LaBranche & Co. Inc.

Company Description

LaBranche & Co Inc. is a holding company that is the sole member of LaBranche Co. LLC and owns all the outstanding stock of Henderson Brothers, Inc. the company is a specialist firm on the NYSE. The Henderson Brothers, Inc. subsidiary is a clearing broker for customers of several introducing brokers and provides direct access floor brokerage services to institutional customers.

As a NYSE specialist, the company's role is to maintain, as far as practicable, a fair and orderly market in their specialist stocks.

Crushed Analysts' Estimates

LaBranche reported fourth-quarter and full-year results on Jan 21 that included quarterly earnings of 41 cents. The consensus was just 17 cents headed into the announcement, a 141% surprise.

The 41 cent performance was more than 10 times the 4 cents reported in the same quarter for 2007. Also, in 2007 the company made 3 cents per share for the full year, while in 2008 it brought in 78 cents per share.

Estimates Spiking

Over the past 30 days estimates have grown substantially. Current quarter estimates are up 90% to 19 cents, up from 10 cents. The full-year consensus for 2009 is also up dramatically, now 63 cents, up from 41 cents over the same time period.

The Chart

Shares of LAB road the momentum from the latest earnings announcement through resistance near $5.50. Take a look at the chart below.