Today's Winners and Losers: Valspar

The coatings company posts solid earnings and gives an in-line guidance, but shares fall.

Author:: Mark Martinez
Publish date:: Feb 13, 2006 11:37 AM EST

Shares of

Bedford Property Investors

(BED)

were among the

NYSE's

winners Monday, rising 9% after the real estate investment trust agreed to be acquired by an affiliate of LBA Realty for $27 a share in cash.

The price represents a 10% premium over Friday's closing price of $24.53. Bedford shareholders also will be entitled to receive a final dividend payment of 21 cents a share for the three-month period ending March 31. "Given the current conditions in the real estate market, we believe that it is an appropriate time for the company to undertake a transaction such as this, which will bring a substantial cash payment to our stockholders," Bedford Property said in a statement. The deal is expected to close late in the second quarter. Shares of Bedford were trading up $2.18 to $26.71.

K&F Industries

(KFI)

rose 3% after posting better-than-expected fourth-quarter results and issuing a 2006 guidance that was ahead of expectations. The company, a maker of wheels, brakes and brake control systems, posted fourth-quarter earnings of $16.6 million, or 41 cents a share, on sales of $105.6 million. Analysts polled by Thomson First Call expected earnings of 34 cents a share on sales of $102.1 million. The company reported a loss of $61.9 million on sales of $95.8 million for the year-earlier period.

For 2006, K&F Industries expects earnings of $1.22 to $1.27 a share, above analysts' average forecast of $1.20 a share. The company targets sales of $400 million to $408 million, which would beat analysts' prediction of $396.6 million. Shares were trading up 44 cents to $16.48.

Shares of

Holly

(HOC)

fell 3% after the petroleum refiner reported fourth-quarter earnings that fell below forecasts. The company earned $39.9 million, or $1.31 a share, up from $7.4 million, or 23 cents a share, a year earlier. Analysts expected earnings of $1.38 a share. Sales, meanwhile, rose to $854.4 million from $617.1 million. Shares were trading down $1.92 to $62.

Valspar

(VAL) - Get Report

fell 4% after the company posted solid first-quarter results and issued in-line second earnings guidance. The coatings maker earned $22.5 million, or 22 cents a share, on sales of $629.8 million for the quarter ended Jan. 27. The results included stock-based compensation costs of a penny a share and manufacturing rationalization costs of 1 cent a share. Analysts expected earnings of 17 cents a share and sales of $604.3 million. During the year-earlier quarter, the company earned $11.7 million, or 11 cents a share, on sales of $557.1 million.

Looking ahead, Valspar sees second-quarter earnings of 39 cents to 43 cents a share, including stock-based compensation costs and the cost of manufacturing rationalization. Analysts project earnings of 41 cents a share. For the full year, the company sees earnings of $1.45 to $1.55 a share, which includes stock-based compensation costs and manufacturing rationalization costs. The company predicts sales growth of 9% to 10%. Analysts project full-year earnings of $1.56 a share, which includes stock-based compensation expense, on sales of $2.9 billion, or sales growth of about 7%. Shares were trading down $1.19 to $26.02.

Shares of

Transocean

(RIG) - Get Report

rose 1% after the offshore drilling contractor said it received contracts totaling almost $900 million. The company's semisubmersible rig Transocean Marianas received a three-year contract from

(BP) - Get Report

that could be worth up to $476 million in revenue. The company's Jack Bates rig, meanwhile, received a two-year contract from Woodside Energy that could reach $248 million in revenue during the contract period. Finally, Transocean's Sedco 709 rig received a two-year contract from Shell Nigeria that could be worth as much as $150 million in revenue. Shares of Transocean were trading up $1.10 to $79.98.

NYSE volume leaders included

Lucent Technologies

(LU)

, up 2 cents to $2.78;

Pfizer

(PFE) - Get Report

, down 29 cents to $25.39;

Chesapeake Energy

(CHK) - Get Report

, down 27 cents to $29.35;

Nortel Networks

(NT)