Today's Winners and Losers: Valspar
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
TheStreet Recommends
(VAL) - Get Valaris Ltd. 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 Transocean Ltd. 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
(BP) - Get BP Plc 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 Pfizer Inc. Report
, down 29 cents to $25.39;
Chesapeake Energy
(CHK) - Get Chesapeake Energy Corporation Report
, down 27 cents to $29.35;
Nortel Networks
(NT)
, up 4 cents to $3;
General Electric
(GE) - Get General Electric Company Report
, up 14 cents to $33.42;
Time Warner
(TWX)
, down 18 cents to $18.14;
Motorola
(MOT)
, down 10 cents to $21.50;
Valero Energy
(VLO) - Get Valero Energy Corporation Report
, up 95 cents to $51.54; and
Exxon Mobil
(XOM) - Get Exxon Mobil Corporation Report
, up 79 cents to $60.22.
Nasdaq
volume leaders included
Intel
(INTC) - Get Intel Corporation Report
, down 11 cents to $21.18;
Cisco Systems
(CSCO) - Get Cisco Systems, Inc. Report
, up 2 cents to $19.78;
Apple Computer
(AAPL) - Get Apple Inc. Report
, down $1.51 to $65.80;
Oracle
(ORCL) - Get Oracle Corporation Report
, down 15 cents to $12.54;
Sun Microsystems
(SUNW) - Get Sunworks, Inc. Report
, down 2 cents to $4.36;
Microsoft
(MSFT) - Get Microsoft Corporation Report
, down 12 cents to $26.57; and
Sirius Satellite Radio
(SIRI) - Get Sirius XM Holdings, Inc. Report
, up 2 cents to $5.76.
