Stocks to Watch: Agilysys, Gap and Aeropostale

SAN FRANCISCO – Among the companies whose shares are expected to see active trading in Friday's session are Agilysys Inc., Gap Inc., and Aeropostale Inc.

Agilysys (AGYS) is expected to report fourth-quarter earnings of 24 cents a share, according to a survey of two analysts by Thomson Financial.

Royal Bank of Canada (RY) is expected to post earnings of 96 cents a share for the second quarter.

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After Thursday's closing bell, Gap (GPS) posted a 26 percent decline in quarterly profit, hurt by steep markdowns and a write-down related to the closing of its Forth & Towne stores.

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Aeropostale's (ARO) first-quarter net income climbed 64 percent to $13.8 million, or 26 cents a share, from $8.36 million, or 15 cents a share, a year earlier. The New York clothing retailer said sales for the period ended May 5 grew 12 percent to $275.8 million from $246.3 million as same store sales rose 2.5 percent. Aeropostale expects second-quarter earnings of 26 cents to 28 cents a share. The company expects an accelerated back-to-school selling season to shift 4 cents to 6 cents a share of earnings to the second quarter from the third quarter.

Aetna Inc. (AET) said it has agreed to acquire Schaller Anderson Inc., a privately held provider of health care management services for Medicaid plans, for about $535 million. The Hartford, Conn.-based health-care benefits company said it expects the acquisition to add to earnings during 2008.

Amgen Inc. (AMGN) said it has priced $1.1 billion of 5.85 percent senior notes due 2017, $900 million of 6.375 percent senior notes due 2037, and $2 billion of 18-month floating rate senior notes, for a total transaction size of $4 billion. The Thousand Oaks, Calif.-based biotechnology company estimates net proceeds from the offering of roughly $3.98 billion, and Amgen expects to use the funds to buy back $3 billion in stock.

Aruba Networks Inc. (ARUN) reported a fiscal third-quarter net loss of $9.29 million, or 26 cents a share, compared with a net loss of $1.53 million, or 13 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Excluding the impact of stock-based and warrant valuation expenses, the company posted a profit of a penny a share versus a loss of 10 cents a share last year. The Sunnyvale, Calif.-based provider of wireless networking products said revenue in the three months ended April 30 rose 65 percent to $34.7 million from $21 million in the comparable period last year.

Cato Corp. (CTR) increased its quarterly dividend 10 percent to 16.5 cents a share. The dividend is payable on June 25 to shareholders of record as of June 11, the Charlotte, N.C.-based retailer said.

Chevron Corp. (CVX) said its subsidiaries in Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg have agreed to sell their fuels marketing business to Delek Benelux B.V., a Dutch subsidiary of the Israeli company Delek Petroleum. The sale price is $460 million, exclusive of working capital adjustments estimated to be between $30 million and $95 million. Under the agreement, Delek will acquire Chevron's Benelux fuel marketing operations, which include 803 Texaco-branded service stations, two fuel terminals in Belgium and Luxembourg, interests in six joint venture retailers in the Netherlands, as well as other related assets. Delek US Holdings Inc. (DK) , a subsidiary of Delek Petroleum, is an operator of gas stations and attached convenience stores in the southern United States and a crude oil pipeline and refinery in Texas.

Cost Plus Inc. (CPWM) reported a first-quarter net loss of $12 million, or 54 cents a share, compared with a restated net loss of $3.54 million, or 16 cents a share, during the year-ago period. The Oakland, Calif.-based home furnishings retailer said revenue fell to $207.9 million from $213 million. Same-store sales decreased 8.1 percent during the quarter, the company said. Additionally, Cost Plus said it expects a second-quarter net loss of 59 cents to 69 cents a share on revenue of $218 million to $223 million.

Equity Residential Properties Trust (EQR) said it has approved an additional $500 million share buyback. Including the remainder of the previous authorization, a total of $616 million is now available for share repurchases, the Chicago-based real estate investment trust said.

Fiserv Inc. (FISV) signed definitive agreements to sell its investment support services operation in two separate transactions to TD Ameritrade Holding Corp. (AMTD) and to an executive of the operation. Ameritrade agreed to acquire Fiserv Trust Co. and the accounts of Fiserv's institutional retirement plan and advisor services operations for $225 million in cash, plus up to $100 million contingent on achieving revenue targets.

Frontier Airlines Holdings Inc.'s (FRNT) fiscal fourth-quarter loss widened to $10.4 million, or 29 cents a share, from a year-earlier loss of $7.85 million, or 22 cents a share. The Denver company's revenue for the fourth quarter ended March 31 rose to $282.4 million from $255 million.

General Electric Co. (GE) and BP Plc (BP) will jointly develop technology for at least five power plants designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from electricity generation. The companies said the technology will be designed to capture 90 percent of the carbon in the fuel. The companies reached a preliminary agreement on the alliance in 2006.

