Image source: Getty Images.
Stocks pushed into record territory on Monday, with major indexes ending the day near their session highs. Both the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI +0.02%) and the S&P 500 (^GSPC +0.84%) added to their substantial gains for the year as investors kicked off the abbreviated trading week with a bang.
Today's stock market
|
Index |
Percentage Change |
Point Change |
|---|---|---|
|
Dow |
0.47% |
88.76 |
|
S&P 500 |
0.75% |
16.28 |
Data source: Yahoo! Finance.
Oil prices jumped more than 4% on expectations of decreased production. The spike resulted in a similarly sized bump in the United States Oil ETF (USO 1.02%). Consequently, energy stocks led the market higher, with continued optimism around bank profits also helping the Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLF 0.60%) log a solid gain.
As for individual stocks, Tyson Foods (TSN +0.65%) and LifeLock (LOCK +0.00%) posted unusually large moves following important news.
Tyson Foods' spending plans
Meat giant Tyson saw its shares slump by 14% after announcing surprisingly weak third-quarter results and a shakeup in its management team. Sales declined 6% on volume drops across its main food segments. Beef again endured the sharpest slump, with volume down 7% and prices lower by 15%.
Image source: Getty Images.
Executives were pleased that operating margin held steady in that division, though, and they highlighted solid results across Tyson's other units that powered record earnings results.
"The prepared foods segment had a record margin for the year, while simultaneously driving industry-leading category growth at retail," CEO Donnie Smith said in a press release. "The pork segment had a record year as well, while the chicken segment nearly matched last year's record margin."
Tyson issued conservative guidance for the coming year by promising GAAP earnings growth of 7% to 10% as the company ramps up business investments. Executives plan to spend $1 billion on capital expenditures including animal well-being and worker safety -- up from an average $700 million of annual spending over the last three years.
The company believes cost cuts and margin improvements will help keep profits marching higher despite the increased cash outflow. Either way, Tyson will have new management as it takes on this investment challenge. Smith is leaving the company after seven years as its CEO, to be replaced by current president Tom Hayes.
LifeLock's buyout
LifeLock shares spiked 15% to a new high after the identity theft protection specialist agreed to a $2.3 billion buyout, equating to $24 per share, from cybersecurity company Symantec. The deal effectively ends LifeLock's four-year stint as a public company, and investors who were along for the entire ride enjoyed gains of over 200%, trouncing the 53% that the S&P 500 managed.
Image source: Getty Images.
Symantec is snatching up the company at a time when business is looking up. LifeLock just completed its 46th consecutive quarter of growth by adding 254,000 subscribers to its protection services. The company now boasts 4.4 million members who pay an average of $12.25 per month to safeguard their digital identity -- up from $11.91 a year ago. "This acquisition marks the transformation of the consumer security industry from malware protection to the broader category of digital safety for consumers," Symantec CEO Greg Clark said in a press release.
LifeLock executives believe they worked out a good deal for their stakeholders that will pay bigger dividends than attacking the $10 billion cybercrime protection industry on its own. "After a thorough review of a broad range of alternatives," CEO Hilary Schneider said, "our board of directors unanimously concluded that Symantec is the ideal strategic partner for LifeLock and offers our shareholders a significant premium for their investment." The deal is set to close in early 2017 and will be funded through a mix of cash and debt.
