Shares of home furnishings retailer Bed Bath & Beyond (BBBY) are advancing after the company's fourth quarter results surpassed analysts' consensus estimates.

WHAT'S NEW: After the market close on Wednesday, Bed Bath & Beyond reported Q4 adjusted earnings per share of $1.85 excluding items and revenue of $3.4B, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.81 and $3.39B, respectively. Same-store sales for the quarter increased approximately 1.7% compared with an increase of approximately 3.7% in the prior year period. Bed Bath & Beyond also said that comparable sales from customer-facing digital channels grew in excess of 25% while comparable sales from stores were relatively flat during the fourth quarter of fiscal 2015.

GUIDANCE: On the company's quarterly earnings conference call, Bed Bath & Beyond forecast fiscal 2016 EPS at the high end of the $4.50 "to just over" $5.00 range, which falls below current analyst estimates of $5.11. Management noted that in the event that the company's comps are higher than the 1% -2% range it is modeling, EPS may exceed that range. Bed Bath & Beyond also sees FY16 SSS growth of 1%-2%.

WHAT'S NOTABLE: Bed Bath & Beyond also announced yesterday that its board has authorized a quarterly dividend program, and declared an initial quarterly dividend of 12.5c per share, to be paid on July 19 to shareholders of record as of June 17. Additionally, the company said that it completed its $2B share repurchase program and began repurchasing shares under its new $2.5B authorization during Q4.

ANALYST REACTION: This morning, BB&T said that Bed Bath & Beyond "had to buy sales growth" in Q4, as its revenue beat expectations but its operating margin declined and came in below expectations. Moreover, BB&T said that the company's EPS only increased because of its "aggressive share repurchases." BB&T added that "better than expected results" are "not the same as good." The firm kept an Underweight rating on the shares.

PRICE ACTION: In late morning trading, Bed Bath & Beyond rose $1.47, or about 3%, to $50.29 on more than twice its average daily trading volume. Despite today's advance, the shares have lost approximately 34% over the past 12 months.

OTHERS TO WATCH: Other hardline retailers include Williams-Sonoma (WSM), Restoration Hardware (RH) and Pier 1 Imports (PIR).