Hibbett Sports Inc. (HIBB) reported first-quarter net earnings of $10.2 million, or 32 cents a share, down 11 percent from $11.5 million, or 35 cents a share, in the year-ago period. The Birmingham, Ala.-based sporting goods retailer said revenue rose to $133.8 million from $126.9 million in the comparable period last year. Same-store sales rose 0.7 percent for the quarter, the company said. Additionally, Hibbett said it expects second-quarter earnings of 20 cents to 24 cents a share, and a comparable-store sales increase in the high single digits. For fiscal 2008, the company said it still expects per-share earnings of $1.30 to $1.35.

Mentor Graphics Corp. (MENT) reported first-quarter net earnings of $290,000, or breakeven on a per-share basis. During the year-ago period, the Wilsonville, Ore.-based provider of hardware and software design technology products posted a net loss of $5.86 million, or 7 cents a share. Pro forma earnings were 12 cents a share, the company said. Revenue rose to $190.5 million from $176.3 million. Additionally, Mentor said it expects second-quarter per-share earnings of a penny to 3 cents, or 8 cents to 10 cents on a pro forma basis, on revenue of $200 million.

Nasdaq Stock Market Inc. (NDAQ) is close to announcing the acquisition of Nordic exchange operator OMX Group , the Wall Street Journal reported, citing unidentified people familiar with the matter. The two exchanges were completing the final details and could announce the deal as early as Friday, the newspaper added. Nasdaq may buy OMX for around 200 kroner a share in cash and stock, the WSJ said. That would create a $7 billion company that runs stock and derivative markets in eight countries including the U.S. and Iceland, the paper added. Nasdaq Chief Executive Bob Greifeld will be chief executive, with OMX CEO Magnus Böcker his number two, the WSJ said.

Nordson Corp.'s (NDSN) fiscal second-quarter earnings fell 4.3 percent to $21 million, or 61 cents a share, from $21.9 million, or 64 cents a share, a year earlier, which included a loss from discontinued operations of 6 cents a share. The Westlake, Ohio, manufacturing equipment company said sales for the period ended April 30 grew 5.9 percent to $241.3 million from $227.8 million.

Peerless Systems Corp. (PRLS) said it swung to a fiscal first-quarter net loss of $829,000, or 5 cents a share, from a year-ago net profit of $2.04 million, or 11 cents a share. The El Segundo, Calif.-based provider of imaging and networking products to the digital document markets said revenue in the three months ended April 30 fell to $4.75 million from $8.8 million in the comparable period last year. The company still expects a net loss in the second fiscal quarter and profitability in the third fiscal quarter, and still expects fiscal 2008 net income of $3.8 million to $4.5 million on revenue of $29 million to $31 million.

Red Robin Gourmet Burgers Inc. (RRGB) reported first-quarter net earnings of $7.46 million, or 44 cents a share, up from $7.36 million, or 44 cents a share, during the year-ago period. The Greenwood Village, Colo.-based casual dining company said revenue for the three months ended April 22 rose 25 percent to $212.3 million from $170.5 million in the comparable period last year. Company-owned same-store sales fell 0.5 percent in the quarter.

SourceForge Inc. (LNUX) , formerly known as VA Software Corp., late Thursday reported third-quarter net earnings of $6.49 million, or 9 cents a share, up from $997,000, or 2 cents a share, during the year-ago period. Pro forma earnings from continuing operations were $2.1 million, or 3 cents a share, compared with $1.2 million, or 2 cents a share, last year. The Fremont, Calif.-based maker of computer servers and storage systems said revenue for the three months ended April 30 rose to $10.3 million from $7.9 million. Analysts, on average, had forecast a per-share profit of 2 cents on revenue of $12 million.

Syniverse Holdings Inc. (SVR) named David W. Hitchcock chief financial officer, effective June 4. Hitchcock, most recently chief financial officer of Alcatel-Lucent (ALU) , replaces Raymond Lawless, who will leave the company May 31. Syniverse is a Tampa-based provider of business and network engineering.

UnionBanCal Corp. (UB) raised its quarterly cash dividend 11 percent, to 52 cents a share from 47 cents. The San Francisco-based bank holding company said the dividend is payable July 6 to shareholders of record as of June 4.

U.S. Concrete Inc. (RMIX) named Michael Harlan, the company's chief operating officer, as its new president and chief executive. U.S. Concrete is based in Houston.

Verigy Ltd. (VRGY) swung to a fiscal second-quarter profit as it incurred fewer expenses than a year ago. The Cupertino, Calif., semiconductor test company earned $22 million, or 36 cents a share, for the quarter ended April 30, reversing a year-ago loss of $11 million, or 22 cents a share. Excluding some restructuring charges, the latest earnings would've been $24 million, or 40 cents a share. Revenue fell to $183 million from $192 million.

Westaff Inc's (WSTF) fiscal second-quarter net loss widened to $664,000, or 4 cents a share, from a year-earlier loss of $266,000, or 2 cents a share. The Walnut Creek, Calif., staffing company's revenue fell more than 6 percent to $129.8 million for the quarter ended April 14, from $138.6 million a year earlier. Sales fell because of softness in the U.S. market as well as the company's focus on higher-margin opportunities.

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