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Updated: 14-Sep-01
AFTER THE CLOSE ******
North Fork Banc. (NFB) 27.09: Announces that its Board of Directors approved an increase to its previously announced share repurchase program by 5 mln shares bringing the total authorized for repurchase to 8 mln shares or approximately 5% of the company's outstanding shares.
Pfizer (PFE) 38.17: Company reconfirmed its earnings for years FY01 and FY02 as discussed most recently in a September 10 press release; reaffirms prior estimate of diluted EPS of $1.27 to $1.30 for FY01 (Dec); also reaffirms prior projection of diluted EPS for FY02 at $1.56 or better; Pfizer also stated that, when the U.S. equity markets reopen, it is continuing its current share repurchase program.
Allstate Corp (ALL) 34.08: Reports that, while it expects to pay auto, property, commercial and life insurance claims from the Septenber 11, based on what is known today, this should not be a major financial event for Allstate.; also, company announces it will donate $400,000 to the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation to assist the families of firefighters who lost their lives during the rescue mission in New York City.
John Hancock (JHF) 38.50: Company expresses its deep sadness over this week's national tragedy and responds to many inquiries concerning the impact it has on company's financial strength; believes the tragedy's impact is not material to its financial strength nor reason to change its guidance for the rest of the year; expects 2001 EPS growth of 10-12%, assuming equity market appreciation of 2-3% for the second half of the year; notes that guidance is subject to change if, among other things, the economy or the financial markets experience a significant downturn.
General Electric (GE) 39.35: Company will incur losses through its Employers Reinsurance Corporation as a result of the terrorist attacks against the World Trade Center, and the losses will affect the company's Q3 (Sep) results; ERC's preliminary estimate of its net losses is approximately $600 mln, or approximately $400 mln after taxes; company notes those losses could reduce Q3 net income by 4 cents to 33 cents per share vs. First Call estimate of $0.37.
Ford Motor (F) 19.40: Company warns for Q3 (Sep); expects earnings below First Call estimate of $0.10; also announced reductions in its North American production; notes the company has experienced parts shortages stemming from freight transportation issues, particularly in air-freight transport and movement of freight through border crossings; the company plans to suspend operations at several assembly plants next week; the current production plan for Q3 (Sep) calls for 810,000- 820,000 vehicles, down 110,000-120,000 vehicles from the prior forecast.
15:00 -- 16:00 ET (Updated throughout the hour)******
Shaw Group (SGR) 29.45: Company announced that its Board of Directors has authorized the repurchase of up to $100 mln of the company's common stock effective immediately; based on the Monday, September 10, 2001 closing price of $29.45, this represents approximately 3.4 mln shares of common stock.
PartnerRe Ltd (PRE) 47.72: Company reported on its position in the wake of terrorist attacks on New York, Washington D.C. and Pennsylvania; PartnerRe estimates its damage claims arising from Tuesday's attacks in the United States to be in the range of $350 to $400 mln.
13:00 -- 14:00 ET (Updated throughout the hour)******
Webster Financial (WBST) 30.06: Webster Financial, the holding company for Webster Bank, announced today that its Board of Directors has authorized the repurchase of up to 2.5 mln shares, or approximately 5 percent of Webster's 49.5 mln shares of outstanding common stock; Webster will repurchase these shares in the open market and unsolicited negotiated transactions, including block purchases, over the next year.
Exxon Mobil (XOM) 41.24: The company and its employees announced that they will contribute up to $20 mln in individual and corporate matching contributions; ExxonMobil will make a donation of $5 mln to meet immediate needs and will match employee, retiree, dealer, and distributor contributions around the world on a three-to-one basis; the funds raised will be directed to those agencies and charitable organizations that are assisting surviving families of the injured and deceased rescue personnel in both New York and Washington, D.C., and responding to other needs arising from this disaster.
12:00 -- 13:00 ET (Updated throughout the hour)******
Merck & Co (MRK) 66.10: Announces that it will donate $5 million to assist in the relief efforts associated with Tuesday's terrorist attacks; contributions will go to the American Red Cross and The September 11 Fund for the immediate and long-term needs of victims and their families and emergency-service organizations.
11:00 -- 12:00 ET (Updated throughout the hour)******
Nike (NKE) 48.65: Announces that, in consideration of this week's tragic events and related stock market closures, it has rescheduled its first quarter fiscal 2002 earnings release and annual meeting of shareholders. First quarter earnings results, originally scheduled to be released on Monday, September 17, 2001, will be released on Thursday, September 20, 2001 after the market closes.
