Industry Stocks: October Performances

Company Sept. 29 Oct. 31 % Change
Source: Reed Business Information
Winners
Amazon 32.12 38.09 18.6%
Hastings Ent. 6.75 7.85 16.3
Books-A-Million 17.85 19.99 12.0
Reader's Digest 12.96 14.38 11.0
McGraw-Hill Cos. 58.03 64.17 10.6
Barnes & Noble 37.94 41.31 8.9
Losers
Banta Corp. 47.60 44.28 -7.0
John Wiley & Sons 36.01 35.30 -2.0
Educational Dev. Corp. 6.90 6.83 -1.0
Publishers Weekly
Stock Index 500.95 523.91 4.6%
Dow Jones Aver. 11,679.07 12,080.73 3.4
With winners outnumbering losers 16 to five, the Publishers Weekly Stock Index rose 4.6% in October following a 3.2% gain in September. Retailers and e-tailers once again had a good month, led by Amazon, whose stock price rose 18.6% as the company beat third quarter estimates and increased its projections for the fourth quarter. Hastings followed a 7.8% gain in September with a 16.3% increase last month helped by news of a second stock buyback program. A better than expected third quarter contributed to McGraw-Hill Cos. October gain. Banta Corp.'s stock decline came just before it was announced R.R. Donnelley will buy the company in a deal worth $1.3 billion (Briefs, p. 3); Donnelley is paying $36.50 per share and Banta issued a special dividend of $16 per share.