Shares of building materials companies were pulled to the upside Friday morning after Beacon Roofing Supply (BECN) reported a jump in its third quarter earnings.
Beacon's stock posted one of the most significant gains, rising nearly 8%. Huttig Building Products Inc. (HBP) stock also moved substantially higher, climbing about 6%.
Meanwhile, shares of Interline Brands Inc. (IBI) and Bluelinx Holdings Inc. (BXC) each posted gains over 3%.
Around 10:45 am Eastern Time, shares of Beacon were up $1.19 at $14.73 a share, while Hutting stock was up 11 cents at $2.23. Interline stock was up 62 cents at $14.55 and shares of Bluelinx were up 18 cents at $5.67.
Before the opening bell on Friday, Beacon posted third quarter net income of $18.3 million, compared to $11.5 million in last year. Net income per share increased 58% to $0.41 from $0.26 in previous year.
On average, eight analysts polled by First Call/Thomson Financial expected the company to report earnings of $0.31 per share.
Sales increased 6.1% to $514.6 million from $484.9 million in the year-ago quarter. Six Wall Street analysts expected revenues of $480.27 million.
Earlier this week, Interline had its 2008 and 2009 earnings estimates cut by Lehman Brothers. This came shortly after the company reported it second quarter earnings. Lehman lowered its 2008 estimate to $1.40 from $1.50 and cut its 2009 estimate to $1.55 from $1.60.
After the closing bell on Monday, Interline posted second quarter net income of $11.2 million or $0.34 per share, compared to $12.0 million or $0.37 per share in the last year quarter.
Net sales for the quarter were $311.4 million, down from $313.2 million in the prior year quarter.
Analysts polled by First Call/Thomson Financial expected the company to report earnings of $0.32 per share on revenues of $309.10 million.
The company expects third quarter earnings of $0.41 to $0.46 per share. Analysts expect earnings of $0.49 per share for the third quarter.
For the full year 2008, the company anticipates earnings of $1.40 to $1.50 per share. Analysts expect earnings of $1.63 per share for the year.
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