By Elizabeth Stanton
Dec. 16 (Bloomberg) -- The following companies may have unusual price changes in U.S. trading. Stock symbols are in parentheses, and share prices are as of 9 a.m. in New York, unless otherwise specified.
Bank of Montreal (BMO US) slumped 7.5 percent to $24.40. Canada’s fourth-biggest bank plans to sell as much as C$1.1 billion ($890 million) in stock to bolster its balance sheet. The sale of more stock can dilute a company’s earnings per share.
Best Buy Co. (BBY US) rose 10 percent to $25.91. The largest U.S. electronics retailer said it would offer voluntary severance packages to almost all its corporate workers and slash capital spending as part of a plan to reduce costs.
ConocoPhillips (COP US) added 51 cents to $52.41. The second-largest U.S. refiner said it won’t announce its capital spending budget for 2009 until January. The company said it’s still evaluating plans in light of “significant uncertainties” regarding the outlook for oil, natural gas and refined product prices.
Eaton Corp. (ETN US) fell 7.4 percent to $40.65. The maker of parts for Boeing Co. planes and Volkswagen AG cars reduced its fourth-quarter profit target to $1 to $1.10 a share excluding certain items and said it has cut 3,400 jobs because of weakening automotive markets.
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS US) rose 3.7 percent to $68.90. The bank holding company for the biggest U.S. securities firm reported a fiscal fourth-quarter loss of $2.12 billion that was smaller than some analysts expected. The loss of $4.97 a share in the three months ended Nov. 28 was Goldman’s first since going public in 1999, as asset values and investment- banking fees declined. Glenn Schorr, an analyst UBS AG in New York, estimated in a Dec. 2 note to investors that Goldman Sachs would post a loss of $5.50 a share in the fourth quarter.
Harley-Davidson Inc. (HOG US): Chief Executive Officer Jim Ziemer will retire in 2009 after 40 years at the biggest U.S. motorcycle maker. Ziemer will stay on the job until his successor is in place, the company said. Harley-Davidson shares slipped 0.7 percent to $16.20 in regular trading yesterday.
ITT Corp. (ITT US) rose 1.8 percent to $43.10. The world’s largest maker of night-vision goggles reaffirmed its 2008 earnings forecast and said 2009 profit will be $3.60 to $4 a share, including anticipated restructuring costs.
Johnson Controls Inc. (JCI US): The largest maker of automotive seats forecast a loss for its first quarter, well below the consensus estimate for earnings per share of 20 cents, and withdrew its forecast for 2009. The shares rose 10 cents to $18.32 in regular trading yesterday.
Mosaic Co. (MOS US) rose 6.8 percent to $33.60. The world’s largest maker of phosphates, a crop nutrient, was upgraded to “buy” at Merrill Lynch & Co., which said “fertilizer fundamentals are nearing a bottom.”
Merrill also raised Terra Industries Inc. (TRA US), the biggest U.S. maker of liquid-nitrogen fertilizer, Intrepid Potash Inc. (IPI US) and Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan (POT US), to “buy.” Terra rose 7.6 percent to $15.85. Intrepid climbed 4.8 percent to $19.56. Potash Corp. gained 4.7 percent to $72.50.
Papa John’s International Inc. (PZZA US): The pizza chain said earnings in 2009 could be may be as low as $1.32 a share. Analysts polled by Bloomberg estimated $1.61 on average. The stock dropped 1.9 percent to $16.26 in regular trading yesterday.
Progressive Corp. (PGR US) fell 3.7 percent to $14.20. The third-largest U.S. auto insurer was downgraded to “sell” from “hold” at Citigroup, a day after saying it won’t pay its annual dividend on common shares in 2009 because of investment losses this year.
Smith & Wesson Holding Corp. (SWHC US) plunged 19 percent to $2.16. The 156-year-old gunmaker reported second-quarter profit of 1 cent a share. Analysts polled by Bloomberg estimated 4 cents on average.
STEC Inc. (STEC US) slid 13 percent to $4.10. The maker of memory chips lowered its fourth-quarter sales forecast to a range between $55 million and $59 million because of canceled orders. The company earlier predicted revenue as high as $72 million.
To contact the reporter on this story: Elizabeth Stanton in New York at estanton@bloomberg.net
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