Wednesday was a solid day for the stock market, which rebounded somewhat from Tuesday's broad declines on the back of better news from the financial and energy sectors. Political news was unusually positive, with the White House reaching an agreement with Democrats in Congress on a deal to boost the debt ceiling and fund the government through mid-December, as well as fund relief from Hurricane Harvey, which buys Washington more time to consider other domestic policy issues. Energy prices also rebounded slightly, sending crude oil back above $49 per barrel, and financial stocks also regained some ground. The major U.S. indexes closed the day between 0.25% and 0.31% higher.
Company-specific good news also propelled certain stocks sharply higher: Electronics for Imaging (EFII +0.00%), Landauer (LDR +0.00%), and G-III Apparel Group (GIII +4.11%) were among the best performers on the day. Below, we'll look more closely at these stocks to tell you why they did so well.
Electronics for Imaging looks ahead with optimism
Shares of Electronics for Imaging jumped 13.5% after the digital printing specialist gave an update on certain business issues and offered guidance for its fiscal third quarter. The company said it has made progress in assessing the timing of revenue recognition on its accounting statements, and is continuing to conduct an independent review. Although that review isn't yet finished, Electronics for Imaging said it anticipates no material error requiring a restatement of financial numbers. In addition, the company said that it expects sales for the quarter to come in between $255 million and $260 million, with adjusted earnings of $0.55 to $0.60 per share. Investors appeared pleased that the investigation hadn't turned up any more significant problems for the company.
Image source: Electronics for Imaging.
Landauer makes a deal
Shares of Landauer climbed 10.4% on the day after the leader in personal and environmental radiation measurement and monitoring said that it had agreed to be purchased by Fortive (FTV +1.29%) for $67.25 per share, a deal that values the company at about $770 million. Landauer CEO Mike Kaminski said he was pleased with the deal, describing it as "an exciting step forward for Landauer, enabling us to combine our strengths as a leader in radiation measurement with Fortive's powerful and complementary Field Solutions platform and safety-as-a-service offerings." Yet investors seemed to anticipate a potential competing bid, because the stock's move higher left Landauer's closing price higher than Fortive's bid. The buyout could be even more important for Fortive as it continues to develop its testing and measurement business.
G-III climbs despite losing money
Finally, G-III Apparel Group finished the day higher by 10%. The retail and brand-management company said its net losses widened in the second quarter, but the amount of red ink it spilled was less than most analysts had expected. G-III's acquisition of the Donna Karan brand helped to shore up its results, and the company increased its guidance for revenue and earnings for the full year. In a retail industry that's still experiencing tough times, the progress that G-III has made is noteworthy, and could help sustain the company's momentum into the future.
