Bed Bath & Beyond Surges On Earnings, First-ever Quarterly Dividend

Shares of Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. rallied in Wednesday's extended session after the retailer released quarterly earnings and announced its first quarterly dividend. Bed Bath and Beyond reported its fourth-quarter earnings fell to $303.5 million from $321.1 million a year earlier. However, on a per-share basis, earnings rose to $1.91 versus $1.80, bolstered by a favorable state audit settlement. Revenue rose 2.4% to $3.42 billion. Analysts surveyed by FactSet had forecast earnings of $1.80 a share on revenue of $3.39 billion. Same-store sales increased 1.7% in the quarter. The retailer also initiated a quarterly dividend of 12.5 cents a share to be paid to shareholders of record on June 17. Bed Bath & Beyond shares gained 4.4% in after-hours trading.