In Tuesday premarket trading, Chesapeake Energy (CHK, Financial) lost 5% after the company announced it will reduce its workforce by 13%, or 400 people, primarily at its Oklahoma City headquarters.Ă‚
CEO Doug Lawler assured employees they would be treated "fairly, respectfully, and with considerable effort to assist them with their personal and career transition."
This is not the first time the company has laid workers off; in 2015, Chesapeake cut 740 employees.
Nucor Corp.Ă‚ (NUE, Financial) shares also fell in premarket trading after the company reported fourth-quarter earnings of 65 cents per share on revenue of $5.09 billion. The company beat earnings expectations by 10 cents and revenue estimates by $260 million. Revenue increased 28.5% year over year and the company's liquidity position is strong with $999.1 million in cash.
Looking ahead, the company expects first-quarter 2018 earnings to increase from the most recent quarter due to consequences of tax reform. Further, it remains optimistic about steel end use markets enjoying positive pricing momentum.
On the other hand, shares of HCA Healthcare Inc. (HCA, Financial) gained 5% on Tuesday after the company reported fourth-quarter earnings per share of $2.13 on revenue of $11.56 billion, beating revenue expectations by $350 million and earnings estimates by 26 cents.
Revenue growth was driven by a 2.3% increase in same facility equivalent admissions and a 3.5% increase in same facility revenue per equivalent admission compared to the fourth quarter of 2016. Same facility admissions grew 1.4% in the fourth quarter.
Further, adjusted EBITDA increased 7.1% to $2.362 billion.
The company's financial position is solid. The board of directors established a quarterly cash dividend of 35 cents per share, which is payable on March 30.
“The initiation of a quarterly dividend demonstrates our confidence in the financial strength of our Company and the cash flow it generates,"Â Chairman and CEOÂ R. Milton Johnson said. “We believe our cash flow from operations will allow us to continue to invest in our existing markets, and pursue acquisition opportunities, while also returning capital to stockholders. The announcement today reinforces our commitment to delivering value to stockholders while investing for future growth.”
Disclosure: The author holds no positions in any stocks mentioned.
