Bed Bath & Beyond shares tumble 12.3% after "weak" earnings announcement

Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. shares fell 12.3% in Thursday trading after the home goods retailer reported third-quarter earnings that Credit Suisse analysts call "weak." Earnings per share of 44 cents beat the 37-cents FactSet consensus, but were down from 85 cents last year. Earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) was down 350 basis points, "the largest decline to date, validating our concerns on the rising cost of doing business in this sector." Credit Suisse rates Bed Bath & Beyond shares neutral with a $25 price target. KeyBanc Capital Markets also highlighted the "significant competitive headwinds" that will put pressure on the margins over the near-term. "Factors that have pressured results in recent years are likely to continue," analysts wrote. KeyBanc rates Bed Bath & Beyond shares underweight with a $17 price target. "[M]anagement highlighted that it is going to place more emphasis on its value proposition to consumers, including returning to price match guarantees, more responsive pricing at the brick & mortar stores, and adding more low-priced/treasure hunt items to emulate concepts that have succeeded in the current environment such as dollar stores," wrote BTIG analysts. They rate the company's shares neutral. Bed Bath & Beyond shares are down 52.7% for the past year while the S&P 500 index is up 18.8% for the period.

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