Bed Bath & Beyond Q4 Comps Down 0.6%; Sees FY18 EPS Below View

(RTTNews) - Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. (BBBY) said that its fourth-quarter comparable sales decreased by approximately 0.6%, and included strong sales growth from the Company's customer-facing digital channels, and sales from stores that declined in the mid-single-digit percentage range.

BBBY closed Wednesday's regular trading at $21.50, up $0.27 or 1.27%. But, in the after-hours trading, the stock down $3.06 or 14.23%.

The company's Board of Directors declared an increase in the quarterly dividend to $0.16 per share. The increased quarterly dividend is payable on July 17, 2018 to shareholders of record at the close of business on June 15, 2018.

The company expects net earnings per share for the full year 2018 to be in the low-to-mid $2.00 range. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expect the company to report earnings of $3.03 per share for fiscal year 2018. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

The company aims to increase its comparable sales, which it expects to begin in fiscal 2018; moderate the declines in its operating profit and net earnings per diluted share, in fiscal 2018 and fiscal 2019; and grow its net earnings per share by fiscal 2020.