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 * Fed's FOMC uncommitted in minutes of latest meeting
(Updates to U.S. market close)
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 U.S. stocks trade sideways, with investors keeping an eye on U.S.-China trade talks in Washington while awaiting the release of minutes from the Federal Reserve's January policy meeting for further insights into the central bank's surprise flip to wait-and-see mode on rates.
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Equifax Inc. fourth-quarter earnings dropped 85% from the year before as the company continues to spend to bolster its security and technology after a devastating hack, and the company's forecast for 2019 came in below expectations in an earnings report delivered Wednesday afternoon. Equifax reported net income of $25.6 million, or 21 cents a share, down from $1.42 a share a year ago, on revenue of $835.3 million, down from $839 million a year ago. After stripping out all costs for "the 2017 cybersecurity incident," as Equifax refers to it, as well as a host of other factors, the company claimed earnings of $1.38 a share, down just a penny a share from last year's fourth quarter. Analysts on average expected adjusted earnings of $1.32 a share on revenue of $840 million. Equifax projected 2019 adjusted earnings of $5.60 a share to $5.80 a share, after totaling $5.79 by that metric in 2018, on revenue of $3.43 billion to $3.53 billion, which would be a gain from $3.36 billion in 2018. Analysts on average were projecting 2019 adjusted earnings of $5.86 a share on revenue of $3.53 billion, according to FactSet. "Our incremental investment of over $1.25 billion to transform our technology and security between 2018 and 2020 will position Equifax for future growth and profitability and improve our speed of delivering new products to our customers," Chief Executive Mark Begor said in Wednesday's announcement. Equifax shares fell about 2% in very light trading during the extended session following the report Wednesday afternoon. The stock has declined 6.4% in the past year, as the S&P 500 index has gained 2.3%
Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.
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 Shares of Owens & Minor Inc. tumbled 14% in active afternoon trade Wednesday, after the provider of distribution services to makers of healthcare products reported fourth-quarter earnings that missed expectations, provided a downbeat outlook and slashed its dividend to next to nothing. The company said late Tuesday it swung to a net loss of $261.8 million, or $4.37 a share, from a profit of $23.0 million, or 38 cents a share, in the same period a year ago. Excluding non-recurring items, such as $274 million impairment charge, adjusted earnings per share of 9 cents was below the FactSet consensus of 14 cents. Revenue rose 6.4% to $2.54 billion, above the FactSet consensus of $2.50 billion. The company said it amended its credit agreements, that while enhances it financial "flexibility," also increases its interest expense. With that in mind, the company expects 2019 adjusted EPS of 60 cents to 75 cents, below the current FactSet consensus of 93 cents. The company also cut its quarterly dividend to 0.25 cents a share from 7.5 cents a share, which lowers the implied annual dividend yield to 0.15% from 4.39%. Separately, Owens & Minor named Edward Pasicka its chief executive officer, effective March 4. The stock has plunged 56% over the past 12 months, while the S&P 500 has gained 2.5%.
Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.
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Hormel Foods Corp. said late Tuesday that it was selling its CytoSport business, which makes Muscle Milk, to PepsiCo Inc. . Hormel did not disclose terms of the deal but said it would provide more details on its earnings call Thursday at 8 a.m. Central time. Hormel stock declined less than 1% in after-hours trading, as Pepsi stock was flat. The S&P 500 index closed up 0.2% during the regular session.
Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.
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Stanley Black & Decker Inc. said Tuesday it will book a charge of $50 million on its previously announced 2018 GAAP per-share earnings, due to the bankruptcy of IPS Worldwide LLC. The third-party provider of freight payment processing services listed Stanley Black & Decker as an unsecured creditor with outstanding obligations of about $50 million owned to certain freight carriers in a Jan. 25 Chapter 11 filing. The charge does not include any sums the company is hoping to recover from insurance or through the bankruptcy proceedings and will be included in the company's 10-K filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission later this month. Shares were slightly higher premarket, but have fallen 14% in the last 12 months, while the S&P 500 has gained 1.6%.
Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.
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