TRW Shares Rise On Strong Earnings

NEW YORK (AP) — Shares of TRW Automotive Holdings Corp. rose Thursday, a day after the auto parts supplier reported a third-quarter profit that beat Wall Street predictions and raised its fiscal year projections.

TRW shares rose $1.04, or 5.7 percent, to $19.29 in midday trading after jumping as high as $19.80 earlier in the session. On Wednesday, the Livonia, Mich.-based company's shares rose 7.5 percent.

TRW, which makes automotive safety systems, earned $56 million, or 50 cents per share, compared with a loss of $54 million, or 53 cents per share, in the year-ago period. Excluding restructuring and other charges, the company earned 68 cents per share.

The auto supplier attributed the improvement to cost cuts that offset the effects of lower sales stemming from the continued weak global demand for new vehicles.

TRW also said it expects to post 2009 sales of $11.4 billion, up from its previous prediction of between $10.5 billion and $10.9 billion.

On Thursday, KeyBanc's Brett D. Hoselton upgraded TRW to "Buy" from "Hold" and set a price target of $29.