Friday to Losers; Gap, HCA Health, & Value Line
Gap slashes Q1 2022 sales guidance’s due to execution challenges at Old Navy
Gap Inc. (NYSE: GPS) dropped 18% after the retailer slashed its Q1 sales guidance because of execution challenges in the Old Navy segment. The company also announced that the CEO of the Old Navy division Nancy Green is leaving her position this week. Gap CEO Sonia Syngal will work with the Old Navy team as they search for Green’s successor.
The company now expects a low- to mid-teens decline relative to the previous year, which is a revision from early guidance of a mid-to-high-single-digit decline. Delayed shipments have affected the retailer, which has struggled to have enough merchandise to meet shopper demand in some cases.
In Q4, same-store sales were flat for the Old Navy division relative to 2019 levels. The company says it is taking an aggressive approach to balancing its merchandise collection at Old Navy. Gap plans to offer updated fiscal 2022 guidance when it reports Q1 results on May 26, 2022.
HCA Health expects labor costs to impact 2022 earnings
HCA Health Inc. (NYSE: HCA) dropped 21.82% after the hospital operator indicated that labor costs are expected to impact its earnings results this year. As hospitals continue to grapple with pandemic-induced staffing shortages, they have been forced to increase wages to attract nurses, construction staff, and others.
The Nashville-based company reported $4.12 per share earnings during the quarter, missing consensus estimates of $4.25. Revenue during the quarter was $14.95 billion, beating analyst estimates of $14.72 billion. The revenue represented a YoY growth of 6.9%.
For the full year, the company expects earnings of between $16.40 and $17.60 per share, excluding certain items. Previously the company had guided for earnings of between $18.40 and $19.20 per share. HCA Healthcare also slashed its revenue forecast by $500 million from previous guidance and now expects revenue of between $59.5 billion and $61.5 billion.
Value Line declares a quarterly cash dividend
Value Line Inc. (NASDAQ: VALU) was down 19.19% after the company announced that its Board had declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.25 per common share. The quarterly dividend will be payable on May 11, 2022, to shareholders that will be on record on May 2, 2022. The dividend increase is the 8th consecutive year the investment research firm has increased its dividend, and it is three times more than its previous annual increase. The increased dividend will be one dollar for each share on an annual basis. As of April 22, 2022, the company had 9,521,327 common shares outstanding.
Recently the company announced that its shareholder equity reached $79,401 million at the end of January 2022, which was a 24.9% YoY increase. During the nine months ending January 31, 2022, the company reported a net income of $20.015 million or $2.1 per share.