HVACR Stock Index Bucks Trend, Turns Positive
Originally published: 02.17.16 by Margot Crabtree
Last-ditch rallies bookended our session but the month was dismal and not buoyant enough to turn most indices positive. As our trading session ended Feb. 15, 2015, a rally in beat-down energy prices and financials lifted Wall Street.
The National Association of Realtors said that home sales bounced back in December, with sales of existing homes up 14.7 percent. However, the Commerce Department said that housing starts fell in December by 2.5 percent. Even so, total sales for 2015 were the highest in nine years.
The University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index fell in January, down to 92 from an earlier 92.6, blamed on a deterioration in household economies and poorer prospects for the U.S. economy. As February began, the Nasdaq closed at its lowest level since October 2004.
The Labor Department said that productivity fell 3 percent in 2015's fourth quarter, the largest quarterly drop in almost two years. The Commerce Department said that factory orders slid 2.9 percent in December, the fourth decrease in five months. The Institute for Supply Management's index of factory activity rose in January, to 48.2 from 48 in December; any number below 50 indicates contraction. The index has been reflecting shrinkage since September.
The Commerce Department reported that retail sales grew by 0.2 percent in January, and December's figures were revised upward. The National Retail Federation expects sales to be above average in 2016, built on stronger hires and wages and lower gas prices. Despite the apparent global slowdown, Fed chief Yellen reiterated her confidence in the strength of the U.S. economy. This optimism was not reflected in the markets, where materials and oil continued to weigh heavily.
"A lot of people are having trouble assessing the true value of stocks," said J.J. Kinahan, TD Ameritrade's chief strategist. "What it says to me is we're going to continue with volatility."
Exchange |
Symbol |
Company Name |
Price
|
Price
|
Net
|
Percent
|
52-Week
|
52-Week
|
Shares
|
Market
|
| NASD | AAON | AAON, Inc. | 20.64 | 19.83 | 0.81 | 4.08% | 25.34 | 18.85 | 54090 | 1116417.6 |
| NYSE | ABB | ABB Ltd. | 17.03 | 16.06 | 0.97 | 6.04% | 23.66 | 15.74 | 2190000 | 37295700 |
| NYSE | ARG | Airgas, Inc. | 140.10 | 138.30 | 1.80 | 1.30% | 140.50 | 86.09 | 72430 | 10147443 |
| NYSE | AOS | AO Smith Corp. | 65.81 | 63.51 | 2.30 | 3.62% | 81.15 | 50.09 | 74890 | 4928510.9 |
| NYSE | FIX | Comfort Systems USA, Inc. | 25.55 | 28.09 | -2.54 | -9.04% | 35.00 | 16.40 | 37290 | 952759.5 |
| NYSE | DOV | Dover Corp. | 59.19 | 52.90 | 6.29 | 11.89% | 78.21 | 50.91 | 155010 | 9175041.9 |
| NASD | ELON | Echelon Corp. | 5.43 | 5.15 | 0.28 | 5.44% | 12.10 | 4.71 | 4420 | 24000.6 |
| NYSE | DD | E. I. DuPont de Nemours & Co. | 58.40 | 54.09 | 4.31 | 7.97% | 76.59 | 47.11 | 871680 | 50906112 |
| NYSE | EME | EMCOR Group, Inc. | 44.32 | 43.66 | 0.66 | 1.51% | 52.37 | 40.98 | 62720 | 2779750.4 |
| NYSE | EMR | Emerson Electric Co. | 46.02 | 43.09 | 2.93 | 6.80% | 62.75 | 41.25 | 643120 | 29596382.4 |
| NYSE | FCAU | Fiat Chrysler | 6.11 | 7.34 | -1.23 | -16.76% | 11.24 | 5.78 | 1290000 | 7881900 |
| NYSE | F | Ford Motor Co. | 11.55 | 11.97 | -0.42 | -3.51% | 16.74 | 10.44 | 3900000 | 45045000 |
| NYSE | GM | General Motors Co. | 27.71 | 29.57 | -1.86 | -6.29% | 38.99 | 24.62 | 1540000 | 42673400 |
| NYSE | HON | Honeywell International, Inc. | 103.48 | 97.26 | 6.22 | 6.40% | 107.41 | 87.00 | 769320 | 79609233.6 |
