With winners outnumbering losers by an 11 to 4 count, the Publishers Weekly Stock Index rose 3.2% in February, slightly beating the Dow Jones Industrial Average's 2.7% increase. The big winners in the month were two entertainment companies, Disney and CBS, parent companies of Hyperion/Disney Children's Publishing and Simon & Schuster, respectively. Both companies enjoyed good momentum throughout the month, with CBS in particular picking up after announcing a strong fourth quarter and giving a bullish outlook for 2011. Borders Group stock sank as bankruptcy rumors mounted, and it stopped trading with its Chapter 11 filing at 23 cents. Barnes & Noble's share price, which had been benefiting from Borders's problems, dived after the company reported weaker than anticipated quarterly results.
Winners
Company | Jan. 31 | Feb. 28 | % Change |
---|---|---|---|
CBS | 19.83 | 23.86 | 20.3% |
Disney Corp. | 38.87 | 43.74 | 12.5 |
Scholastic | 29.73 | 31.40 | 5.6 |
R.R. Donnelley | 17.72 | 18.62 | 5.1 |
Books-A-Million | 5.69 | 5.92 | 4.0 |
John Wiley | 45.95 | 47.81 | 4.0 |
Losers
Company | Jan. 31 | Feb. 28 | % Change |
---|---|---|---|
Borders Group | 73 | 0.23 | -68.5 |
Barnes & Noble | 15.75 | 13.39 | -15.0 |
Educational Dev. Corp. | 6.80 | 6.50 | -4.4 |
McGraw-Hill Cos. | 38.98 | 38.68 | -0.8 |
Publishers Weekly | |||
Stock Index | 461.70 | 476.31 | 3.2 |
Dow Jones Aver. | 11,896.93 | 12,226.34 | 2.7 |