Business news for Thu, 29 Nov 2007 & with words analysts+earnings+quarter. 3 news.

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Cato Corp. on Thursday said third-quarter earnings fell 51% to $2.9 million, or 9 cents a share, from $5.9 million, or 18 cents a share in the year-ago period. Revenue at the Charlotte, N.C. retailer dipped 3% to $182 million. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial forecast earnings of 8 cents a share, on average. Citing a difficult environment, the company said it expects a fourth-quarter loss of 8 cents a share to breakeven, compared to the Wall Street target of 21 cents a share.

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Conn's Inc. on Thursday said third-quarter net income fell 44% to $4 million, or 17 cents a share, from $7.2 million, or 30 cents a share in the year-ago period. Revenue rose to $189 million from $174 million. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial forecast earnings of 33 cents a share and revenue of $193 million, on average. Conn's cut its 2008 profit target to $1.64 to $1.74 a share in light of a fair value adjustment of 11 cents a share. The Beaumont, Texas appliance retailer said its credit portfolio experienced rising delinquencies during the third quarter, though at a slightly slower pace than in the prior year quarter.

LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Fred's Inc. said that third-quarter net income dipped to $4.6 million, or 12 cents a share, from $6.0 million, or 15 cents a share, a year ago. Analysts had been expecting earnings to total 14 cents a share, according to data compiled by Thomson Financial. Sales at the general merchandise store chain rose 3% to $419.9 million, after comparable store sales rose 1.2%. The company said that $1.5 million of costs orginally intended for the fourth quarter were brought forward into the third quarter. "This timing shift will benefit previously forecast fourth quarter earnings by 2 cents a share and, consequently, will not affect our full-year plan. "Early indications from our holiday sales, while strong in the new expansion departments, thus far show that consumers remain conservative in spending," the firm said.