Five things I just learned about North Carolina-based public companies.
- Asheville-based Ingles Markets (IMKT.A) lost 13% of its value on Monday, topping the list of biggest losers among N.C. stocks. Ingles shares more than doubled in value over the year ended Nov. 1, partly on speculation of a possible sale as the grocery industry consolidates and Publix advances into its key North Carolina markets. But after peaking at about $54.50, the shares now trade for about $38.
- If you had $10 invested in Charlotte-based Bank of America (BAC) — then called NCNB Corp. — in January 1978, you would have about $100 at the end of 2015. If you had put $10 into Minneapolis-based US Bancorp (USB), then called First Bank Systems, you would have about $600. I was living in Minnesota in 1978. Sadly, mom and dad didn’t own any First Bank stock.http://seekingalpha.com/article/3788386-u-s-bancorp-fueled-by-sentiment-not-fundamentals-and-overvalued-by-80-percent
- Highwoods Properties Inc., North Carolina’s largest real-estate development company, is selling 18 properties in Kansas City’s Country Club Plaza district for $660 million. The Raleigh-based company (HIW) said its real estate there is 95% leased and anyone who visits that area can understand why — the development has distinctive architecture and is very cool.
- Capitala Finance (CPTA)’s investment adviser, Capital Investment Advisors LLC, plans to forgo its quarterly fee charged for managing the company’s portfolio. If it hadn’t done so, the company would have paid out more in dividends than its net interest income. Charlotte-based Capitala lends money to small businesses at rates typically higher than charged by commercial banks. CEO Joe Alala controls both companies. The company’s shares gained 2.5%, bucking the overall market’s rotten performance. But the shares now trade for $12.38, after debuting at $18 in September 2013. Investors buy so-called Business Development Companies for their yield; Capitala’s is now 13.8% for you gamblers out there.
- Wells Fargo & Co.’s operating margin is now almost 40%, exceeding the boom times of 2006. Though Wells Fargo (WFC) sailed through the recession better than its peers, its margin bottomed at 7.8% in 2008. The company’s isn’t based in North Carolina, but it should be given how it essentially stole Wachovia Corp. at the depths of the 2007-09 recession, overcoming a richer bid from Citigroup Inc.
David Mildenberg is editor of Business North Carolina. Reach him at dmildenberg@businessnc.com.