Last, I have been adding a lot of positions of late and want to streamline the portfolio and try to keep the long positions at a certain ceiling... so I've been mulling what positions to cut over this past weekend - this was one of the candidates, and this earnings report confirmed. While I can hold this for a while and hope for a rebound to curtail my losses I just decided to cut bait and focus energy on other ideas.
I'm selling my 1.5% stake which I started on November 12, 2007 for a net loss of $6000, selling today in the $42s. Again, for some this is a buying opportunity as the stock has retreated but I just don't like the lack of execution; this is not a 2-3 cent miss but a miss by a mile - again lack of managing Wall Street is not what I like in my holdings. I still like this name for the long run based on what space it operates in.
- Chicago Bridge & Iron Co. said Wednesday its first-quarter profit rose 15 percent year-over-year but failed to meet Wall Street expectations, as escalating material and commodity costs offset revenue growth.
- The engineering and construction company said net income rose to $42.2 million, or 43 cents per share, from $36.6 million, or 38 cents per share, a year ago. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial had expected much higher profit of 54 cents per share.
- Revenue surged 68 percent to $1.4 billion from $857.3 million, in line with analysts' expectations. New awards for the quarter totaled $943 million, bringing CB&Is total backlog to $7.3 billion as of March 31.
- "We are confident in our full-year forecast and in the continuing level of capital expenditures in the global energy market although challenges on projects related to labor productivity and escalating material and commodity prices have impacted the quarters results," said Philip K. Asherman, President and CEO.
