GM Sets Off Automakers — Thursday’s IP Market Recap

by Kyle Woodley | February 16, 2012 4:46 pm

[1]General Motors (NYSE:GM[2]) made a splash with its earnings report[3] Thursday, and the automaker sector as a whole helped celebrate.

GM posted its largest annual profit in history — $7.6 billion, which was up 62% from the year-ago period. Revenues also were up 11%. The fourth quarter was less impressive, with earnings flat at $500 million and adjusted EPS 2 cents shy of Wall Street estimates. But the banner day still was enough to send GM shares up 9% by the end of trading.

The rest of the sector followed suit. Ford (NYSE:F[4]) gained almost 3%, Volkswagen (PINK:VLKAY[5]) was up 1.7%, and Honda (NYSE:HMC[6]) and Toyota (NYSE:TM[7]) each rose more than 1%. Tesla Motors (NASDAQ:TSLA[8]) also gained ground Thursday, up 1.7% after a mixed earnings report but encouraging 2012 forecasts. The company also is riding high on the strong reception for its Model X crossover[9].

Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN[10]) was hit hard Thursday morning after its shares were downgraded by Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS[11]). AMZN shed about 5% before recovering for a final 2.5% loss. Morgan Stanley’s primary were concerns were threats from Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL[12]) and growing weakness in sales of physical media.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO[13]) finished up less than a percent after the company announced its 50^th consecutive annual dividend increase. Coca-Cola raised its quarterly dividend 8.5%, to 51 cents, and will be payable April 1 to shareholders of record as of March 15. KO shares now yield roughly 3%.

Three Up

• TRW Automotive Holdings (NYSE:TRW[14]): Up 14.4% ($5.96) to $47.43.
• Cabela’s (NYSE:CAB[15]): Up 13.8% ($3.91) to $32.31.
• Kinross Gold (NYSE:KGC[16]): Up 7.7% (79 cents) to $11.10.

Three Down

• Avis Budget (NASDAQ:CAR[17]): Down 13.8% ($2.01) to $12.58.
• Blue Nile (NASDAQ:NILE[18]): Down 10.3% ($4.31) to $37.52.
• J.M. Smucker (NYSE:SJM[19]): Down 8.4% ($6.55) to $71.60.

Kyle Woodley[20] is the assistant editor of InvestorPlace.com[21]. As of this writing, he did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities. Check out recaps from previous trading days here[22].

Source URL: http://investorplace.com/2012/02/general-motors-gm-earnings-automakers-amzn-ko-dividend/
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