Tag - SPF

Standard Pacific Corp. (NYSE:SPF) said this morning that MatlinPatterson Global Advisers invested more than $530 million in equity in the single-family home builder, lifting shares some 24% in pre-market trading.

Crimped by illiquid credit markets and a difficult macro environment, the capital infusion will improve the company’s financial flexibility and provide funding for future growth opportunities.

Shares gained 24%, or $0.53, to $2.75 in pre-market trading. For detailed price information and recent news stories about Standard Pacific, click SPF. 

Small-cap shares opened higher Monday, lifted by advances in overseas equity markets, a firm U.S. dollar and a dip in crude oil prices. At 9:55 a.m. ET, the Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) was up 0.86, or 0.12%, at 720.91.

The U.S. dollar was up nearly 1% against the yen into the market open, and pushed about 0.2% higher versus the euro. The firm dollar tone was linked to a $2-per-barrel pullback in crude oil futures, which came off Friday’s record highs amid profit-taking.

Financial shares could find a boost this morning from a jump in the largest European bank HSBC, which climbed about 2% overnight on profit news. Early on this morning, Citigroup (NYSE:C) was up 0.6% and Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) was up about 0.8%. Other large-caps of note included Wal-Mart (NYSE:WMT), which was up 1.2% shortly after the opening on optimism ahead of earnings. Research in Motion (Nasdaq:RIMM) jumped 2.4% on news that the company was unveiling a new BlackBerry Bold Smartphone.

A massive earthquake in China overnight caught trader attention, but a lack of details seemed to leave the market without a feeling for whether or not it would have an impact on equities in the United States.

Looking ahead to this week’s action, the economic calendar picks up steam after a relatively tame risk quotient last week. Not only will the market have to navigate through a batch of important data on retail sales, inflation and housing starts, but there is a glut of Federal Reserve speakers on the docket.

Speaking of Fed speakers, Chicago Fed President Charles Evans was the first one up to the plate this morning, saying that housing was still a drag on the economy, and that growth risks were to the downside, but inflation risk was on the upside. He said that U.S. growth should improve in the second half of the year, but . . .

The Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) closed lower as fears of a slowing economy and its ripple effects spooked investors. The small-cap index fell 0.76 points, or 0.11%, to 711.92. The Dow Jones Industrial Average let go 35.99 points, or 0.29%, to 12,576.44.

On a year-to-date basis, the Russell 2000 has shed 7.06%, while the Dow has declined 5.19% and the S&P 500 is down 7.00%.

“Some believed that a prolonged and severe economic downturn could not be ruled out given the further restriction of credit availability and ongoing weakness in the housing market,” thought members of the U.S. Federal Reserve, according to minutes from its March 18 meeting released after the opening.

The Fed then decided to lower its target interest rate 0.75% to 2.25%. The minutes tell us that the majority of officials considered a deep . . .

The Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) posted a modest gain despite news of bearish comments from U.S. Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke. The small-cap index rose 1.62 points, or 0.23%, to 712.27. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 45.44 points, or 0.36%, to 12,608.92.

On a year-to-date basis, the Russell 2000 is down 7.02%, while the Dow has shed 4.94% and the S&P 500 has retreated 6.87%.

“It now appears likely that real gross domestic product will not grow much, if at all, over the first half of 2008 and could even contract slightly,” Bernanke told the congressional Joint Economic Committee after the start of trading.

The comment was made public before the start of the testimony, resulting in a bearish opening.

The assessment contradicts a report by payroll company Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NYSE:ADP) before the start of trading showing . . .

The Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) closed in positive territory today as investors disregarded bearish economic news. The small-cap index rose 3.99 points, or 0.57%, to 705.27. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDU) fell 16.04 points, or 0.13%, to 12,532.60.

On a year-to-date basis, the Russell 2000 has declined 7.93%, while the Dow is down 5.52% and the S&P 500 has shed 7.86%.

Despite a rocky start, small-cap stocks rose for the third consecutive session as the momentum from Monday’s rally empowered the bulls despite generally bearish economic news.

The Conference Board reported before the opening that its index of consumer confidence fell to a five-year low of 64.5 in March from an upwardly . . .

Shares of Standard Pacific Corp. (NYSE:SPF) are rising on news before the start of trading that the homebuilder has obtained a default waiver extension from its bank. The expiration date has been pushed back to May 14 from March 30. As part of the agreement, the Irvine, Calif.-based company has also reduced its revolving credit facility commitment to $700 million from $900 million. Standard Pacific is continuing to negotiate with lenders.

