Market Watch: Industry Stocks On Wall Street

Coming off the heels of an up-and-down 2002 that left most investors in pain, many stock market observers had high hopes for the market’s fortunes in 2003. The Dow Jones Industrials lost roughly 7 percent in the first three months of the year, but some publicly traded green industry firms fared better.
Here’s a look at several lawn care and landscape suppliers’ stocks and how they’re doing after the first quarter.

Toro (stock symbol TTC) – One has to wonder if anything can slow down the hard-charging Toro stock these days. Concerns about the economy and even the war haven’t done so yet. Bolstered by record first-quarter earnings, Toro’s stock price topped $72 a share in late March and closed the first quarter near the $70 mark. Investors are sure to appreciate that gain of nearly 10 percent in three months, especially considering the fact that the stock is up a staggering 50 percent over the last year.

ServiceMaster (SVM) – The stock for TruGreen’s parent company started the year at $11 a share, but it went into a steady decline for the first two months of the year, dropping to nearly $9 a share. The stock rebounded in early March, however, and closed the first quarter at the $10 mark.

Caterpillar (CAT) – The year has been good to Caterpillar thus far. Strong sales reports have helped drive share prices from a Jan. 1 mark of $47.50 a share up to nearly $53 in late March. The stock has given back some of this increase in recent days, but its first-quarter close of roughly $50 a share still represents a 5 percent gain. (Caterpillar’s next earnings announcement is scheduled for April 16.)

John Deere & Co. (DE) – John Deere’s stock chart almost mirrors that of ServiceMaster. Thanks to a steady decline, the big green equipment manufacturer woke up to find its stock price down roughly 20 percent for 2003 as it opened the second quarter. In fact, the stock sagged to $37.50 a share in mid-March, which represents its low point for the last 52 weeks. A surge in late March boosted the price to nearly $43 a share, but the stock finished March at $39.40.

LESCO (LSCO) – LESCO’s rocky 2002 was well documented, but the company enters 2003 with an ambitious growth plan that calls for the opening of up to 25 new service centers this year. Unfortunately, the market hasn’t been excited by this investment, which LESCO President and CEO Michael DiMinio recognizes will hurt short-term earnings. The stock was at nearly $14 a share to open the year, but it’s currently trading at $11 a share.

The Scotts Co. (SMG) – Scotts is arguably the first name in turf care, and it has had mixed fortunes this year. The stock opened the year at $50 a share and quickly jumped to its 52-week high when it hit $55.75. Unfortunately, that high was short lived. The price was back to $50 a share in late January, and it fell to $48 a share by mid-March. A slight rebound pushed the price back up to $52 a share by quarter’s end, however.

The author is Editor/Publisher for Lawn & Landscape magazine and can be reached at bwest@lawnandlandscape.com.