Tag - STEI

Stewart Enterprises Inc. (Nasdaq:STEI) lost a quarter of its value this morning, sinking to a new 52-week low, after Service Corp. International (NYSE:SCI) announced just after the market closed Tuesday that it has withdrawn its proposal to buy the company for $11 a share.

Jefferson, La.-based Stewart, a funeral home operator, issued a statement this morning saying it was “surprised and disappointed by the unexpected withdrawal.”

In a letter to Stewart CEO Thomas Crawford, Houston’s SCI called Stewart's three pre-conditions to negotiation of a transaction with SCI “unacceptable.”

In response, Crawford said the only thing that seemed to have changed since initial discussions is the state of the financing markets.

By late morning, Stewart is at $5.18, down $1.91 from Tuesday’s close, after falling to $4.93 earlier in the day. Previously, the stock had ranged between $5.37 and $10. More than 1.6 million shares had changed hands compared with an average three-month volume of 1.05 million.

For detailed price information and news stories on Stewart Enterprises, click STEI.

Small-cap stocks opened lower, but clawed back to a mild gain about 20 minutes after the open as fear about a recession and tight credit conditions battled overnight euphoria tied to global central bank rate cuts. This marked the first globally coordinated rate cut by central bankers since the 2001 recession in the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. At 10:01 a.m. ET, the Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) was up 3.53, or 0.63%, at 562.48.

Volatility in the two-hour time frame ahead of the actual market opening has been unprecedented this week. Today saw S&P e-mini futures trade in an astonishing 92-handle range overnight as the market rallied on the rate cut news, then slumped as traders digested the news and decided it wouldn’t necessarily avert recession or unclog credit lines. Unless you were awake early this morning well before the opening, then you never even got to rejoice in a brilliant overnight rally in stock market derivatives.

The market was in retreat mode overnight in the wake of Tuesday’s slide to fresh four-year lows, but when the announcement came out at 7:00 a.m. ET that central bankers around the world were slashing interest rates in concert, it sparked a big relief bounce in equities. European shares went from a stunning 6% loss to a brief positive print, bolstered by not just the coordinated global rate cuts, but also by news that the Bank of England was injecting 50 billion pounds to help the banking business. The news on rate cuts came a little late to rescue Asian stocks, with Japan down 9.3%, Hong Kong off 8.7%, China down 3.7%, Taiwan down 5.7%, Australia off 5%, Singapore down 6.6%, South Korea down 5.2% and India down 3.1%. Trade on Russian and Indonesian shares was halted when they reached 10% declines.

For the record, the Federal Reserve slashed its target rate on Fed funds to 1.5% from 2%, the lowest level since August 2004. Meanwhile, the European Central Bank, Bank of England, Swiss central bank, Swedish central bank and even the Chinese central bank also sliced rates this morning.

Perhaps one early sign that the rate cuts weren’t going to gain immediate traction in the market was that gold prices pushed higher despite the news. Gold is seen as a safe-haven and if that market continues to grind higher, its unlikely money . . .

UAL Corp. (Nasdaq:UAUA), DryShips Inc. (Nasdaq:DRYS) and Solarfun Power Holdings Co Ltd. (Nasdaq:SOLF) are among the most actively traded companies in Wednesday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: Stewart Enterprises Inc. (Nasdaq:STEI), PeopleSupport Inc. (Nasdaq:PSPT), Dendreon Corp. (Nasdaq:DNDN), Canadian Solar Inc. (Nasdaq:CSIQ), NetGear Inc. (Nasdaq:NTGR) and Hercules Offshore Inc. (Nasdaq:HERO).

Here are the most actively traded companies among small caps:

China Information Security Technology Inc. (Nasdaq:CPBY), Canadian Solar Inc. (Nasdaq:CSIQ) and Kohlberg Capital Corp. (Nasdaq:KCAP) are among the most actively traded companies in Wednesday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: Solarfun Power Holdings Co Ltd. (Nasdaq:SOLF), Stewart Enterprises Inc. (Nasdaq:STEI), Cardica Inc. (Nasdaq:CRDC), James River Coal Co. (Nasdaq:JRCC), Tercica Inc. (Nasdaq:TRCA) and Air Methods Corp. (Nasdaq:AIRM).

Here are the most actively traded companies among small caps:

Small-cap stocks pushed lower on the opening, but edged back into the green about 30 minutes after the open as a slide in tech stocks and a turn for the worse for key financial shares was offset by money moving into small-cap commodity and consumer stocks. At 9:52 a.m. ET, the Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) was down 3.43, or 0.49%, at 694.20.

The tech-laden Nasdaq index bore the brunt of early selling interest, fueled by disappointing earnings results from benchmark companies like Apple Inc. (Nasdaq:AAPL) and Texas Instruments (NYSE:TXN), which were off 9% and 15% shortly after the open. Also, Vodafone Group (NYSE:VOD) slumped 13% as the mighty European-based mobile phone company lowered its outlook.

Within the financial arena, Wachovia Corp. (NYSE:WB) shed 10% early, snapping a run of positive surprises in the banking sector from recent days. WB, the fourth-largest U.S. bank, posted disappointing earnings, slashed dividends and announced sizable job cuts. Also, American Express (NYSE:AXP) was down 10% after missing the Street’s forecast, which triggered some analyst downgrades and a widening of credit default swap spreads (meaning it costs more to protect debt on the firm).

Comments this morning from Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank President Charles Plosser had a decidedly hawkish tone and pulled down interest rate futures while supporting the U.S. dollar, but his remarks seemed to have a muted impact on stocks. Plosser said that “we will need to reverse course” on the policy front, and that the inflation picture is getting worse. Plosser is seen as one of the more hawkish members of the Fed and there seems to be a growing divide between policy members lately.

Goldman Sachs analyst Ed McKelvey addressed that very topic in a research report this morning titled “Mixed Messages from the Fed: Listen to Bernanke First.” Goldman’s McKelvey said that not all Fed officials are created equal and that the Bernanke Fed allows more dissent than typical policy boards. More importantly, the . . .

Stewart Enterprises Inc (Nasdaq:STEI), Arthrocare Corp (Nasdaq:ARTC) and Volterra Semiconductor Corp (Nasdaq:VLTR) are among the most actively traded companies in Tuesday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: Industrial Distribution Group Inc (Nasdaq:IDGR), SemGroup Energy Partners LP (Nasdaq:SGLP), Solarfun Power Holdings Co Ltd (Nasdaq:SOLF), CKX Inc (Nasdaq:CKXE), Ceragon Networks Ltd (Nasdaq:CRNT) and Crocs Inc (Nasdaq:CROX).

Here are the most actively traded companies among small caps:

Qiao Xing Universal Telephone Inc (Nasdaq:XING), Cardiome Pharma Corp (Nasdaq:CRME) and Stewart Enterprises Inc (Nasdaq:STEI) are among the biggest percentage gainers in Monday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: Canadian Solar Inc (Nasdaq:CSIQ), Berkshire Bancorp Inc (Nasdaq:BERK), Brookfield Homes Corp (Nasdaq:BHS), CSG Systems International Inc (Nasdaq:CSGS), Qiao Xing Mobile Communication Co Ltd (Nasdaq:QXM) and China Architectural Engineering Inc (Nasdaq:CAEI).

Here are the biggest percentage gainers among small caps:

Stewart Enterprises Inc. (Nasdaq:STEI) is up more than 18% in pre-market trading today after the company announced early this morning it had rejected a buyout offer from Service Corporation International (NYSE:SCI). Stewart Enterprises said the offer was inadequate, though the terms of the agreement were not disclosed, Thomson Financial reported.

Stewart Enterprises is a Jefferson, La.-based provider of funeral and cemetery products. Service Corp is a Houston-based network of funeral homes and cemeteries and also provides funeral products.

Ahead of the opening, shares of Stewart Enterprises are at $8.25, up $1.26, or 18.03%, from Friday’s close.

Stewart Enterprises, Inc. (Nasdaq:STEI) CEO Thomas Crawford said that the funeral services company’s sales of cemetery burial plots for anticipated funerals, or pre-need property sales, during May were “relatively positive.” Crawford said Stewart’s pre-need funeral sales are holding steady compared with 2007. The company’s pre-need funeral sales have declined 8% during the first six months of 2008 compared with 2007. Crawford made the comments during a midday Tuesday conference call.

“It’s still early but we’re encouraged by what we see,” Crawford said.

CFO Thomas Kitchen said the typical contract length for pre-need funeral sales is 10 to 12 years. Kitchen was responding to an analyst’s question about the time it takes for pre-need sales to impact Stewart’s bottom line. Pre-need property, or cemetery plot, sales generally hit the bottom line sooner than pre-need funeral sales, Kitchen said.

“The Florida [contracts] are usually shorter than that but if you look at Texas, it tends to be even longer than the 10 to 12 years,” Kitchen said. “It could be as high as 15 years. It will vary, depending on the individual markets.”

Crawford said the firm has about $24 million in order backlog for its cemetery segment.

Stewart said early Tuesday that its second-quarter earnings from continuing operations rose slightly to $13.9 million, or $0.15 per share, compared with $13.8 million, or $0.13 per share, a year earlier. The firm’s adjusted earnings for the quarter totaled $14.1 million, or $0.15 per share, from $12.5 million, or $0.12 per share, during the year-earlier quarter. The results topped Wall Street’s expectation of earning $0.13 per share.

“Business remains strong and we continue to make improvements across the company to further realize synergies and strengthen our business,” Kitchen said.

For the three months ended April 30, Stewart’s revenue declined to $136.8 million from $137 million during the same period of 2007. Wall Street analysts, on . . .