U.S. Movers: Blyth, Dollar General, Google, MetLife, Kraft

Mukesh Buch
06 Dec, 2010
New York City

Dollar General third quarter net sales grew 10% to $3.22 billion. 3M to acquire Winterthur Technologies AG. Kraft Foods is seek preliminary injunction in the U.S. District Court against Starbucks. MetLife estimated fourth quarter net income to be between $170 million and $570 million.

[R]11:00 AM New York – Dollar General third quarter net sales grew 10% to $3.22 billion. 3M to acquire Winterthur Technologies AG. Kraft Foods is seek preliminary injunction in the U.S. District Court against Starbucks. MetLife estimated fourth quarter net income to be between $170 million and $570 million.[/R]

Of the stocks in the Dow, 17 increased and 13 decreased.

Of the 30 stocks in the Dow Jones Industrial Average, Bank of America Corporation led the gainers with a rise of 1.54% followed by increase in E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company of 1.25%, in Alcoa Inc. of 0.99%, in Caterpillar Inc. of 0.86%, in JPMorgan Chase & Co. of 0.76%.

Cisco Systems, Inc. led the decliners with a fall of 0.78%, followed by decline in The Coca-Cola Company of 0.62%, in The Travelers Companies, Inc. of 0.45%, in Exxon Mobil Corporation of 0.41%, in Kraft Foods Inc. of 0.36%.

Other Movers

Blyth, Inc. ((BTH)) plunged 3% or $1.24 to $38.95 after the home decorative items maker reported third quarter net sales dropped 3% to $215.47 million from $221.57 million in the earlier year. Net earnings generated in the quarter were $2.58 million or 31 cents per diluted share, compared to a loss of $0.97 million or 11 cents per share in the prior year.

Dollar General Corp. ((DG)) tumbled 7% or $2.37 to $31.06 after the discount retailer reported third quarter net sales grew 10% to $3.22 billion from $2.93 billion in the prior-year quarter. Same-store sales increased 4.2% in the 2010 quarter. Net income in the quarter surged 69% to $128.12 million or 37 cents per diluted share, compared with net income of $75.65 million or 24 cents per share last year.

Google Inc ((GOOG)) rose 1% to $597 after the company decided not to increase its $6 billion bid for online coupon merchant Groupon Inc. The Chicago based company is looking for as much as $7 billion and is reported to generate net revenue as much as between $1 billion and $1.5 billion.

Kraft Foods Inc. ((KFT)) fell 0.2% or 7 cent to $30.25 after the packaged food product maker is seeking preliminary injunction in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York against Starbucks Coffee Company for violating terms of the roast and ground coffee agreement.

LHC Group, Inc. ((LHCG)) rose 0.1% or 3 cent to $24.77 after the post-acute healthcare services provider lowered its earnings guidance for fiscal 2010. The company currently estimates full-year earnings per share in the range of $2.65 to 2.75, compared to its previous guidance in the range of $2.75 to $2.85.

Full-year net service revenue is still expected in the range of $625 million to $635 million.

MetLife, Inc. ((MET)) rose 0.7% or 29 cent to $40.43 after the provider of insurance and financial services estimates fourth quarter net income to be between $170 million and $570 million or $0.17 to $0.56 per share and operating earnings between $1.1 billion and $1.2 billion or $1.04 to $1.14 per share. Premiums, fees and other revenues for the fourth quarter are expected to be between $9.5 billion and $9.9 billion.

3M Company ((MMM)) fell 0.2% or 19 cent to $86.75 after the diversified technology company today announced that they entered into an agreement for 3M’s acquisition of Winterthur for Sfr62.00 (or $63.56) per share by way of public tender offer. The proposed transaction has an aggregate value of approximately $448 million.

Winterthur participates in the more than $14 billion abrasives market, which projected to grow at a rate of 4% per year.

Sonoco Products Company ((SON)) rose 0.2% or 8 cent to $33.24 after the manufacturer of industrial and consumer packaging products said it estimates base earnings per share for the fourth quarter and full-year 2010 to be within its prior announced guidance between $0.57 and $0.61 and $2.32 to $2.36, respectively.

The Bank of Nova Scotia ((BNS)) fell 1% or 6 cent to $55.48 after the Canadian financial services provider reported fourth quarter total revenue rose 5.5% to C$3.94 billion, from C$3.735 billion. Net income in the quarter soared 21% to C$1.09 billion or C$1.00 per share, compared with net income of C$902 million or C$0.83 per share in the year earlier quarter.