K+S shortlists billionaire, private equity firms in sale of Morton Salt: sources

BOSTON/FRANKFURT (Reuters) – German minerals miner K+S (SDFGn.DE) has shortlisted hedge fund billionaire James Simons’ family office as well as private equity firms in the sale of its $2 billion Morton Salt unit, people familiar with the matter said.

Meritage, an investment vehicle for the Simons family of the founder of hedge fund Renaissance Technologies, has partnered with U.S. salt producer Kissner for its bid, they said. Kissner is owned by buyout group Stone Canyon Industries, which bought Kissner for $2 billion in April.

Stock Alert: Cerence Hits New 52-week High

Shares of Cerence Inc. (CRNC), a provider of A.I. powered assistants and innovations for connected and autonomous vehicles, are rising almost 12 percent or $4.95 in Tuesday’s morning trade at $46.43 after earlier touching a new 52-week high of $47.54.

Tuesday, Cerence reported third-quarter net loss of $28.2 million or $0.77 per share, compared to net income of $1.8 million or $0.05 per share in the year-ago quarter. Adjusted earnings were $0.31, compared to $0.52 per share in the prior-year period. Revenue declined to $74.8 million from $77.6 million last year.

On average, analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to report earnings of $0.07 per share on revenue of $61.45 million. Analysts’ estimates typically exclude special items.

The company also said it recorded the second-highest bookings quarter in its history. For the fourth quarter, Cerene projects revenues in a range of $76 million to $80 million.

Cerence has traded in a range of $11.39 to $47.54 in the past 52 weeks.

Stock Alert: Ameresco Shares Up 6%

Shares of Ameresco Inc. (AMRC) are rising over 6% Tuesday morning, after the company reaffirmed its fiscal 2020 guidance, while reporting upbeat Q4 results.

The stock has been trading in the range of $13.11 – $32.48 for the past one year, and is currently trading at $30.15, up $1.89 or 6.69% in the regular session.

The company’s fourth-quarter net income was $4.4 million or $0.09 per share compared to $9.2 million or $0.19 per share last year.

Non-GAAP net income was $9.01 million or $0.19 per share versus $8.60 million or $0.18 per share reported a year ago.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected earnings of $0.06 per share for the quarter. Analysts’ estimate typically exclude certain special items.

Revenues increased 13% to $223.0 million, compared to $198.2 million last year, driven primarily by strong revenue growth across our three main businesses: projects, energy assets and O&M.

For fiscal 2020, the company reaffirmed its non-GAAP earnings guidance of $0.86 – $0.96 per share, on revenue of $910 million – $980 million. Six Wall Street analysts have a consensus earnings estimate of $0.90 per share on revenue of $942.62 million for the quarter.

Stock Alert: Cerence Hits New 52-week High

Shares of Cerence Inc. (CRNC), a provider of A.I. powered assistants and innovations for connected and autonomous vehicles, are rising almost 12 percent or $4.95 in Tuesday’s morning trade at $46.43 after earlier touching a new 52-week high of $47.54.

Tuesday, Cerence reported third-quarter net loss of $28.2 million or $0.77 per share, compared to net income of $1.8 million or $0.05 per share in the year-ago quarter. Adjusted earnings were $0.31, compared to $0.52 per share in the prior-year period. Revenue declined to $74.8 million from $77.6 million last year.

On average, analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to report earnings of $0.07 per share on revenue of $61.45 million. Analysts’ estimates typically exclude special items.

The company also said it recorded the second-highest bookings quarter in its history. For the fourth quarter, Cerene projects revenues in a range of $76 million to $80 million.

Cerence has traded in a range of $11.39 to $47.54 in the past 52 weeks.

Legendary NYC Deli Adapts Age-Old Traditions to Survive Pandemic

(Editor’s note: This is the fifth in our “Stories of Summer.” For more, see this link on the Bloomberg terminal, visit @QuickTake on Twitter or see the YouTube playlist.)

New York City icon Katz’s Delicatessen, the 132-year-old home of heaping pastrami sandwiches, is accustomed to serving thousands of customers per day. But social distancing measures have drastically changed how the restaurant does business.

A drop in tourism — New York City hotel occupancy plunged to as low as 15% in late March — combined with an outflow of residents, has led to a major loss in business for Katz’s. The deli now brings in about 100 customers a day, compared with as many as 4,000 prior to the pandemic.

That said, Katz’s has managed to keep all 200 of its employees on the payroll, thanks in part to its delivery business which ships delicacies like pastrami, latkes, soups and mustard across the country (federal records show the restaurant has also received funding through the government’s Paycheck Protection Program). It has also set up outdoor dining for the first time in its history, and created a structured line within the restaurant to avoid crowding around the cash registers. In this video, Katz’s owner Jake Dell discusses the deli’s history and its resilience through crises, big and small.

Stock Alert: Haemonetics Corporation Down 8%

Shares of healthcare company, providing hematology products and solutions, Haemonetics Corporation (HAE) are down more than 8% Tuesday morning at $80.01. It has traded in the range of $63.41- $140.36 in the past one year.

The company said the pandemic has significantly impacted its first-quarter financial results.

The company reported first-quarter adjusted EPS of $0.46 per share, down 43.2% from last year, but beat the average estimate of analysts polled by Thomson Reuters at $0.41 per share.

Revenue for the quarter decreased 18% to $196 million. The consensus estimate was at $198.27 million.