Is Inflation or Earnings Affecting These 3 Companies?

April 07, 2011

Back in 2005, Ben Bernanke assured us that housing was not in a bubble. Earlier this week, Ben Bernanke once again attempts to give us assurance on the economy, saying that commodity (NYSE:RJI) inflation is merely “transitory.” Transitory or not, these 3 companies are seeing the effects of inflation and the housing collapse.

These 3 companies reported earnings you should know:

1) Bed Bath & Beyond (NASDAQ:BBBY): Shares are bouncing up 10.25% in late trading after the company released Q4 earnings. EPS of $1.12 beat estimates by 15 cents. Apparently homeowners are opting out of paying the mortgage, and instead buying home furnishings. Sales for the company rose almost 12% to $2.5 billion. Looking forward, the company expects 2011 earnings around $3.38 to $3.53 per share, higher than previous estimates of $3.30 per share.

2) Monsanto (NYSE:MON): Founded in 2000, the St. Louis company provides agricultural products for farmers across the globe. Before the opening bell, Monsanto released Q2 earnings. Net income for Q2 increased to $1.03 billion ($1.88 per share), compared to $887 million ($1.60 per share) last year. Monsanto is the world’s largest seed company, and although ag names have been on a tear with rising commodity prices, the company said it will not be “overly aggressively” in raising prices. Shares closed 5.67% lower on the news Wednesday. Other ag plays such as Potash (NYSE:POT) and Syngenta (NYSE:SYT) also closed lower.

3) Ruby Tuesday (NYSE:RT): Shareholders are getting burned, as shares fall nearly 10% in late trading. For Q3, the company reported net earnings of $16 million (25 cents per share), compared to $17.8 million (28 cents per share) in the same period last year. Analysts were expecting about 31 cents per share. The company owns and operates a chain of specialty restaurants in the US and overseas. Competitors Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) and Panera Bread (NASDAQ:PNRA) also closed down.

In addition to looking at individual stocks, Here’s 6 Small Caps With Tremendous Value.

Disclosure: No positions