Matson stock led a trio of names making moves on favorable earnings news as the reporting season picked up momentum on Thursday. Dow Jones insurance leader Travelers Companies and Matson both rose near buy points. Signet Jewelers reversed lower at a key level of resistance.
Matson Earnings, Matson Stock
Ocean transport leader Matson jumped higher Thursday amid a number of rallying transportation issues. The Honolulu-based outfit preannounced Q4 EPS far above views late Tuesday.
Matson now expects EPS of $8.70-$9.10 when it reports on Feb. 17. Analysts on average forecast $6.81 on revenue of $1.084 billion, according to FactSet.
Shares gapped up 6.45% to 91.46 in the stock market today. Matson stock briefly topped a 93.27 cup-with-handle buy point in early trade. Its relative strength line also made a new high as the stock broke out, according to MarketSmith chart analysis. That is a bullish technical signal.
"Continued strong demand for the China service was the primary driver of the increase," CEO Matt Cox said in a release. He expects "elevated" demand for the service for most of 2022.
Travelers Earnings, Travelers Stock
The recent rally in financials also continued on Thursday, despite a mild pullback in interest rates. Insurance heavyweight Travelers reported its fourth-quarter results, posting a 5.9% EPS gain, to $5.20. Revenue rose 10% for the quarter, to $7.995 billion, according to FactSet. Both easily beat Q4 estimates.
Shares of the Dow Jones stock rose 3.2% to 165.18. That hoisted Travelers stock back into a buy range above a 163.26 buy point . The buy zone extends to 171.42. RS line for TRV stock is improving after a slide.
Signet Earnings, Signet Stock
In the retail sector, early Thursday, Signet's management raised guidance following strong holiday sales. The Bermuda-based jewelry seller now expects Q4 revenue of $2.77 billion, up from $2.40 billion-$2.48 billion earlier. It sees Q4 same-store-sales rising 22%, up from 6%-9% prior.
Wall Street had previously expected Q4 sales of $2.462 billion and same-store sales of 11.8%, FactSet said.
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Signet shares initially rallied more than 5% but reversed lower after meeting resistance at the underside of the stock's 50-day moving average. Shares plunged 9.6% to 78.99, a fourth straight decline.
Also on Thursday, Signet announced an expansion of its stock buyback program by $500 million.
Find Aparna Narayanan on Twitter at @IBD_Aparna.
