Stocks in Motion: CACI

Updated from 11:49 a.m. EDT

Shares of CACI International(CAI) were among the NYSE's winners Thursday after the company posted a better-than-expected-fourth-quarter profit and said that first-quarter earnings and sales would also be better than expected.

The government contractor earned 69 cents a share during the fourth quarter on sales of $358.3 million. Analysts surveyed by Thomson First Call were expecting earnings of 58 cents a share on sales of $342.5 million. A year ago, CACI posted a profit of 45 cents a share on sales of $228.6 million. Fourth-quarter results were helped by strength in the company's systems integration, engineering services and knowledge management offerings.

Looking ahead, the company forecast first-quarter earnings of 61 cents to 64 cents a share on sales of $360 million to $370 million. Analysts are expecting earnings of 55 cents on sales of $355.3 million. For 2005, CACI forecast earnings of $2.52 to $2.62 on sales of $1.5 billion to $1.55 billion. Analysts are expecting earnings of $2.44 a share on sales of $1.53 billion. Shares of CACI International traded up $5.63, or 13.8%, to $46.55.

Prime Hospitality(PDQ) rose after it agreed to be acquired by the Blackstone Group for about $790 million. The private investment firm will pay $12.25 a share to Prime Hospitality shareholders, which represents a 42% premium to Wednesday's closing price. Blackstone will also assume all of the hotel operator's debt. Shares of Prime traded up $3.33, or 38.6%, to $11.96.

Shares of Claire's Stores(CLE) rose after the company posted second-quarter results that were better than expected, issued guidance for its third quarter that could beat expectations and said that full-year results would beat expectations. For the second quarter, the specialty retailer earned 33 cents a share on sales of $305.2 million. Analysts were expecting earnings of 32 cents a share on sales of $301.9 million. Looking ahead, Claire's forecast third-quarter earnings of 27 cents to 29 cents a share on sales of $300 million to $302 million. Analysts are expecting 27 cents a share on sales of $283.5 million. For the full year, Claire's expects earnings of $1.58 to $1.62 on sales of $1.3 billion. Analysts are expecting full-year earnings of $1.51 on sales of $1.26 billion. Shares traded up $1.48, or 6.4%, to $24.63.

Hormel Foods(HRL) fell after it posted weaker third-quarter earnings than expected and warned that fourth-quarter results would be below expectations. Excluding a one-time gain, the food maker earned 32 cents a share on sales of $1.16 billion. Analysts were expecting earnings of 34 cents a share on sales of $1.12 billion. Looking ahead, Hormel forecast fourth-quarter earnings of 40 cents to 46 cents a share, well below analysts' expectations of 53 cents a share. Shares of Hormel traded down $1.65, or 5.9%, to $26.49.

Shares of DeVry(DV) fell after the company reported weaker-than-expected-fourth-quarter earnings on declining summer enrollment. The education company posted a fourth-quarter profit of 22 cents a share on sales of $200 million. Analysts were expecting earnings of 23 cents a share on sales of $197.8 million. Total undergraduate enrollment during the summer term fell by 5.8% vs. a year ago. Shares of DeVry traded down $3, or 14.2%, to $18.10.