Hewlett-Packard Leads High-Flying Stocks

BOSTON (TheStreet) -- The Federal Reserve's plan to keep interest rates low stoked inflation fears, resulting in mixed results for stocks. Here are three stocks that hit 52-week highs.

3. Black & Decker(BDK) jumped 3.8% to $65.30. The maker of appliances and power tools has advanced 29% during the past three months. Stanley Works(SWK) plans to merge with Black & Decker in early November in an all-stock transaction.

Snapshot: Black & Decker's third-quarter profit fell 35% to $55 million, or 91 cents a share, as revenue dropped 23% to $1.2 billion. Black & Decker's gross margin expanded from 35% to 36%, but its operating margin narrowed from 9% to 8%. The company held $822 million of cash and $1.7 billion of debt at the end of the third-quarter. Its return on equity, a measure of profitability, consistently beats the industry average.

Our take: Our quantitative model rates Black & Decker "hold." Black & Decker has suffered from falling sales and profits during the past year. In light of the merger announcement, the shares have climbed 38% to $65.30 as investors bid them up to reflect deal value.