Stocks moved higher after a positive jobs report. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI -0.51%) and the S&P 500 (^GSPC -0.27%) both closed up modestly. The energy sector surged as the price of crude oil rose almost 2% to above $63.
Today's stock market
| Index | Percentage Change | Point Change |
|---|---|---|
| Dow | 0.15% | 40.36 |
| S&P 500 | 0.46% | 13.35 |
Data source: Yahoo! Finance.
As for individual stocks, Triumph Group (TGI 0.60%) jumped after the company hinted at a major restructuring move, and Greenbrier (GBX -2.17%) reported earnings.
Image source: Getty Images.
Triumph Group may divest its largest business unit
Shares of aerospace component maker Triumph Group went airborne, rising 12.3% after the company said it is "exploring strategic alternatives" for its aerospace structures unit, which accounted for 61% of sales last quarter. The move came a day after the stock jumped 11% on news it had won a contract from Boeing to supply parts for refueling drones for the Navy.
Triumph didn't reveal any details about its plans, saying that there can be no assurance of a transaction or a strategic change, and that there is no timetable for the review of the business. The company also said it wouldn't comment further until the board has approved a specific course of action.
Just that little whiff of potential change was enough to excite investors. In the first nine months of the fiscal year, aerospace structures recorded an operating loss of $152 million, enough to put Triumph in the red with a net loss of $122 million, or $2.46 per share. The potential move would be the latest of several in the company's ongoing restructuring.
Greenbrier expects to get back on track
Greenbrier reported results for what was a difficult quarter for the rail car manufacturer, but the bad news was already out thanks to a pre-release two weeks ago, and the stock slipped only 0.9%. Revenue in fiscal Q2 grew 4.7% to $659 million, but earnings per share came in at $0.08 compared with $1.91 in the period a year earlier.
Greenbrier delivered 5,100 rail cars in the quarter, up 4.1% from last year, and took orders for 3,800, breaking a string of three quarters when orders exceeded deliveries. The company has a large backlog worth $2.7 billion.
The disappointing profit result was due to $0.29 per share in costs that Greenbrier attributed to performance issues. Poor manufacturing execution in Europe, contract loss accruals, and facility closure costs in its repair business affected results, and the company said it expects to resolve the issues quickly.
Greenbrier had said last quarter that it expects a strong second half, with two-thirds of deliveries and 80% of earnings coming in the next two quarters. The company maintained its outlook for full-year revenue but lowered EPS guidance by $0.60 to $3.60-$3.80.
