first quarter, this figure was $172.2 million, and it was $194.1 million in the year-ago period.
Cash and cash equivalents were $34.2 million, while total debt was $164.1 million.
LAYN stock surged 7.1% after hours Monday.
Limoneira Company (LMNR)
Limoneira shares were down as the company unveiled its quarterly results.
For its third quarter, the company posted profit of $7.65 million, or 52 cents per share. The figure was below the year-ago sum of $10.6 million, or 71 cents per share. Analysts were calling for earnings of 52 cents per share.
Revenue for Limoneira came in at $40.4 million, which was stronger than the year-ago period’s revenue of $39.9 million. Analysts were expecting revenue of $37.9 million, per Thomson Reuters.
The company’s positive elements of the quarter came in the form of stronger lemon sales, while earnings declined year-over-year due to lower avocado sales. The company shipped 919,000 cartons of lemons for a total of $30 million, $3.8 million higher year-over-year.
Limoneira only shipped 5 million pounds of avocado at an average price of $1.50 per pound, compared to 9.5 million pounds at $1.01 a year ago.
LMNR stock fell nearly 10% after the bell Monday.
As of this writing, Karl Utermohlen did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities.