Tag - WGNB

Small-cap stocks plunged shortly after Friday’s opening, showed resilience during the first hour of trading but have exhibited a downward trend in afternoon trading. The uncertainty surrounding Fannie Mae (NYSE:FNM) and Freddie Mac (NYSE:FRE) combined with record-high crude oil prices have spurred a sell-off today. At 2:17 p.m. ET, the Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) was down 2.07, or 0.31%, at 668.37.

Investors responded tepidly to Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson’s short statement that the U.S. government is committed to “supporting Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in their current form as they carry out their important mission.”

Fannie Mae has fallen some 24% this afternoon, and similar losses were pinned on Freddie Mac on high volume. Selling fury was fueled overnight by an article in the New York Times suggesting the government was considering a takeover of the embattled mortgage lending giants as the housing slump and credit crisis wallop the firms.

The freefall in federally chartered corporations, or GSEs, spilled over to the rest of the financial sector, with large caps such as Wachovia Corp. (NYSE:WB) down 9%, Merrill Lynch down 5% and Lehman Bros. (NYSE:LEH) off 15% in afternoon trading.

“Retail and credit issues sparked selling Thursday and remain a concern today. Volatility is high right now,” Nick Kalivas, vice president of financial research with MF Global, told SmallCapInvestor.com in an email interview. “I think FNM and FRE are vulnerable to further losses, but the market is thinking that the government will aid the GSEs in some way and keep the financial system whole.”

Small caps were able to outperform large caps during Thursday’s bounce, but Kalivas said the move was powered more by a recovery in oil and natural gas that sparked money pouring back into small-cap energy firms. “I think it is more a beta trade or a sector trade than a sign of the market’s overall health. I’m not reading . . .

Holding company WGNB Corp. (Nasdaq:WGNB) is down nearly 19% today to a 52-week low after it announced a second-quarter loss of $4.3 million, or $0.71 per share, compared with earnings of $2.3 million, or $0.45 per share, for the same quarter a year earlier. The company’s net loss through June 30 is $2.5 million, or $0.41 per share. The Carrollton, Ga.-based company said it was being impacted by the residential real estate construction and development drop.

“Our earnings in 2008 will be significantly impacted by this downturn in construction and development lending, and this downturn is likely not behind us,” said H.B. Lipham, III, CEO of WGNB, in a statement.

In today’s trading, shares of WGNB are at $6.85, down $1.60 from Thursday’s close. Trading volume was at more than 6,500 shares, compared with the average 2,000.

WGNB Corp (Nasdaq:WGNB), Capitol Bancorp Ltd (Nasdaq:CBC) and Sterling Financial Corp (Nasdaq:STSA) are among the new 52-week lows in Friday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

PAM Transportation Services Inc (Nasdaq:PTSI), Lee Enterprises Inc (Nasdaq:LEE) and AAR Corp (Nasdaq:AIR) are also among the new 52-week lows.

Here are the new 52-week lows among small caps:

Gentium SpA (Nasdaq:GENT), WGNB Corp (Nasdaq:WGNB) and GeoResources Inc (Nasdaq:GEOI) are among the biggest percentage gainers in Friday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

HEICO Corp (Nasdaq:HEI), Chemgenex Pharm Ltd  (Nasdaq:CXSP) and Calamos Asset Management Inc (Nasdaq:CLMS) are also among the biggest percentage gainers.

Here are the biggest percentage gainers among small caps:

Medical Action Industries Inc (Nasdaq:MDCI), Sigma Designs Inc (Nasdaq:SIGM) and WGNB Corp (Nasdaq:WGNB) are among the biggest percentage losers in Friday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

New Oriental Energy & Chemical Corp (Nasdaq:NOEC), Resource America Inc (Nasdaq:REXI) and Landmark Bancorp Inc (Nasdaq:LARK) are also among the biggest percentage losers.

Here are the biggest percentage losers among small caps:

Small-cap stocks are up slightly in Friday afternoon action, after dipping in the morning and then treading higher in midday trading. At 1:42 p.m. ET, the Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) was up 0.71, or 0.1%, at 746.26.

The Chicago Purchasing Manager’s Survey came in at 49.1, which was above the forecast at 48.5. Although the reading was slightly above expectations, it had only a muted impact on stock prices as the number was still below 50 for the fourth consecutive month.

Also, the Michigan sentiment survey came in at 59.8, just slightly above the forecast of 59.5, but still at 28-year lows.

Market sectors showing strength include metal mining, coal energy, iron and steel, gold and silver, and oil and gas operations. Sectors attracting sellers include school services, forestry and wood products, computer accessories, non-cyclical crops and tobacco.

Individual small caps on the move include RXi Pharmaceuticals Corp. (Nasdaq:RXII), which is up some 18% despite no fresh news. ChemGenex Pharmaceuticals Ltd. (Nasdaq:CXSP) is similarly up 16%, also without any significant announcements. Sourcefire, Inc. (Nasdaq:FIRE) is getting a 15% boost after rejecting a buyout bid.

On the downside, Medical Action Industries (Nasdaq:MDCI) is diving 21% on earnings-related news. Sigma Designs Inc. (Nasdaq:SIGM) is tumbling about 18% after missing the sales forecast. WGNB Corp. (Nasdaq:WGNB) is falling 11% . . .

Fidelity Southern Corp (Nasdaq:LION), Pinnacle Airlines Corp (Nasdaq:PNCL) and Pharmaxis Ltd (Nasdaq:PXSL) are among the new 52-week lows in Friday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $750 million.

WGNB Corp (Nasdaq:WGNB), Citizens Republic Bancorp Inc (Nasdaq:CRBC) and Security Bank Corp (Nasdaq:SBKC) are also among the new 52-week lows.

Here are the new 52-week lows among small caps:

LoJack Corp. (Nasdaq:LOJN), VCG Holding Corp. (Nasdaq:VCGH) and PFF Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE:PFB) are among the biggest percentage losers in Wednesday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $750 million.

WGNB Corp. (Nasdaq:WGNB), Village Bank and Trust Financial Corp. (Nasdaq:VBFC) and K12 Inc. (NYSE:LRN) are also among the top small-cap percentage losers.

Here are Wednesday's biggest percentage losers:

Shares of WGNB Corp. (Nasdaq: WGNB) have fallen to a new 52-week low on news after the close on Wednesday that the holding company for First National Bank of Georgia expects fourth-quarter net income to come in below Wall Street’s projections.

The Carrollton, Ga.-based bank expects that earnings for the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31 to be $0.07 cents per share, well below the $0.42 per share forecasted by one analyst polled by Thomson Financial.

The company said that it will report an increase in both non-performing assets and the loan loss provision for the quarter due to the ongoing slump in the U.S. housing sector.

WGNB Corp. expects to report a loan loss provision of approximately $2.3 million for the fourth quarter of 2007, compared with $0.75 million for the third quarter of 2007. Non-performing assets as of Dec. 31 were $42 million, or 6.3% of total loans and other real estate owned, compared with $23.5 million, or 3.5% of loans and other real estate owned as of Sept. 30, 2007.

“In response to market conditions, management has been actively reviewing our loan portfolio with a particular emphasis on our residential real estate exposure,” said CEO H. B. Lipham, III in a statement. “We have spent the last three months evaluating credit, analyzing valuations and aggressively collecting on problem residential real estate loans.”

Nevertheless, Lipham said he is optimistic WGNB will get through the current rough patch. The company announced that it has no plans on changing the dividend of $0.21 per share previously announced on Dec. 24, 2007.

Final results for the quarter and year ended Dec. 31, 2007 will be reported during the week of Jan. 14.

At 1:24 p.m. ET shares of WGNB Corp. (WGNB) had lost $1.82, or 9%, to $17.55. The previous 52-week low of $19.12 was established on Dec. 21, 2007. The 52-week high of $33 was touched on Jan. 26, 2007.

The Russell 2000 (NYSE: IWM) and the other major U.S. indices are posting gains on news of a better-than-expected jobs report.
 
At 10:47 a.m. ET, the small-cap index had added 0.97 points, or 0.13%, to 754.52. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDU) was up 28.61 points, or 0.22%, to 13,072.57.

Stocks both small and large are in positive territory following the release of a report that showed higher-than-expected U.S. private sector job growth.

Nonfarm private employment increased 40,000 in December, according to Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NYSE: ADP). The provider of business outsourcing solutions said that small- and medium-sized businesses more than accounted for the rise, adding 75,000 jobs. Meanwhile, larger companies cut 35,000 jobs.

ADP said that the gain was greater than forecasted, but warned that the numbers show a slowing of nonfarm private employment. The three-month period from September through November averaged 118,000 new jobs.

The data is consistent with a slowing economy.