TSC Ratings' Updates: Herman Miller

The change in net income from the same quarter one year ago has greatly exceeded that of the S&P 500, but is less than that of the commercial services & supplies industry average. The net income has decreased by 0.3% when compared with the same quarter one year ago, dropping from $33.50 million to $33.40 million.

Compared with where it was trading a year ago, MLHR's share price has not changed very much due to the relatively weak year-over-year performance of the overall market, the company's stagnant earnings and other mixed results. Looking ahead, although the push and pull of the overall market trend could certainly make a critical difference, we do not see any strong reason stemming from the company's fundamentals that would cause a continuation of last year's decline. In fact, the stock is now selling for less than others in its industry in relation to its current earnings.

MLHR had been rated a hold since March 25, 2008.

Inergy LP(NRGY Quote) has been downgraded from a buy to hold. Inergy engages in the sale, distribution, storage, marketing, trading, processing and fractionation of propane, natural gas, and other natural gas liquids in the U.S. The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its robust revenue growth, growth in earnings per share and good cash flow from operations. However, as a counter to these strengths, we also find weaknesses including a generally disappointing performance in the stock itself, generally poor debt management and poor profit margins.