At 11:51 a.m. ET, the stock had added $0.33, or 7%, to $5.01.

The Russell 2000 (NYSE: IWM) sagged slightly on mixed economic news. The small-cap index fell 0.88 points, or 0.12%, to 716.44. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDU) gained 9.36 points, or 0.07%, to 12,694.28.

On a year-to-date basis, the Russell 2000 has declined 6.47%, while the Dow is down 4.30% and the S&P 500 has let go 6.02%.

Small-cap stocks went both up and down today but closed little changed as investors digested a handful of economic data.

The index opened down on news that durable goods fell 5.3% in January, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Economists were expecting to see a 4% decline following a downwardly revised increase of 4.4% in December.

A separate report showed that new home sales for January also fell more than expected, underscoring the problems in the housing sector.

At around 10:30 a.m. ET, the Russell 2000 moved into the green as U.S. Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke hinted to members of the House Financial Services Committee that the Fed might lower its target federal funds rate when it next meets on March 18.

More good news came when government regulators from the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight announced they will remove the investment caps of mortgage lenders Fannie Mae (NYSE: FNM) and Freddie Mac (NYSE: FRE).

But the bulls lost their footing and the small-cap index fell to its lowest level of the session at around 2:30 p.m. ET, before a rebound moved it back up to its starting position.

Standard Pacific Corp. (NYSE: SPF) CEO Stephen Scarborough said he believes the single-family home builder will finish 2008 with a cash-flow positive balance sheet. However, he warned that the first quarter, which is “traditionally a lower volume period,” will likely have negative cash flow. Scarborough made the comments during a midday conference call.

“We have taken productive steps to strengthen our cash position in 2007,” Scarborough said. “We will continue to maintain our focus on cash generation and cash management in 2008 by generating sales and deliveries, balancing our price volume and margin objectives, managing starts, minimizing land acquisitions, reducing land development spending and unnecessary overhead through staff reductions and division consolidations.”

Late Monday night, Standard Pacific reported better-than-expected results excluding several pretax impairment charges, as the seller of single-family attached and detached homes in the United States waded through the housing downturn. In a press release, Standard Pacific revealed that it expects a tax refund of about $235 million in cash during the first quarter.

For the three months ended Dec. 31, 2007, Irvine, Calif.-based small cap, which also provides mortgage financing and title services to its homebuyers through its subsidiaries and joint ventures booked a net loss of $440.9 million, or $6.80 per share, compared with a net loss of $98.4 million, or $1.53 per share, in the fourth quarter last year. Excluding extensive pretax impairment charges, the company would have recorded profit of $0.07 per share.

The consensus of eight analysts polled by Thomson Financial was a loss of $0.89 per share.

The Russell 2000 (NYSE: IWM) led a mid-session rally that lifted stocks into positive territory, reversing a bearish morning. The small-cap index gained 11.29 points, or 1.41%, to 810.08. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDU) added 44.95 points, or 0.33%, to 13,566.97.

On a year-to-date basis, the Russell 2000 has increased 2.88%, while the Dow has added 8.76%.

Small-cap futures were pointing south and stocks opened in the red on news of an economic slowdown. The finance ministers and central bankers from the G7, the world’s top seven industrialized countries, said over the weekend that U.S. economic growth is in for a slowdown due to tighter credit, the housing slump and the high price of oil.

Just before 10 a.m. ET the Russell 2000 had slipped below a level of 790, but then managed to tentatively approach the flat line before finally settling on an upward trajectory at around 12 p.m. ET. The Dow was more volatile and without a clear direction until just before the close.

Helping the bulls was the technology sector, as investors saw a buying opportunity on expectations of strong third-quarter earnings ahead of the release of Apple Inc.’s (Nasdaq: AAPL) third-quarter numbers after the closing.

Small-cap software firm Synplicity Inc. (Nasdaq: SYNP) defied those projections, reporting a slight decline in its third-quarter profit.

Stocks have moved into positive territory this afternoon, with the Russell 2000 (NYSE: IWM) leading the way up. At 2:11 p.m. ET, the small-cap index had added 8.90 points, or 1.11%, to 807.69. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDU) was up 46.99 points, or 0.35%, to 13,569.01.

Small caps are posting solid gains with two hours left in the session after spending the morning alternating between the green and the red.

Trading began on a bearish note due to fears of a U.S. economic slowdown. Finance ministers and central bankers from the G7, the world’s top seven industrialized countries, said over the weekend that U.S. economic growth will decelerate due to tighter credit, the housing slump and the high price of oil.

