These Two Retailers Report Earnings but See the Hedge Fund Sentiment before Jumping to Conclusions

The second company, Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. (NASDAQ:BBBY), reported slightly better results compared to estimates than Pier 1, but while its second-quarter of fiscal 2015 earnings of $1.21 per share meet the estimates, the revenue of $3.0 billion was below the expected $3.03 billion. In annual terms, both earnings and revenue increased slightly for the quarter ended August 29, which was in line with the company’s financial model for the year. The stock has advanced probably on the back of the new $2.5-billion share repurchase program that the board has authorized to be launched after the completion of the current one.

Analysts also didn’t wait too long to come with their verdict on the results and Telsey Advisory Group has already upgraded Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. (NASDAQ:BBBY)’s stock to ‘Market Perform’ from ‘Underperform’ with a target of $65.00 per share. However, two other analysts, Credit Agricole and Morgan Stanley, have been less optimistic and reiterated their ‘Neutral’ and ‘Underweight’ ratings, with the former lowering its price target to $61 from $70. Among the smart money, there is a level of caution towards Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. (NASDAQ:BBBY), with 32 funds from our database holding less than 6% of the company as of the end of June. And while the number of investors with long positions declined by one during the second quarter, the total value of their holdings slid to $663.21 million from $672.06 million, fueled by a 10% drop of the stock. Among these funds, the largest stake was held by Chuck Royce’s Royce & Associates, which owned 2.45 million shares, down by 11% on the quarter. On the other hand, Jim Simons‘ Renaissance Technologies also ranked among the top shareholders in our database after having initiated a stake of 723,300 shares during the quarter.

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