Why Did My Stock Just Die? Riverbed Technology, Inc. (RVBD), Roundy’s Inc (RNDY)

In the slow checkout lane
Supermarket chain Roundy’s fell on Friday for no company-specific reason, but it will announce its quarterly results at the end of the month. That’s not likely enough to offer much encouragement for investors who’ve had to suffer through poor performance before since it went public exactly one year ago. Last quarter, sales fell and profits plunged by more than a third because of the sluggish economy and a heightened level of promotions — not all of which were successful — as it fought off growing competition from big-box rivals. It ended up having to cut its dividend by more than half from $0.23 a share down to $0.12 to maintain its financial flexibility, a situation I noted was a real possibility.

Roundy’s private equity owners piled debt on the grocery chain to pay themselves a dividend because they’ve been unable to sell off the company and get out of their investment. With earnings approaching again, I’m not hopeful we’ll see anything better this time around, either.

The article Why Did My Stock Just Die? originally appeared on Fool.com and is written by Rich Duprey.

Fool contributor Rich Duprey has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Nuance Communications and Riverbed Technology. The Motley Fool owns shares of Microsoft, Nuance Communications, and Riverbed Technology.

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