Hardinge, Inc. not getting it’s act together
Back in February I added Hardinge, Inc. (HDNG: 8.34 +0.1381 +1.68%) to this site’s stock tracking as a turnaround candidate. In the 3rd quarter of 2007, the stock price was hammered by 50% when the company showed a zero earnings quarter. Previously, the company had been a steady generator of growth and profits. My thought was when the company was able to start generating profits at historical levels, the stock price would make a nice recovery.
In February, the 4th quarter earnings came in with a small net loss (-1¢), with the company claiming a decrease in net margins due to the unloading of some old inventory. Now, today, 1st quarter results are out with another quarterly loss! They reported a loss of 6¢ per share for the quarter on decreased sales and gross margin. Hardinge management blames a significant portion of their woes on currency exchange issues with their customers in Europe and Asia.
At this point in time, I see a company with 3 quarters in a row of negative earnings results. It appears management does not yet have a handle on how to return the company to its former profitability. For this reason I am removing HDNG from this site’s Special Situations Stock Portfolio. The share price after the news today is down a few bucks from where I added the stock to the portfolio. For me, there are better more interesting opportunities for stock investing at this time.
Note: I currently do not have a position in HDNG.
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