ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1995, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, December 31, 1995 TAG: 9601020145
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: D-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MAG POFF STAFF WRITER
MEMO: ***CORRECTION***
Published correction ran on Jan. 5, 1996
A story in Sunday's Business section incorrectly stated last year's
movement in Roanoke Electric Steel Corp.'s stock price because it failed
to account for a stock split in May. After adjusting for the split, the
company's stock rose from the equivalent of $10.83 a share at the end of
1994 to $16.62 1/2 at the end of 1995, a gain of 53.5 percent.
The stocks of regional companies mirrored the performance of national markets, generally rising in value during 1995, according to local brokers. But the overall performance was uneven among various industry sectors in Western Virginia.
John C. Parrott II of Wheat First Butcher Singer, who tracks an index of 20 regional stocks for The Roanoke Times, said it was up about 26 percent overall this year. That's a figure, he noted, that just about matches the 1995 gain of the widely watched Dow Jones Industrial Average of 30 major U.S. companies.
The Roanoke Times regional index is driven largely by banks, whose stocks performed very well this year. The four major banking companies saw their stocks rise an average of 49 percent during the year. Parrott said First Union Corp.'s common stock was up from about $45 a share to about $55 over the course of 1995, while NationsBank Corp. rose from $45 to $70. Crestar Financial Corp. climbed from $37 to $60, and Signet Banking Corp. was up from $28 to $40.
In other sectors, Norfolk Southern Corp. increased from $60 to $77 a share, a 28 percent gain; General Electric Co. from $51 to $71, a 39 percent increase, and ITT Corp. - after adjustment for a split - from $88 to $122, or up 39 percent. BellSouth Corp. moved from $54 to $84, a gain of 56 percent.
Roanoke Electric Steel Corp. - after adjustment for a split - moved a relatively modest 6 percent, from $16 to $17.
All of these gains more than offset the flat performance of several other stocks, especially shares of furniture companies and coal mining operations. Parrott said Tultex Corp. and Home Shopping Network Inc. also failed to make progress during the last year.
All of these industries reflected the experience of their national sectors, although the make-up of the local portfolio doesn't reflect the types of companies in the national markets. ITT, for instance, is the only technology stock in the regional portfolio.
The index of local stocks is composed of Pittston Services Group, Westmoreland Coal Co., Norfolk Southern Corp., Bell Atlantic Corp., BellSouth Corp., First Union Corp., Dominion Resources Inc., Crestar Financial Corp., LADD Furniture Inc., Bassett Furniture Industries, Pulaski Furniture Co., Home Shopping Network Inc., Roanoke Electric Steel Corp., Tultex Corp., Smithfield Foods Inc., Signet Banking Corp., NationsBank Corp., USAir Group, ITT Corp. and General Electric Co.
LENGTH: Medium: 59 lines ILLUSTRATION: GRAPHIC: Chart by staff: Regional stocks. color. KEYWORDS: YEAR 1995by CNB