Sale lifts Acxiom stock to state’s best 3Q showing

DAVID SMITH

Buoyed by an agreement to sell the bulk of its business to advertising giant Interpublic Group, Acxiom shares had the best performance of any Arkansas company in the third quarter, rising 65 percent.

Conway-based Acxiom is expected to close on the $2.3 billion cash sale of its Acxiom Marketing Solutions division by December.

Customer data that Acxiom collects can help marketers such as New York’s Interpublic develop applicable ads for consumers, target the messages to the right audience and measure the success of the ads.

The sale allows the company to focus on its Live Ramp business, said Nathan Green, a financial adviser with Simmons First Investment Group Inc. in Searcy.

“The company has stated plans to use the $2.3 billion from the sale of Acxiom Marketing Solutions to provide capital for Live Ramp’s continued growth and innovation,” Green said.

Shares of P.A.M. Transportation Services rose 38.6 percent for the third quarter, the second-best performance of the past three months.

Operating revenue was up 24.5 percent in the second quarter compared with the same period last year, Green said.

“And the company reemphasized its commitment to its strategic plan with fleet growth of about 20 percent during the remainder of the year,” Green said.

The path to growth involves taking advantage of new opportunities, said Daniel Cushman, company president.

“With the company being recognized as a premium service provider across industry segments, we are now, more than ever, seeking opportunities with shippers that demand the highest levels of service,” Cushman said.

P.A.M. of Tontitown had the best return for the first nine months of the year, up 89.1 percent.

Shares of America’s CarMart increased 26.3 percent in the third quarter.

The stock did well after Bentonville’s Car-Mart reported second-quarter earnings.

Sales volume increased by 5.7 percent compared with the second quarter last year while also benefiting from an average retail sales price of $11,015 per vehicle, Green said.

“The average sales price increased 6.1 percent due to more sales of SUVs and trucks coupled with an increase in vehicle purchase costs, which in turn resulted in higher selling prices,” said Vickie Judy, chief financial officer.

The buy-here, pay-here company continues to expand locations with new dealerships planned for Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Alabama, Green said.

Nine of the Arkansas public stocks were down for the quarter and seven were up.

The Arkansas Index, a priceweighted index that tracks the 16 largest public companies in the state, was up 4.2 percent for the third quarter.

The poorest performances for the quarter were by Dillard’s, down 19.2 percent; Bank OZK, off 15.7 percent; USA Truck, off 13.8 percent; and Tyson Foods, down 13.5 percent.

Dillard’s reported a loss for its fiscal second quarter of $2.9 million, Green said.

But the Little Rock retailer was quick to point out that it had a 32 percent improvement in pretax income compared with the same quarter last year, Green said.

“The retail industry continues to see volatility and the holiday shopping season will be important for the sector as a whole as they look to close out the year on a positive note,” Green said.

USA Truck, based in Van Buren, announced its fourth-

consecutive quarter of positive earnings per share, Green said.

“The company continued progress by showing growth in both the trucking and logistics segments,” Green said. “The trucking industry continues to battle head winds in driver recruiting and retention as competitiveness for drivers intensifies.”

It was another busy quarter for Springdale’s Tyson Foods as it announced multiple new transactions and a new chief executive officer in the third quarter, Green said.

“The company announced an agreement to sell its TNT Pizza Crust business and a separate transaction to acquire Keystone Foods,” Green said.

“Both transactions reinforce

Tyson’s commitment to a continued focus on proteinbased foods.”

Noel White will replace Tom Hayes as chief executive officer, effective Sunday, Green said.

Arkansas’ publicly traded banks lagged behind the market in the third quarter, said Garland Binns, a Little Rock banking attorney with the Dover Dixon Horne firm.

“Except for the decline in Bank OZK finishing down 15.7 percent, there was not a significant change in the third quarter in stock prices for Home BancShares and Simmons [First National],” Binns said.

The results for the third quarter continue to reflect a degree of uncertainty in the financial sector, Binns said.