Dynamex shares fall 20 pct on lower 2009 guidance

DALLAS - Shares of shipping and logistics company Dynamex fell 18 percent on Thursday after it sharply lowered its fiscal 2009 guidance.

Dynamex shares dropped $2.98 to $13.46, setting a 52-week low of $12.66 intraday. The stock has traded as high as $32.50 in the past year.

On Wednesday afternoon Dynamex posted net income of $3 million, or 30 cents per share, for the quarter ended Oct. 31, down from almost $4 million, or 39 cents per share, a year earlier. Revenue of $115.5 million was up 3.3 percent from $111.8 million a year earlier.

However, a payment of $1.5 million to the company's former president and chief executive (and current chairman) cost the company almost 10 cents per share in profit, which would have given it an operating profit of nearly 40 cents per share. That would have matched the expectation of analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters.

Dynamex also said it now expects to earn $1 to $1.20 per share during fiscal 2009. Its previous estimate had been $1.60 to $1.70 per share.

On Thursday morning Stephens Inc. analyst Alexander Brand downgraded Dynamex shares from "Overweight" to "Equal-weight" and reduced his price target to $15 from $35.

"Our downgrade is predicated on a lack of visibility and any near-term upside catalysts for the stock," he wrote.

He wrote that Dynamex has been hurt by a slowing economy, a weaker Canadian dollar, and lower volumes from Office Depot.

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