First half of 2009 tough on shares of Arkansas-based companies; Baldor sees big boost

The share price of Fort Smith-based Baldor Electric Co. is up more than 28% in the first six months of 2009, but is still well below its 52-week high of $39.90.

Shares of Baldor (NYSE: BEZ) closed Jan. 2 at $18.48, and closed June 30 at $23.79. Of the three publicly held companies based in the Fort Smith area, Baldor was the only one to see a share price gain in the first six months of 2009.

Van Buren-based USA Truck Inc. saw its share price (NASDAQ: USAK) close on Jan. 2 at $13.86. The shares closed June 30 at $13.53, just 2.3% down for the first six months.

The share price of Fort Smith-based Arkansas Best Corp. (NASDAQ: ABFS) closed Jan. 2 at $30.62, up more than 13% over the June 30 closing price of $26.53.

Weighed down by the global economic recession, all three of the area companies have reported less-than-stellar quarterly financials

Baldor, a maker, designer and marketer of electric motors, motor drives, power transmissions and generators, reported April 29 first-quarter net sales of $402.47 million, down 14% from the first quarter of 2008. Net income — excluding a one-time accounting gain from debt-modification proceeds — in the quarter was $14.8 million, or 42% lower than the same quarter in 2008.

USA Truck announced April 16 a first-quarter net income loss of $1.88 million. The loss, however, was an improvement over the $1.94 million lost in the first quarter of 2008. Total revenue in the first quarter was $93.49 million, down 26.5% from the $127.23 million in the same period of 2008.

Arkansas Best announced April 22 it lost $18.2 million in the first quarter, a wide swing from the $8.5 million earned in the same quarter of 2008. Total revenue for the quarter was $339.7 million, down 24% from the 2008 quarter.

The share prices of other prominent Arkansas companies posted a few surprises in the first half of the year.

Little Rock-based Dillard’s, which operates a national retail network, has reported dismal quarterly income. However, the share price (NYSE: DDS) jumped from $4.27 on Jan. 2 to $9.20 on June 30 — a 115.4% increase. Despite the gain, it’s been a tough fall for a stock that traded near $40 in the past 24 months.

Another surprising gainer is Springdale-based Tyson Foods Inc. which is operating in a global meat industry struggling with over capacity, high input (feedstocks, fuel) prices, unpredictable access to foreign markets and a consumer pullback on higher-priced food products. Nevertheless, the share price of Tyson Foods (NYSE: TSN) closed June 30 at  $12.61, up more than 34% over the Jan. 2 closing price of $9.35.

With its low-cost price appeal to the cash-strapped consumer, Bentonville-based Wal-Mart Stores Inc. has been able to capture market share during the national recession. But those gains have not translated into the company’s share price. The Wal-Mart share price (NYSE: WMT) closed June 30 at $48.44, down more than 15% from its Jan. 2 close of $57.18

Lowell-based J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. has bucked the trend and is one of the few trucking companies in the nation with a share price gain in recent months. Shares of J.B. Hunt (NASDAQ: JBHT) closed June 30 at $30.55, up more than 14% over the Jan. 2 close of $26.72.

El Dorado-based Murphy Oil, the other large publicly held company in Arkansas with a global footprint, also enjoyed a 14.4% stock gain for the first six months of 2009. Murphy shares (NYSE: MUR) closed June 30 at $54.32, and closed Jan. 2 at $47.45. However, the share price was trading around $100 in mid-2008 when oil was priced at around $140 a barrel.