Tag: Humana

Latest Headlines

Humana drops products; Kroger nixes alcohol plan, and mixed reviews for new Pizza Hut crust

A news summary, with a special focus on big Louisville employers; updated 1:10 p.m.

HUMANA is dropping individual insurance products in at least four states (Business First).

KROGER is dropping a controversial plan to change the way alcohol companies get their products onto its store shelves (Business Courier).

PIZZA HUT: Reviewers taste-tested the new bacon- and cheese-stuffed crust. The verdict: mixed, with the biggest complaint being it was “too greasy and heavy” (BusinessInsider).

TACO BELL and Snapchat teamed up for a special Cinco de Mayo promotion yesterday (AdWeek).

In other news, U.S. stocks slipped on a weaker-than-expected monthly jobs report (Reuters and Google Finance). Among big local employers, Kindred fell the most, recently trading for $13.11, down 2.5%.

Money in Politics

Metro Council candidate Reily’s roster of donors is a who’s who of local business luminaries
Stephen Reily
Reily

They’ve helped Stephen Reily power his way toward raising more money than any council candidate in a primary election since city and county governments merged. The philanthropist has amassed a $134,450 war chest for his District 8 race, well ahead of his six Democratic opponents, The Courier-Journal reports today.

An executive of the West Louisville FoodPort, Reily has ponied up $40,000 of his own, in addition to the $94,450 raised from other donors, who are limited to $1,000 in per-person gifts. The newspaper says they include:

Reily’s personal fortune comes from his family’s Louisiana-based food and beverage company, according to the CJ.

Latest Headlines

Kindred’s Q1 results beat forecasts; Papa shares surge 8% at the close, and a Yum operator just got way bigger

Latest news, with a special focus on big Louisville employers; updated at 4:48 p.m.

KINDRED just reported first-quarter earnings per share of 25 cents, down 27% from a year ago, but better than analysts’ expectations. Revenue rose nearly 10% to $1.84 billion, in line with forecasts (press release). In late trading, shares surged 3.4% to $14.98.

PAPA JOHN’S stock soared 8% to $60.16 a share at the close today, after the company reported first-quarter results late yesterday that beat forecasts on earnings, but missed on revenue (Reuters). The company is charging into a record number of foreign markets this year: “Our international business is on fire,” CEO John Schnatter told analysts during a conference call today (Insider Louisville).

HUMANA said first-quarter profit dove 28% to $1.86 per share, but that was higher than management’s earlier forecast of $1.80, excluding items (press release and The Wall Street Journal). Shares closed moments ago at $175.70, down less than 1%.

Diablo sauceYUM: One of Yum Brands’ biggest operators has added 91 more KFC and Taco Bell outlets in five states: Michigan, New York, New Jersey, Maryland and Florida. The deal gives KBP Foods of Overland Park, Kan., 361 locations in 14 states (Nation’s Restaurant News); overall, Yum has nearly 43,000 restaurants worldwide. Taco Bell is permanently bringing back Diablo Sauce, according to USA Today (which now apparently has some sort of sponsored content agreement with the Yum unit). Pizza Hut has bacon-stuffed crust pies again (Daily Meal). KFC has opened a high-tech concept store in Shanghai (Manila Bulletin). Also, a Florida woman told police she found something seriously gross in a chicken sandwich (Smoking Gun).

TEXAS ROADHOUSE continues to tinker with its Bubba’s 33 pizza-and-burger concept stores (Insider Louisville and Business First). Also, the chain will open its latest Texas Roadhouse restaurant, in Virginia’s Roanoke County, June 20; the chain is now looking to hire 160 people for the location (WDBJ). The company already has more than 460 restaurants in 49 states, plus five locations in the Middle East.

KROGER: The operator of a huge Kroger distribution center in Colorado is moving to replace employees who’ve been on strike nearly a week (Gazette).

And in other news, Norton Hospital in downtown Louisville is the fourth-most profitable hospital in the country, according to a new academic study — a study the hospital disputes (WDRB). Louisville tobacco company Turning Point Brands is exploring an IPO (Business First).

Latest Headlines

Amazon blows past forecasts; Churchill, not so much; as Ford, UPS disclose cascade of first-quarter earnings

Latest news, with a special focus on big Louisville employers; updated 4:50 p.m.

AMAZON just reported a huge first quarter, and its stock was recently soaring 12% in after-hours trading, to $675 a share (MarketWatch).

CHURCHILL DOWNS just released first-quarter results showing what appears to be a big miss on earnings per share: 16 cents vs. a Wall Street consensus forecast of 48 cents. But the $288 million in revenue was ahead of the consensus $275 million (forecasts). Here’s the press release. The company’s stock was unchanged in late trading.

FORD this morning delivered record first-quarter results amid strong truck sales, with net income more than doubling and operating margins in the core North American unit rivaling those of high-end luxury brands (MarketWatch); shares surged 1.6% to $13.88 in pre-market trading. Separately, Ford supplier Louisville Seating is planning a $13 million expansion in Shepherdsville that could add 170 jobs (Courier-Journal).

UPS beat first-quarter profit forecasts, but whiffed on revenue. (MarketWatch); premarket, shares rose less than 1%, to $106.90. HUMANA: Aetna reported a nearly 4% decline in first-quarter operating earnings as the health insurer lost members in its commercial business; Aetna has agreed to buy Humana for $37 billion, subject to a tough regulatory review (Reuters); Aetna shares were flat at $111.52, premarket.

Gibbs_rt
Gibbs

YUM‘s newly appointed CFO will get additional stock rights worth $500,000, which and will vest in four equal annual installments starting May 20, 2017 (SEC filing). David Gibbs was promoted to the job from CEO of Pizza Hut yesterday. Yum shares closed yesterday at $81.53, essentially flat.

GE: Qingdao-Haier Co. is making written offers to GE employees as the China-based company nears completion of its $5.4 billion purchase of the appliance maker (Business First).

In other news, AT&T is laying ultra-fast Internet fiber lines throughout Norton Commons, the 600-acre Northeast Louisville residential development. Work is expected to be finished by the end of the year, and comes as Google Fiber advances plans to offer the service city-wide (WFPL). And U.S. stock markets were headed for an ugly day; Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were plunging 140 points after the Bank of Japan’s surprise decision to keep monetary policy steady (CNBC).

Latest Headlines

Ford survives crash tests, and a hotelier may now be a neighbor

Major Louisville employer news; updated throughout the day.

PAPA JOHN’S denies an Illinois man’s claims in a lawsuit that the pizza giant is unlawfully collecting sales taxes. More Papa news.

HUMANA accidentally told 12,000 Texas customers it wouldn’t cover their medicines, including allergy treatments, because they weren’t FDA-approved (Business First).

BROWN-FORMAN is rolling out its first new bourbon in 20 years, a premium whiskey called Coopers’ Craft (WDRB). Watch video.

FORD‘s 2016 F-150 is the only full-size pickup truck to score the top rating in new front crash tests (WDRB). Ford’s stock.

In other news, coal giant Peabody Energy enters bankruptcy;  pre-market shares plunge more than 70%. The Louisville Metro Planning Commission late last night OK’d Airbnb and other short-term residential rentals. (CJ).