Parkvale leads region's gainers
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FNB Bancorp's bid to acquire the parent of Parkvale Savings transformed an ugly duckling among Pittsburgh bank stocks into the region's best performer in the first half.
Shares of the Monroeville-based Parkvale Financial [ticker: PVSA] more than doubled during the period, easily outdistancing the other 54 members of the Post-Gazette/Bloomberg Index of regional stocks.
The index, composed of stocks of companies based in the region or with substantial operations here, rose 5 percent in the first half of the year. Most of the gain came in the last four trading days of the period, when Wall Street emerged from the doldrums that had plagued it since May.
The Post-Gazette/Bloomberg index matched the first-half performance of the S&P 500, but was well shy of the 7.2 percent rise in the Dow Jones Industrial Average. Among the 55 regional stocks, 35 registered gains and 20 rung up losses. The advancers included 17 issues that registered double-digit gains.
Regional stocks were buffeted by the same forces that drove the broader market. They began the year on a strong note as double-digit first quarter earnings growth among S&P 500 stocks provided hope that the economic recovery was taking root. The strength of the recovery was called into question during the second quarter. Investor fears were fueled by disappointing economic data, higher prices for oil and other raw materials, as well as interruptions in the manufacturing supply chain caused by the earthquake and tsunami that devastated Japan in March.
Parkvale's shares led the regional pack with a 134.2 percent increase in the first half, closing Thursday at $21.50. They were priced at $11 when FNB's [FNB] offer was announced June 15. Parkvale's suitor also outperformed the local index, but by a much narrower margin. FNB shares closed Thursday at $10.35, up 5.4 percent for the first half.
The index's second best performer, Universal Stainless & Alloy Products [USAP], also is involved in an acquisition, but as the acquirer. The Bridgeville specialty metals producer announced June 14 it would pay $104.5 million for Patriot Special Metals of North Jackson, Ohio.
Shares of buyers typically get dented by acquisition news, as skeptical investors question whether they can capitalize on the purchase. That has not been the case with Universal. Its shares have been climbing since the transaction was announced. They closed the first half up $46.76, or 49.5 percent.
The worst performer, Moon engineer Michael Baker [BKR], continued to take it on the chin after finishing as the region's third-worst performing stock in 2010. A business slowdown caused by government budget pressures and other factors prompted Baker to lay off 60 workers and put 35 on reduced work schedules this year. Baker closed Thursday at $21.12, down 32.1 percent for 2011.
First Published July 3, 2011 12:00 am
