A humorous look at the companies that caught our eye, for better or worse, this week.
S&P/TSX composite index
TSX
June 6, 2014 close: 14,838.90
up 234.74 points or 1.6% over week
Great Canadian winning streaks:
1) The Toronto Blue Jays win nine games in a row, sweeping the Red Sox, A’s and Rays;
2) Montreal’s Eugenie Bouchard powers through five rounds at the French Open before bowing out in the semis;
3) The S&P/TSX composite index rises for six consecutive sessions, putting it within 235 points of its record high of 15,073.13 reached in June, 2008.
Krispy Kreme
KKD (NYSE)
June 6, 2014 close: $16.30 (U.S.)
down $2.54 or 13.5% over week
Krispy Kreme’s fresh glazed doughnuts are sweet and delicious, but its first-quarter results left a horrible taste in investors’ mouths. Citing severe winter weather, the company said revenue rose only marginally to $121.6-million (U.S.) in the period ended May 4 – well short of the $127-million analysts were expecting. With Krispy Kreme cutting its earnings guidance for the year, the stock is spending some time in the deep fryer.
Dollar General
DG (NYSE)
June 6, 2014 close: $57.99 (U.S.)
up $4.21 or 7.8% over week
Good news: Americans are shopping again.
Bad news: The only place they can afford to buy anything is Dollar General.
As consumers continue to struggle amid the U.S. economy’s uneven recovery, the discount chain said it boosted the number of items selling for $5 or less – a strategy that paid off in higher sales for the quarter ended May 2. With the stock surging, at least investors are feeling wealthy.
Hertz Global
HTZ (NYSE)
June 6, 2014 close: $27.73 (U.S.)
down $1.79 or 6.1% over week
Ouch, that Hertz. Shares of the car-rental giant – which owns the Hertz, Dollar, Thrifty and Firefly brands – swerved into the ditch after the company said it would have to restate results for the past three years because of accounting errors. The company also warned that its first-quarter results – which now won’t be released on June 9 as planned – will likely miss analyst estimates because of costs associated with the review. Call a tow truck.
Diamond Foods
DMND (Nasdaq)
June 6, 2014 close: $29.74 (U.S.)
down $2.21 or 6.9% over week
As any nutritionist will tell you, nuts are packed with protein, vitamins and minerals. But as any investor will tell you, nuts are also packed with danger: Shares of Diamond Foods – which sells almonds, pecans, cashews, walnuts and other snacks – got crushed after the company’s third-quarter loss ballooned to $105.6-million from $15.6-million, hurt by rising tree nut costs and charges related to a debt refinancing. In hindsight, buying this stock was nuts.