Stocks to watch: Diligent, Downer, GMT, IFT, STU

August 12 (BusinessDesk) – The following stocks may be active on the New Zealand exchange after developments since the close of trading. All prices are in New Zealand dollars unless specified.

Themes of the day: Investors fled global equity markets overnight following the Federal Reserve’s downgrade of the U.S. economic recovery, with the Dow down 2.5% and the S&P 500 off by 2.8%. Wall Street’s ‘fear gauge’, the Chicago Board Options Exchange’s VIX index, climbed 14% to a three-week high of 25.39 as traders went back to so-called safe havens like the greenback and yen. The uncertain outlook saw the New Zealand dollar drop to a three-week low against the greenback, down to 71.58 U.S. cents from 71.61 cents yesterday.

Diligent Board Member Services (DIL): The provider of online services to company boards narrowed its first-half operating loss to US$1.45 million from US$2.78 million a year earlier. Sales jumped 70% while costs fell 3%, said chairman David Liptak. The stock traded unchanged yesterday at 64 cents.

Downer EDI Ltd. (DOW): The departure of former chief executive Geoff Knox reflected his inability to convince the market that the worst is over for the construction industry, said Peter Esho, an analyst at Aegis Equities Research, according to ShareChat. Esho, who rates the stock a ‘hold’, said replacement CEO Grant Fenn may look at raising more capital. The shares trade infrequently on the NZX and were last at A$4.72 on the ASX.

Goodman Property Trust (GMT): Fund manager ING (NZ) Ltd. reduced its holdings in Goodman to about 6.1% from 7.4% and trimmed its stake in Property for Industry (PFI) to 4.9% from 5.1%, according to separate filings. Goodman was unchanged at 93 cents and PFI gained 0.9% to $1.13 yesterday.

Infratil Ltd. (IFT): The investment management company told shareholders at their annual meeting yesterday that it is growing increasingly confident about its guidance for full year operating earnings of between $390 million and $430 million. The shares climbed 0.6% to $1.63 yesterday.

NZ Farming Systems Uruguay (NZS): The South American dairy operator facing a takeover bid from Singapore’s Olam International rose 1.8% to 56 cents yesterday amid speculation Olam may have to raise its 55 cents-a-share offer.

Steel & Tube Holdings Ltd. (STU): Steel & Tube, which supplies steel building products to the construction industry such as reinforcing rods, is set to release its full-year financial results today. Paul Robertshawe, who helps manage $220 million for Tower Asset Management Ltd., said the outlook for the company did not look good, and that the market was expecting weaker results. Shares fell 2.2% to $2.22 yesterday.

(BusinessDesk)