Sears shares plunge after retailer forecasts 4th-quarter loss

Shares of Sears Holdings Corp. fell as much as 21% in late trading after the retailer forecasted a fourth-quarter loss and posted lower sales during the holiday period.

The shares, which closed Thursday at $42.57, down $1.40, or 3.2%, tumbled 13% to $37.10 in after-hours trading after plunging as low as $33.51. Sears shares rose 19% in 2013.

The loss in the quarter that ends Feb. 1 will narrow to $250 million to $360 million, or $2.35 to $3.39 a share, the Hoffman Estates, Ill., company said Thursday. The net loss a year earlier was $489 million, or $4.61 a share.

Sears Chief Executive Edward Lampert has been shedding assets, selling locations and spinning off the company’s smaller-format stores and part of its Canada business as sales decline. Last year, Sears announced plans to separate its Lands’ End clothing unit and its auto-service centers.

Sales at stores open at least a year fell 5.7% in the quarter through Jan. 6 at Kmart and 9.2% at U.S. Sears stores for a companywide decline of 7.4%.