Big Lots' stock doubled in price in 2009, as investors favored discounters thriving among value-conscious shoppers.
The price of stock in Limited Brands, the parent company of Victoria's Secret, rebounded in 2009.
The past year brought good news for many central Ohio-based public companies, with many benefiting from a rebound in the stock market.
In fact, some local companies' shares stand above their values on New Year's Eve 2007, when the recession had just come home to roost.
For local companies -- and the market -- the past year featured two distinct trends, with March 9 the dividing point.
"That day was the bottom," said Matt McCormack, a portfolio manager and banking analyst with Cincinnati investment adviser Bahl & Gaynor.
The Dow Jones industrial average dropped to 6,440 at one point on that day; that was less than half its level at the end of 2007 and well below the 2008 closing of 8,776.
Through March 9, "you were dealing with the mindset of 2008," McCormack said.
That mindset was one of gloom and doom in the face of a near collapse of the nation's financial system, and rising unemployment and foreclosure rates. There was even talk that the recession could morph into a depression.
"But after this day, you saw the rally begin," McCormack said.
This slow, steady rally continued, and the Dow closed the year at 10,428, up 59.3 percent from the low point on March 9 and 18.8 percent for the year.
The nation breathed a collective sigh of relief.
The stock market recovery, however, is far from complete: The Dow ended 2007 at 13,264.
That said, many central Ohio companies had plenty to cheer about in 2009.
A retail rally
The local retail sector did especially well, as most of the central Ohio companies in that line of business enjoyed big bounces in 2009.
"Historically, this is usually one of the first sectors to recover" after a recession, said Richard Jaffe, a retail analyst with Stifel Nicolaus & Co.
Shoe retailer DSW, which has been expanding and recently announced a partnership with the Miss America organization, showed a gain in the year of 108 percent. Retail Ventures, which owns a majority stake in DSW, did even better, soaring 156 percent.
Big Lots ended the year at $28.98, a gain of 100 percent; the price is almost double the stock's 2007 close of $15.99.
"The off-price industry, including Big Lots, did very well," Jaffe said. "The consumer in 2009 demonstrated a remarkable propensity for value and spent a lot more time seeking value."
Value and low prices are what Big Lots does best, said Tim Johnson, vice president of strategic planning and investor relations.
"We believe value and saving money never go out of style, even more so in light of the recent economic backdrop -- and we don't see that changing anytime soon," he said.
Johnson also believes that when the economy does recover, Big Lots has positioned itself to continue to do well. Now that real-estate prices have dropped, he said, the company is ready to add about 20 stores; it has about 1,350.
And when consumers are ready to buy more big-ticket items, Big Lots is an option.
"People who want to make a dollar go further come here," he said. "They look at some of the more-expensive items and say it's a great deal, but I don't need it now. But when they're ready for it -- they know where to find it."
Away from the "value" end of the retail spectrum, shares of the more-upscale Abercrombie & Fitch and Limited Brands also rebounded. Both suffered substantial stock-price declines in 2008 as consumers turned to lower-cost alternatives.
But both did well in 2009.
Abercrombie shares were up 51 percent to $34.85, but still far below their 2007 closing price of $79.97.
The Limited was up 92 percent to $19.24, which was just above its 2007 closing price of $18.93.
"The reason they began to bounce back was that, at some point, they began to understand consumers still wanted their brands, but also wanted value," said Janet Kloppenburg, a specialty retail analyst with JJK Research.
"They didn't have to be dirt cheap, but they began to play with price, to offer discounts."
Despite the stock gains of 2009, the retail sector is not out of the woods and is dependent on continued improvement in the economy.
The industry did well in 2009, Jaffe said, because companies cut employees, inventories and other costs. But that leaves little that could be cut this year.
"We're still facing continued economic pressure," he said. "Consumers have shown a propensity to be frugal and have spent the past 12 months being frugal and reducing their debt."
They re-emerged in the holiday season but could go back into hibernation.
"Consumers may pull back a little, and I have a cautious outlook for the spring," Jaffe said.
Struggles in banking
Central Ohio financial institutions didn't do as well as their retail counterparts.
"You had a situation where the tone was so bad, where many banks were trading below $5, cut out their dividends and had no earnings," McCormack said.
Stock in Columbus-based Huntington Bancshares reached a low of exactly $1 on Feb. 20 as it wrote off millions of dollars in bad mortgage loans and began a campaign to raise capital.
The measures seemed to work, as Huntington stock began to gain ground and has stabilized between $3.50 and $4.
Huntington stock ended the year down 52 percent at $3.65, well below its 2007 closing price of $14.76.
The same scenario played out for Ohio's two other large regional banks: Fifth Third and KeyCorp.
Fifth Third stock ended 2007 at $25.13 and the following year at $8.26, then plummeted to $1.01 on Feb. 20. From there, the price began to rise and settle around $10 a share, ending the year at $9.75.
Park National stock fell 18 percent to $58.88. In 2008, the Newark-based bank's shares were up 11.2 percent.
Other companies
The biggest gainer in 2009 among central Ohio public companies was Commercial Vehicle Group. It was the biggest loser in 2008, dropping 93.6 percent to 93 cents.
The New Albany-based company makes vehicle accessories, mainly for heavy trucks, and was hit hard by the economic downturn.
Despite the tough economic environment, Commercial Vehicle stock ended 2009 at $5.99, up 544 percent for the year, but is still well below its 2007 closing price of $14.50.
State Auto Financial had the highest percentage gain of any local company in 2008, rising 14.3 percent to $30.06. But the Columbus-based insurance company struggled in 2009; its stock fell 38 percent to $18.50.
The area lost one publicly traded company in 2009.
Dress Barn bought Tween Brands for more than $300 million in November. Tween now operates as a subsidiary of Suffern, N.Y.-based Dress Barn.
The past year featured two distinct stock-market trends, with March 9 the dividing point.
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