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The stock market is likely to face more twists and turns in the Russia-Ukraine drama next week to add to investor anxiety over the pace and impact of interest rate hikes. Earnings are due in from include Alibaba (NYSE:BABA), Home Depot (NYSE:HD), Lowe’s, (NYSE:LOW), Macy’s (NYSE:M), eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY), Dell Technologies (NYSE:DELL) and Block (NYSE:SQ). On the economic calendar, the second estimate of Q4 GDP is expected to see an upward revision. Updates on new home sales and durable goods orders are also on the way. One of the biggest consumer conference of the year will run with the CAGNY gathering likely to throw an even brighter spotlight on some consumer staples favorites. The oil market will also be in the spotlight next week as Russia-Ukraine developments play out and the prospect of higher production out of Iran is weighed.
Earnings spotlight: Tuesday, February 22 Home Depot (HD), Macy’s (M), Medtronic (NYSE:MDT), Caesars Entertainment (NASDAQ:CZR), Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) and Teladoc (NYSE:TDOC).
Earnings spotlight: Wednesday, February 23 Lowe’s (LOW, TJX Companies (NYSE:TJX), Overstock.com (NASDAQ:OSTK), eBay (EBAY), Hertz Global (NASDAQ:HTZ), Overstock.com (OSTK), fuboTV (NYSE:FUBO) and Skillz (NYSE:SKLZ).
Earnings spotlight: Thursday, February 24 Anheuser-Busch InBev (NYSE:BUD), Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA), Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY), Li Auto (NASDAQ:LI), Nikola (NASDAQ:NKLA), Dell (DELL), Block (SQ), Autodesk (NASDAQ:ADSK), VMware (NYSE:VMW), Coinbase Global (NASDAQ:COIN), Beyond Meat (NASDAQ:BYND) and Rocket Companies (NYSE:RKT).
Earnings spotlight: Friday, February 25 Foot Locker (NYSE:FL), Cinemark Holdings (NYSE:CNK) and Icahn Enterprises (NASDAQ:IEP).
IPO and SPAC watch: Akanda (AKAN) is expected to start trading on February 24. The analyst quiet period expires on Credo (NASDAQ:CRDO), Ponce Financial Group (NASDAQ:PDLB) and Fgi Industries (NASDAQ:FGI) on February 22. The IPO lockup period for a block of shares of RenovoRx (RXNT) expires on February 22 as well.
Projected dividend increases: Companies forecast to boost their quarterly dividend payouts include Foot Locker (FL) to $0.38 from $0.30, Universal Display (NASDAQ:OLED) to $0.25 from $0.20, L3Harris (NYSE:LHX) to $1.21 from $1.02, MGP Ingredients (NASDAQ:MGPI) to $0.14 from $0.12, Danaher (NYSE:DHR) to $0.24 from $0.21, Silgan (NASDAQ:SLGN) to $0.16 from $0.14, LeMaitre Vascular (NASDAQ:LMAT) to $0.125 from $0.110, Allstate (NYSE:ALL) to $0.92 from $0.81 and Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) to $0.55 from $0.50.
Consumer talk: The Consumer Analyst Group of New York virtual conference runs next week. The list of companies due to present includes General Mills (NYSE:GIS), Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM), Sysco (NYSE:SYY), Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO), J.M. Smucker (SJK) and Mondelez International (NASDAQ:MDLZ). During its earnings call, execs with Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC) said they would use the CAGNY presentation to outline the food giant’s plans to accelerate profit growth. Consumer staples stocks have outperformed the S&P 500 Index so far in 2022. Notable gainers include Philip Morris +17.0%, Altria (NYSE:MO) +9.2%,Sysco +6.4%, Coca-Cola +5.6%, ConAgra Foods (NYSE:CAG) +5.5% and Hershey (NYSE:HSY) +4.7%.
Block earnings preview Block (SQ) is due to report earnings on February 24. The update arrives at a turbulent time for Block with headlines regarding Apple’s introduction of iPhone-based card acceptance weighing on shares. SQ’s guidance for 2022 and an update on the Cash App product is seen potentially driving share price movement.
Spotlight on home improvement trends: Home Depot (HD) is on tap to report earnings on February 22 with the consensus marks standing at revenue of $34.8B and EPS of $3.17. Lowe’s (LOW) is due to report earnings on February 23 with analysts calling for revenue of $20.9B and EPS of $1.69 to be reported. The setup looks strong for both home improvement retailers with the housing market remaining solid amid a backdrop that Telsey Advisory Group says includes elevated home prices, healthy remodeling activity and solid household formation. What about inflation? Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO) reported that inflation helped its Q4 comparable sales mark by over 800 basis points and that pricing-pass through had yet to lead to demand destruction.
Corporate events: Cummins (NYSE:CMI) holds its first investor day in several years on February 23. The company is anticipated to provide more color on long-term targets and the new power segment. Xerox (NASDAQ:XRX) also hold an Investor Day event on the same day. On February 24, Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:FB) CEO Mark Zuckerberg will give a speech on AI in the Metaverse. The talk will cover Meta’s current breakthrough research and future big bets that it says will lay the groundwork for a new class of creative and immersive experiences today and in the metaverse tomorrow. Polaris (NYSE:PII) has an analyst meeting planned for February 24 to outline revised long-term strategies for driving accelerated growth and profitability in an expanding powersports market. Shareholders with East Stone Acquisition (NASDAQ:ESSC) meet to vote on extending the SPAC deal to take JHD Holdings public. Check out some of the other events scheduled for next week that could lead to share price movements in Seeking Alpha’s Catalyst Watch.
M&A tidbits: The walk date on the Peoples United Financial (NASDAQ:PBCT)-M&T Bank (NYSE:MTB) deal is February 21. The go-shop period on the Take-Two Interactive (NASDAQ:TTWO) acquisition of Zynga (NASDAQ:ZNGA) is February 24. The R.R. Donnelley (NYSE:RRD) sale to Chatham Asset Management could close as soon as February 25 with all regulatory approvals lined up. Shareholders with Momentive Global (NASDAQ:MNTV) and Zendesk (NYSE:ZEN) will vote on February 25 on the proposed merger between the two companies. The deal is seeing a lot of pushback from activist investors and some recommendations from proxy firms to vote against it.
Barron’s mentions: Ethan Allen (NYSE:ETD) is profiled this week as a value play. The publication says if the stock’s valuation grew to its pre-pandemic low double-digits PE, Ethan Allen could return over 25% to new investors. The dividend yield of 4.6% is noted to be more than triple that of the average small-cap. DuPont (NYSE:DD) is also highlighted as a stock worth considering. DuPont is noted to be trading a slower-growth business for faster growth with the acquisition of Rogers. The goal with the Rogers deal and other pickups is to create a premier multi-industry company with faster growth that is less dependent on economic cycles than it is now.
Sources: EDGAR, Bloomberg, CNBC, Reuters, Renaissance Capital
Editor’s Note: This article covers one or more microcap stocks. Please be aware of the risks associated with these stocks.
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