Signet Jewelers' Stock Set For Selloff After Profit, Sales Outlooks Cut

Shares of Signet Jewelers are indicated down over 4% in premarket trade Wednesday, after the jewelry retailer cut its fiscal fourth-quarter profit and same-store sales outlook after disappointing holiday-period results. The company now expects adjusted earnings per share for the quarter through January of $4.00 to $4.05, compared with a previous outlook of $4.00 to $4.20. Same-store sales are now expected to decline 4.8% to 4.3%, compared with the previous forecast for a decline of 4.0% to 2.0%. Same-store sales for the nine-weeks ended Dec. 31 fell 4.6%, compared with a 5.1% rise in the same period a year ago. "Signet's disappointing holiday results were driven principally by underperformance in its Sterling division e-commerce business," said Chief Executive Mark Light. "Sterling's challenges in its e-commerce platform were due to recent enhancements that did not perform as expected when exposed to high holiday volume." The stock has tumbled 31% over the past 12 months through Tuesday, while the SPDR S&P Retail ETF has gained 7.8% and the S&P 500 has climbed 18%.