Contributing to the negative mood was news that financial services giant Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. (NYSE: LEH) has downgraded the mortgage finance sector as well as individual finance companies. Among small caps, Luminent Mortgage Capital, Inc. (NYSE: LUM) is sagging, while Capstead Mortgage Corp. (Nasdaq: CMO) has moved higher.

Elsewhere, the price of commodities has fallen on expectations that slower economic growth will hurt demand for raw materials. The price of oil has fallen $0.83, to $87.77 a barrel.

Here are the current biggest percentage gainers and losers among companies with a market cap between $100 million and $750 million:

Biggest percentage gainers:

• Radiation Therapy Services Inc. (RTSX), up 43% on news of a buyout.
• Ceragon Networks Ltd. (CRNT), up 16% on news third-quarter profit doubled.
• Standard Pacific Corp. (SPF), up 14%.

Biggest percentage losers:

• Silicom Ltd. (SILC), down 22%.
• L. B. Foster Company (FSTR), down 12%.
• SulphCo Inc. (SUF), down 13%.

As lackluster economic data surrounding housing continues to roll out, the homebuilders industry group continues to take a battering and Standard Pacific Corp. (NYSE: SPF) is no exception.

UBS initiated a “sell” rating late Monday on the constructor and seller of single-family attached and detached homes, citing greater risk perceived in comparison to its peer group.

UBS analyst David Goldberg gave the small-cap three strikes. The analyst said he believes that Standard Pacific will incur higher land-related charges as a percentage of tangible book value in comparison with peers who have older land positions, as the homebuilder has expanded geographically over the past ten years. 

“[Standard Pacific has] significant entry-level and first move-up exposure outside California ... and we expect liquidity constraints for these segments to be more severe in the future,” Goldberg wrote in a research note. Excluding California, the analyst said he estimates that approximately 50% of Standard Pacific’s sales were to entry-level and first move-up buyers.

Adding insult to injury, according to Goldberg, Standard Pacific has greater leverage than its peers, which in Goldberg’s opinion could drive an increase in advertising expenditures as the firm attempts to generate greater sales and free cash flow.

UBS maintains a pessimistic outlook on the macroeconomic environment, as the investment bank cited rising supply levels and reduced demand. Today the National Association of Realtors reported that total existing-home sales fell 4.3% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.50 million units in August. Economists had projected a more modest decline to 5.55 million from a level of 5.75 million in July.

Three strikes coupled with a continued gloomy macroeconomic outlook for the sector could lead investors to think that shares of Standard Pacific may just be out. However, while there are legitimate risks that Goldberg cited, there are a couple of mitigating factors. Goldberg says the company’s decentralized operating structure allows for greater flexibility, as more control is put in the hands of local management and renders such management more adept to responding to changes in the market. Additionally, Goldberg noted that the firm’s experience in improvement projects allows Standard Pacific access “unique opportunities.”

Shares of Standard Pacific (SPF) fell $0.74, or 10.50%, to $6.31 in midday trading Tuesday.

McCormick & Schmick's Seafood Restaurant (Nasdaq: MSSR), Green Plains Renewable Energy Inc. (Nasdaq: GPRE) and Golden Cycle Gold Corp. (Nasdaq: GCGC) are among the biggest percentage losers in Tuesday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $500 million.

Here are today's biggest percentage losers:

Homebuilder Standard Pacific Corp. (NYSE: SPF) said today that it will offer $100 million in aggregate principal amount of convertible senior subordinated notes due in 2012.

In connection with the note offering, the Irvine, Calif.-based company said it also plans to enter into convertible note hedge transactions with affiliates of certain underwriters of the note offering. Standard Pacific said it is initiating the transactions to reduce potential dilutive effects on its stock that could occur once the notes are converted.

Standard Pacific said it intends to use proceeds from the notes to repay a portion of outstanding debt under its revolving credit facility and to pay the cost of convertible note hedge transactions.

Along with the offering of the notes and the convertible note hedge transactions, the company said it intends to enter into a share lending agreement with an affiliate of Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC.

Additionally, Standard Pacific said it will grant the underwriters of its proposed offering an option to purchase up to an additional $15 million aggregate principal amount of notes solely to cover over-allotments. Credit Suisse, Banc of America Securities LLC and J.P. Morgan Securities Inc. will act as joint bookrunning managers for the proposed note offering.

Shares of Standard Pacific fell $0.95, or 11.73%, to $7.15 in mid-day trading Monday.