10:00 -- 11:00 ET (Updated throughout the hour)******
Ashford.com (ASFD) 0.17: e-commerce luxury goods and corporate gifts company announces that Global Sports (GSPT 16.51), an outsource solution provider for e-commerce, has entered into a definitive merger agreement to acquire all of the outstanding shares of Ashford.com for $14.2 mln.
H & R Block (HRB) 36.90: Company's board of directors has approved the repurchase of an additional 15 mlon shares of H&R Block common stock; authorization is in addition to a 12 mln-share repurchase approved in March 2000, of which only 235,000 shares remain; since July 31, 2001, company has purchased 2.5 mln shares.
09:30 -- 10:00 ET (Updated throughout the hour)******
Boeing (BA) : Company and its employees have committed more than $5 million to the humanitarian efforts involved in the aftermath of Tuesday's terrorist attacks on the U.S.; Boeing's corporate contribution will be divided evenly between the Red Cross and the United Way September 11 Fund.
BEFORE THE OPEN (Updated throughout the hour)******
Teradyne (TER) 28.58: Supplier of automatic test equipment announced late last night that it is extending its previously announced cost reduction programs in response to the continuing worldwide economic downturn; among actions taken were a reduction of about 1000 employees through a combination of voluntary separation programs and a layoff, as well as a salary cut for employees, based on a sliding scale; CEO says that on-going expense reduction actions should result in Q3 (Sep) EPS around the low end of previous guidance (issued on July 17) which was for a loss of $0.32; current First Call consensus is a loss of $0.25.
Oracle Corp (ORCL) 11.46: After the close yesterday, company reported Q1 earnings of $0.09 a share, $0.01 above First Call consensus, vs yr-ago net of $0.08; total revenues fell 0.9% to $2.24 bln (First Call mean $2.3 bln).
AFTER THE CLOSE (13-Sep-01)******
Reminder : U.S. stock market trading to resume at 9:30 ET Monday morning.
3DO Company (THDO) 4.51: Company warns that Q2 (Sep) will see revenues of $10-$11 mln, while losses are expected to be $0.20-$0.22; First Call revenue estimate is $14 mln and EPS estimate is for a loss of $0.18; citing anticipated delays in the worldwide shipments of Dragon Rage for the PlayStation 2 computer entertainment system and Portal Runner in Europe to the third fiscal quarter..
First SecurityFed Finc'l (FSFF) 17.92: Holding company for 1st Security Federal Savings Bank announces the completion of its previously announced stock repurchase program, and that its Board of Directors has authorized the repurchase of an additional 300,000 shares or 6.9% of its 4.3 mln outstanding share.
Pinnacle Systems (PCLE) 4.28: Professional and consumer video solutions company announces that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire the assets of FAST Multimedia, a developer of video editing solutions, headquartered in Munich, Germany; Pinnacle plans to integrate FAST's products into its family of industry-leading video, authoring and streaming solutions.
Wendy's (WEN) : Announces that it is postponing its Analyst and Investor Meeting scheduled for September 24-25 due to the crisis affecting the nation; will announce details about a new meeting date as soon as possibl.
QUALCOMM (QCOM) 50.54: In light of the recent tragedies in New York City, Washington D.C. and Pennsylvania and travel restrictions, company has decided to postpone its planned New York investment community meeting and associated events scheduled for September 20-21, 2001; will announce a new date for the meeting as soon as possible.
Wal-Mart (WMT) 46.23: Company pledges $2 mln for national relief efforts following Tuesday's terrorist attacks; including an immediate $1 mln gift to the American Red Cross and a pledge to provide at least an additional $1 mln in the near future for other agencies providing relief efforts to the victims and their families.
Tektronix (TEK) 18.35: Test, measurement, and monitoring company reports Q1 (Aug) earnings of $0.13 per share, $0.02 better than the Multex consensus of $0.11; revenues fell 22.1% year/year to $216.6 mln vs the $224.4 mln consensus; for Q2 of FY02, company expects sales to decline approximately 35% over the same period a year ago, putting Q2 revenues at approximately $211.34 mln vs First Call consenus of $230 mln.
Oracle Corp (ORCL) 11.46: -- Update -- Reports Q1 (Aug) earnings of $0.09 per share, a penny better than the First Call consensus of $0.08; revenues fell 0.9% year/year to $2.24 bln vs the $2.3 bln First Call consensus; Briefing.com extends all our best wishes and sympathies to the families of the missing Oracle employees.
Cutter & Buck (CBUK) : Reports Q1 (Jul) loss of $0.13 per share, $0.02 better than the Multex consensus of ($0.15); company commented, "The economy continues to be challenging. We are committed to executing our business plan to ensure we succeed in the current difficult environment and have the necessary growth drivers in place to take advantage of future opportunities when the economy recovers.". |
