The big news in the financial markets today is that New Orleans largely escaped the wrath of hurricane Gustav, which hit land about 85 miles west of the city, and lost some of its luster on the way in to shore. Still, oil companies haven’t tallied any potential damage yet and that could change the financial calculus on oil and energy prices going forward. For now, oil prices have dropped down to $109 per barrel and the stock market has responded vigorously, rising 175 points in Tuesday morning trading.
On the tech side, it’s the telecom stocks that are making the most noise. By 10 AM, we saw AT&T Inc rose $1.05 or 3.3 percent, to $33.04; Qwest rose $.14 or 3.7 percent, to $3.92; Sprint Nextel rose $.28 or 3.2 percent, to $9.00; and Verizon rose $1.10 or 3.1 percent, to $36.22. I think that’s primarily due to lower inflation numbers that came in this morning, meaning consumer spending could rise without inflationary pressures in the air.
The big news was human resources and technology outsourcing firm Convergys Corp., which saw its stock rise 5% to $15 per share after news that the company was evaluating plans to split off its information management business into its own publicly traded company.
Wedbush Morgan Securities analyst Scott Sutherland said that the step would be a positive one for Converys, stating in a research report that the company could concentrate separately on its people-focused customer and human resources management units and its more software-centric information unit.
Fueling the split was Jana Partners, an investment firm that recently bought a 9.9 percent stake in the company and is known for taking an active hand in affairs. According to Sutherland, Jana was most recently part of a group that tried to overthrow the board of CNet Networks Inc. Sutherland said the evaluation was a positive first step in increasing shareholder value, considering options for the money-losing human resources management group is probably even more critical.
Why the move to split off its technology arm? It’s all about better client service on the technology end of its business. "We believe it's prudent to consider separating information management into an independent entity as a means of enhancing the strength and focus of each of our businesses to better serve our clients, provide more opportunities for our employees, and bolster each business' competitive position," said Dave Dougherty, Convergys' chief executive and president.
Convergys has some big name clients, including AT&T and Cincinnati Bell (actually, Convergys spun out of Cincinnati Bell 10 years ago). Revenue has declined in the past few quarters and evidently Convergys leadership feels a change was needed.
What should change is the company’s stock price, which should rise after the shake-up. Sutherland has put a "hold" on the stock at $14.50 - but I think it should rise more than that. If you want to grab a quick profit, go for Convergys at $15 or so and hold out for $17 or $18 per share.