NEW YORK (Thomson Financial) - Shares of trucking companies were mostly
lower Thursday, after Covenant Transportation Group indicated that first-quarter
losses would be wider than expected.
Covenant's stock tumbled 18% to $5.51 on volume of 223,400 share, which was
more than 12 times the full-day average over the past 30 days. Earlier in the
session, the stock was down as much as at an all-time low of $5.22.
The Chattanooga, Tenn. company said ahead of the opening bell that it
expected to report a loss of 40 to 50 cents a share for the quarter ending March
31, citing an "unprecedented" run-up in diesel fuel costs. The mean estimate of
analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial was for a loss of 15 cents a share.
Elsewhere in the sector, Werner Enterprises shed 1.3% to $18.59. The company
had warned last week that fiscal first-quarter earnings would be "significantly"
lower than the same period a year ago, citing a soft freight market and a spike
in fuel prices.
Among other more active stocks in the group, Arkansas Best Corp. was down
2.1% at $31.49, J.B. Hunt Transport slid 1.2% at $31.54, YRC Worldwide Inc. lost
1.7% to $13.47, Landstar Systems tacked on 1.5% to $52.01, and Knight
Transportation gave up 0.9% to $15.05.
Tomi Kilgore
tk1
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