Furniture Brands International (NYSE:FBN) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Stifel Nicolaus from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, TheFlyOnTheWall.com reports.
The analysts wrote, “We are downgrading Furniture Brands from Hold to Sell as we believe some form of liquidation of the company or bankruptcy filing is imminent and we believe fair value on the equity is $0. On an annual basis, the company has seen 8 years of revenue declines and we believe 2013 will be another down year. In the most recent quarter, the company has announced that it will attempt to renegotiate its credit facilities, sell off assets, and look into further cost reductions to address the liquidity concerns. We believe it is more likely that they are talking to workout investment bankers or bankruptcy attorneys about their options. We have heard from various sources that the company has been unable to pay vendors in a timely manner in the past week and there is risk that they will have issues buying raw materials necessary to make product going forward. Clearly the Street has similar feelings as we do as the company was forced into a reverse 1:7 stock split in order to keep from being de-listed by the exchange in May and the stock is now back under $2 today. The equity is worth nothing in our opinion.”
Shares of Furniture Brands International (NYSE:FBN) traded down 16.06% during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $1.15. Furniture Brands International has a one year low of $1.33 and a one year high of $12.74. The stock’s 50-day moving average is currently $3.61. The company’s market cap is $9.3 million.
A number of other firms have also recently commented on FBN. Analysts at Zacks upgraded shares of Furniture Brands International from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note to investors on Monday. They now have a $2.30 price target on the stock. Analysts at Thomson Reuters/Verus downgraded shares of Furniture Brands International from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note to investors on Tuesday, May 28th.
In other Furniture Brands International news, major shareholder Shan Huei Kuo dumped 144,551 shares of the company’s stock on the open market in a transaction that occured on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $2.26, for a total transaction of $326,685.26. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Large shareholders that own 10% or more of a company’s shares are required to disclose their transactions with the SEC.
Furniture Brands International, Inc designs, manufactures, sources and retails home furnishings. The Company, markets through a range of retail channels, from mass merchant stores to single-branded and independent dealers to specialized interior designers.