| NASD | HDSN | Hudson Technologies, Inc. | 2.91 | 2.77 | 0.14 | 5.05% | 4.75 | 2.45 | 32800 | 95448 |
| NYSE | IR | Ingersoll-Rand Plc | 51.32 | 51.74 | -0.42 | -0.81% | 70.93 | 47.08 | 261050 | 13397086 |
| NYSE | JCI | Johnson Controls, Inc. | 34.81 | 34.71 | 0.10 | 0.29% | 54.52 | 33.62 | 648240 | 22565234.4 |
| NYSE | LII | Lennox International Inc. | 119.50 | 115.77 | 3.73 | 3.22% | 138.57 | 103.58 | 45060 | 5384670 |
| NYSE | LXU | LSB Industries, Inc. | 5.05 | 5.20 | -0.15 | -2.88% | 47.33 | 3.68 | 22810 | 115190.5 |
| NYSE | MTW | Manitowoc Co., Inc. | 14.97 | 12.83 | 2.14 | 16.68% | 22.91 | 11.73 | 136590 | 2044752.3 |
| NYSE | MLI | Mueller Industries, Inc. | 25.40 | 23.83 | 1.57 | 6.59% | 37.18 | 23.09 | 57160 | 1451864 |
| NYSE | NWL | Newell Rubbermaid, Inc. | 34.79 | 37.13 | -2.34 | -6.30% | 50.90 | 33.26 | 267200 | 9295888 |
| OTC | NSANY | Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. | 17.07 | 18.41 | -1.34 | -7.28% | 21.92 | 16.57 | 2100000 | |
| NASD | NTK | Nortek, Inc. | 35.88 | 37.52 | -1.64 | -4.37% | 92.96 | 33.85 | 16260 | 583408.8 |
| NASD | OFLX | OmegaFlex, Inc. | 33.18 | 29.00 | 4.18 | 14.41% | 43.20 | 23.50 | 10090 | 334786.2 |
| NYSE | PH | Parker-Hannifin Corp. | 97.25 | 87.99 | 9.26 | 10.52% | 125.94 | 83.32 | 135100 | 13138475 |
| NYSE | RBC | Regal-Beloit Corp. | 50.61 | 52.27 | -1.66 | -3.18% | 81.36 | 47.77 | 44660 | 2260242.6 |
| NYSE | ROK | Rockwell Automation | 96.33 | 91.68 | 4.65 | 5.07% | 127.05 | 87.53 | 131420 | 12659688.6 |
| OTC | SIEGY | Siemens Aktiengesellschaft | 90.80 | 88.83 | 1.97 | 2.22% | 114.20 | 86.58 | 807730 | 73341884 |
| NYSE | SPXC | SPX Corp. | 8.80 | 8.01 | 0.79 | 9.86% | 22.81 | 7.62 | 40800 | 359040 |
| NYSE | TXN | Texas Instruments | 51.14 | 48.03 | 3.11 | 6.48% | 59.99 | 43.49 | 1010000 | 51651400 |
| NYSE | UTX | United Technologies Corp. | 85.95 | 85.63 | 0.32 | 0.37% | 124.45 | 83.39 | 836430 | 71891158.5 |
| NYSE | WSO | Watsco, Inc. | 124.22 | 109.85 | 14.37 | 13.08% | 133.09 | 106.58 | 27610 | 3429714.2 |
The HVACR Business Stock Index rose 10.06 points, or 1 point even, and closed at 1020.90. Advancing issues topped declining issues at a 23-to-10 count.
Watsco soared 14.37 points, or 13.08 percent on strong earnings that beat estimates. For its fourth quarter, WSO posted net income of $24.4 million, or $0.75 per share, versus last year's $0.69 per share. Revenue was $903.8 million, up 3.1 percent from a year ago. Analysts expected earnings of $0.72 per share. Investment firm Stifel Nicolaus upped its price target on Watsco to $136, from $122. WSO ended at 124.22, and was the top dollar gainer.
Comfort Systems fell 2.54 points, or 9.04 percent. The company said that it has acquired the ShoffnerKalthoff group of companies for an undisclosed amount. The acquisition is expected to contribute $70 million in annual revenue. FIX ended at 25.55, and was the top dollar loser.
Manitowoc rose 2.14 points, or 16.68 percent after it bested analysts' expectations for fourth quarter earnings. MTW reported net income of $43.8 million, or $0.32 per share. Adjusted for one-time items, earnings were $0.43 per share. Sales fell 9.9 percent, to $934.8 million. Analysts polled by Zacks expected earnings of $0.20 per share and revenue of $938.8 million. MTW closed at 14.97, and was the top percentage gainer.
Margot Crabtree is president of Trade Trends, Inc., a financial data services provider. She has been offering market analysis with customized stock indices and financial commentaries since 1999. For additional information, visit www.tradetrendsonline.com.