In a year filled with gloom and doom about the state of the economy, 2012 was a pretty good year for stocks, particularly if you invested in Jacksonville companies.
Of the 19 publicly traded companies headquartered in Jacksonville, 14 produced gains for shareholders this year, and all but one of those produced double-digit percentage gains.
That doesn't even include three local companies that were bought out during the year at premium prices.
The one trouble spot for local stocks was the two community banks, which continue to be plagued by loan losses and the need to raise more capital.
On the other hand, Jacksonville's largest bank went public in 2012 and produced a strong return for its shareholders after its initial public offering in May.
However, Jacksonville's largest company fell back this year amid concerns about its largest business segment.
Buyouts the big story
When we look back at 2012, we'll likely remember the headlines made by buyouts of some major Jacksonville companies.
The biggest deal, in terms of significance to the community, was Winn-Dixie Stores Inc.'s merger into Bi-Lo LLC.
The merger was announced in December 2011 but completed in March 2012, with Winn-Dixie shareholders receiving a price that was 75 percent higher than the stock's market price before the deal was announced.
The merged company did decide to keep its headquarters in Jacksonville, but we have no way to see how the supermarket chain is progressing because the merged company is now owned by private equity firm Lone Star Funds, and it is no longer filing financial reports for public viewing.
Interline Brands Inc. was acquired in September by two private equity firms at a price that was 42 percent higher than the stock's market price, but at least we can still gauge the progress of that company.
The distributor of maintenance, operations and repair products still is filing financial reports with the Securities and Exchange Commission because of publicly traded bonds.
RailAmerica Inc. was acquired in October by a competitor in the short-line railroad business, Genesee & Wyoming Inc. The buyout price was only 11 percent higher than the stock's market price before the deal was announced, but it was actually about 30 percent higher than RailAmerica's share price before market rumors of a pending sale sent the stock higher.
Although Genesee now owns the company, RailAmerica continues to operate independently until the U.S. Surface Transportation Board signs off on the deal. RailAmerica is currently under control of a voting trust until it receives that approval.
One other Jacksonville-based company went from public to private last year when Trailer Bridge Inc. reorganized under Chapter 11 bankruptcy. When the company emerged from bankruptcy in March, most of its stock was issued to noteholders to pay off the marine freight company's debt.
PSS merger still moving forward
One other big deal announced in 2012 is still moving forward. PSS World Medical Inc. agreed in October to a buyout by McKesson Corp. at a price that is 34 percent higher than its pre-merger market price.
McKesson last week announced it received early clearance from its federal antitrust review of the merger. That review is standard for major deals but it is one hurdle the medical supply distribution companies had to clear before moving ahead with the merger.
PSS has not yet scheduled its special shareholders meeting to vote on the buyout, but the companies hope to complete the deal in the first quarter of 2013.
EverBank rises, but other banks falter
Aside from the buyouts, the other milestone stock story from Jacksonville in 2012 was EverBank Financial Corp.'s long-awaited initial public offering.
We call it "long-awaited" because the stock sale came more than 18 months after EverBank initially filed plans with the SEC for the IPO, as it awaited the right market conditions.
As it turned out, EverBank had to lower its price to get the IPO completed in May. After estimating it would sell its shares for $12 to $14 each, the offering of 19.2 million shares was priced at $10.
However, it worked out well for shareholders who got in on the IPO. The stock rose on the first day of trading and never looked back, trading as high as $16.22 in November.
Shareholders of the other two Jacksonville-based publicly traded banks weren't so lucky in 2012. Jacksonville Bancorp Inc., which reported a net loss of $3.60 a share through the first nine months of the year, and Atlantic Coast Financial Corp., which lost $2.55 a share, both had big drops in price. The two community banks continue to work through problem loans left over from the recession.
Both banks have been notified by the Nasdaq Stock Market that they are in danger of losing their listing if they don't lift the stock prices.
Body Central's stock falls spectacularly
The year also was memorable for the spectacular fall of Body Central Corp.'s stock, reversing a spectacular rise, after the fashion retailer produced disappointing sales results.
Body Central was a big success story as its stock rose from $13 in its initial public offering in October 2010 to a high of $30.93 at the beginning of May 2012, fueled by consistently strong sales reports.
However, the market can be cruel to a retailer when sales falter. Amid a series of disappointments starting in May, Body Central's stock plunged to a low of $7.71 in the summer.
Jacksonville's other publicly traded fashion retailer, Stein Mart Inc., produced a double-digit percentage return for shareholders this year, but only because the company declared a special $1-a-share dividend in December. Stein Mart's stock price rose only slightly during the year.
Retailers in general ended the year on a sour note as holiday sales slumped, according to news reports last week. Many retail stocks fell on the day after Christmas as news of the weak holiday season came in.
Coach Inc., which has a major distribution center in Jacksonville, was the worst-performing stock in the Standard & Poor's 500 index on Dec. 26, falling 5.9 percent that day.
Many investors still hold Body Central in high regard but they are waiting for the company to regain its sales momentum before bidding up the stock price. It will take a long time to return to the levels it reached in the spring.
CSX down on coal outlook
Jacksonville's largest company, CSX Corp., also is held in high regard. But that doesn't always mean much on Wall Street.
CSX's stock fell in 2012, mainly because of concerns about coal shipments.
Shipments of coal are CSX's largest business segment, accounting for more than 30 percent of the railroad company's revenue in previous years. But with declining natural gas prices and high stockpiles of coal, demand from U.S. utility companies dropped this year.
As analysts lowered their revenue estimates for CSX to account for decreased coal demand, the stock dropped.
ParkerVision produced top return
If you were asked to guess which Jacksonville-based company produced the best return for shareholders this year, ParkerVision Inc. would be an unlikely choice.
But despite producing no revenue, the developer of wireless radio technology's stock more than doubled in price in 2012.
That's partially due to its low stock price. ParkerVision began the year trading below $1 but rose above $2 six months ago.
ParkerVision's stock has gone through numerous ups and downs since it went public in 1993. In many years it has produced no revenue at all, but some investors this year apparently see hope that the company will develop a market for its technology soon.
We've been waiting a long time to see ParkerVision's technology come to fruition. Maybe 2013 will be the year.
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Jacksonville stocks in 2012
This chart shows the shareholder return this year, through Dec. 27, for all public companies headquartered in Jacksonville. The return measures the percentage increase or decrease in stock price, plus any cash dividends paid out during the year.
| Company | Return |
| Atlantic Coast Financial | -23% |
| Body Central | -60% |
| CSX | -4% |
| EverBank Financial* | 44% |
| Fidelity National Financial | 52% |
| Fidelity National Information | 33% |
| Fortegra Financial | 32% |
| Global Axcess | -82% |
| International Baler | 43% |
| Jacksonville Bancorp | -72% |
| Landstar System | 9% |
| Lender Processing Services | 65% |
| ParkerVision | 138% |
| Patriot Transportation | 23% |
| PSS World Medical | 19% |
| Rayonier | 18% |
| Regency Centers | 29% |
| Stein Mart | 21% |
| Web.com Group | 28% |
*Return since initial public offering on May 2