Archive for the ‘Consumer Discretionary Stocks’ Category

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Timberland Co. (TBL) races north on VF takeover

Monday, June 13th, 2011

Timberland Co. (NYSE: TBL) shares jumped 42.6% to $42.76 Monday after clothing-brand owner VF Corp. (NYSE: VFC) said it would acquire the shoe seller. Volume for Timberland neared 13 million shares in the first two hours of trading Monday, routing an all-day average of 717,303.

The announcement came down early Monday that VF, a leader in branded lifestyle apparel, will pay Timberland shareholders $43 per share, representing a total enterprise value of approximately $2 billion net of cash acquired. The merger agreement was unanimously approved by both companies’ Boards of Directors.

In the June 13 press release outlining the details surrounding the purchase, VF CEO Eric Wiseman exulted, “the Timberland® brand is synonymous with high quality outdoor footwear and apparel.

Wiseman continued, “This will be a winning combination, leveraging VF’s international and direct-to-consumer platforms to drive growth in the Timberland® and Smartwool® brands globally. At the same time, VF will benefit from Timberland’s rugged outdoor footwear expertise, international penetration in markets such as Japan, and leadership position in sustainability.”

Concurred Timberland CEO Jeffrey Swartz in the same release, “Timberland is proud of its rich heritage, its track record of success and its reputation as a responsible and environmentally-conscious global citizen, all of which will be preserved and enhanced by becoming part of the VF family of brands.”

Headquartered in Greensboro, North Carolina, VF Corporation is a global leader in branded lifestyle apparel with more than 30 brands, including Wrangler®, The North Face®, Lee®, Vans®, Nautica®, 7 For All Mankind®, and Splendid®.

Based in Stratham, New Hampshire, Timberland is a global leader in the design, engineering and marketing of premium-quality footwear, apparel and accessories for consumers who value the outdoors and their time in it. Timberland markets products under the Timberland®, Timberland PRO®, Mountain Athletics®, SmartWool®, Timberland Boot Company® and howies® brands, among others.

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Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance Inc. (ULTA) has beautiful bottom line, stock hikes

Wednesday, June 8th, 2011

Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance Inc. (Nasdaq: ULTA) shares gained 8.7% to $53.92, a day after the beauty-products maker posted better-than-expected first-quarter results. Volume for the stock topped 1.9 million shares, towering over a daily average of 639,000.

Tuesday, Ulta, based in Bolingbrook, Ill., announced comparable store sales (sales for stores open at least 14 months) increased 11.1% in the period ended April 30, 2011, compared to an increase of 10.8% in the first quarter of fiscal 2010. Net income increased 70.5% to $23.3 million compared to $13.7 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2010.

In the June 7, 2011 press release which divulged these numbers, Ulta CEO Chuck Rubin commented, “We had a terrific start to the year with total sales, comparable store sales and net income per share solidly ahead of our guidance, demonstrating the ongoing preference of our beauty experience and the continued success of our growth strategies.

Rubin continued, “Our first quarter results included net sales growth of 20.6% driven by an 11.1% increase in comparable store sales and the expansion of our store base. Operating income grew faster than sales climbing 67.4% from the first quarter last year to 10.1% of net sales. During the quarter, we gained market share advancing each of the priorities we set at the beginning of the year. To this end, we were pleased with our new store performance and remain on track to expand square footage by 16% this year.”

Ulta is the largest beauty retailer that provides one-stop shopping for prestige, mass and salon products and salon services in the United States.

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Temple-Inland Inc. (TIN) gallops on rejection of takeover bid

Tuesday, June 7th, 2011

Temple-Inland Inc. (NYSE: TIN) shares climbed 41.6% to $29.75 Tuesday, a day after International Paper Co. (NYSE: IP) made a $3.31-billion hostile bid for the maker of corrugated packaging and building products. Volume for Temple-Inland surpassed 10.8 million shares, trouncing an all-day average of 1.2 million.

The bid amounts to $30.60 per share. Monday, Temple-Inland’s Board of Directors, after careful consideration with its independent financial and legal advisors, voted unanimously to reject International Paper’s proposal after the Board determined unanimously that the proposal grossly undervalues Temple-Inland and is not in the best interest of Temple-Inland’s stockholders.

The Board authorized Temple-Inland CEO Doyle R. Simons, to communicate its rejection to John Faraci, International Paper’s Chairman and CEO. Simons stated, “Since we launched the ‘new’ Temple-Inland in January 2008, we have delivered superior results to our stockholders compared with our corrugated packaging peers (including IP), building products peers, and the S&P 500. Since that time, our total return to stockholders of 22% greatly exceeds the 5% total return that IP has achieved.

“Through our proven ability to execute our strategy focused on maximizing return on investment (ROI) and profitably growing our business, the Board believes the Company will continue to provide superior results for our stockholders,” continued Mr. Simons. “As the economic recovery continues and the benefits from our strategy continue to be realized, it is the stockholders of Temple-Inland who should gain from those anticipated benefits, not the stockholders of IP.”

The Austin-based Temple-Inland Inc. is a manufacturing company focused on corrugated packaging and building products. The fully integrated corrugated packaging operation consists of seven mills and 59 converting facilities.

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Apollo Group Inc. (APOL) benefits from government ruling

Thursday, June 2nd, 2011

Apollo Group Inc. (Nasdaq: APOL) shares rose 10.2% to $46.50, after the U.S. Education Department softened a rule that had threatened some aid to for-profit colleges.

The Department of Education on Thursday rolled out a rule that denies federal aid if programs don’t lead to “gainful employment” in a recognized occupation.

But the final rule would deny assistance as early as 2015, rather than immediately, if three tests over student loan repayment weren’t met.

“If you get three strikes in four years, you’re out,” Education Secretary Arne Duncan said in a statement. The department estimates that 18% of for-profit programs are expected to fail the thresholds at some point, with 5% of them failing to improve and ultimately losing eligibility.

Phoenix-based Apollo Group was one of a number of companies in the sector that jumped on the news.

Apollo Group, Inc. is one of the world’s largest private education providers and has been in the education business for more than 35 years. The Company offers innovative and distinctive educational programs and services both online and on-campus at the undergraduate, master’s and doctoral levels through its subsidiaries: University of Phoenix, Apollo Global, Institute for Professional Development and College for Financial Planning.

The Company’s programs and services are provided in 40 states and the District of Columbia; Puerto Rico; Latin America; and Europe, as well as online throughout the world.

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Orbitz Worldwide Inc. (OWW) celebrates legal win with stock surge

Thursday, June 2nd, 2011

Orbitz Worldwide Inc. (NYSE: OWW) shares surged 25.8% to $2.78 Thursday morning, after an Illinois court ruled Wednesday that American Airlines must let the online travel company resume selling its tickets. Volume for the stock was 1.3 million shares, or more than four times its all-day average.

American (owned by parent AMR Corporation) had removed its information from the website in December while it disputed the terms that it shares with the global distribution systems that currently act as the distributors for flight data of more than 90% of flights bought by consumers in the U.S.

American and other airlines want to be able to sell more flights of products through their own websites, cutting out the fees that they currently pay to GDS providers. The former re-entered a court dispute with GDS providers Sabre and Travelocity with an antitrust suit it filed in a Texas court Wednesday.

“This reinstatement of American Airlines’ full schedule of flights on Orbitz.com and Orbitz for Business is a win for transparency, consumer choice and for all of our mutual customers,” Orbitz said in a statement.
The decision grants Orbitz and Travelport, which owns nearly half of Orbitz, injunctive relief that was denied late last year by a different judge. Travelport later appealed that ruling.

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