Stock markets mostly positive in 2009 for Arkansas-based companies
by December 31, 2009 7:25 pm 136 views
Fort Smith-based Baldor Electric Co. and Little Rock-based Dillard’s Inc. were the big winners — with stock gains of 52% and 332%, respectively — in 2009 among the more prominent publicly held companies based in Arkansas.
Of the eight publicly held companies monitored by The City Wire, five saw stock gains in 2009. Dillard’s saw its stock price jump from $4.27 as of Jan. 2 to $18.45 to close the year. Baldor, which spent all of 2009 continuing to absorb the $1.8 billion acquisition of Rockwell Automation, saw its share price jump from $18.48 as of Jan. 2 to $28.09 as of Dec. 31.
Stocks losing ground in 2009 included Fort Smith-based Arkansas Best Corp. (closing 2009 at $29.43, down 3.8%) Van Buren-based USA Truck (closing 2009 at $12.52, down 9.6%) and Bentonville-based Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (closing 2009 at $53.45, down 6.5%).
The trucking sector was especially tough in 2009. Arkansas Best lost $38.849 million compared to an income gain of $40.142 in the same period of 2008. Total revenue for the first nine months is $1.101 billion, down 23.5% from the $1.441 billion in the 2008 period.
Revenue at USA Truck totaled $282.051 million for the first nine months of 2009, down 32.7% from the same period in 2008. The truckload company has lost $4.665 million in the first nine months, compared to a $2.541 million gain in the same period of 2008.
Likely because of its diversified business model, Lowell-based J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. was one of the few transportation companies nationwide to see positive stock performance. Shares of J.B. Hunt opened the year at $26.72 and closed the year at $32.27 — a 20.9% gain.
The manufacturing sector also was tough on Fort Smith-based companies. For the first nine months of the year, net income at Baldor was $56.808 million, down 30% from the same period in 2008. Year-to-date total sales in $1.167 billion, down 21% from the same nine-month period in 2008.
Overall, the markets were favorable in 2009 despite the continuing national recession. The Dow Jones Industrial Average opened 2009 with a Jan. 2 close of 9,034 and ended with a Dec. 31 close of 10,428, a 15.4% gain. The broader S&P 500 opened the year with a 931 point close and ended with a 1,115 close, up 19.7%.