Taking stock: Pinnacle pops and Clarcor CEO says no to more pay

Also: Local restaurant stocks have another strong day, HealthSpring's higher guidance doesn't help and investing giant trims Louisiana-Pacific stake

Email | Print By Geert De Lombaerde

Shares of Pinnacle Financial Partners, the region's largest locally based bank and fourth overall, jumped more than 13 percent today on no news. The stock fell when the company reported solid fourth-quarter numbers last week, but today's move recovered its losses so far in '08. CEO Terry Turner couldn't be reached for comment this afternoon.

Picking up where they left off yesterday – and then some – shares of CBRL Group and O'Charley's also surged today, gaining 13 percent and 7.5 percent, respectively. Fellow retailer Tractor Supply Co. rose 11 percent, but was giving much of that back in early after-hours trading. More than one market commentator has said of late that now is a good time to buy retailers – both because they've been oversold, but also as a bet that these stocks will be among the first to rally once things settle down.

And now for something completely different: Clarcor, the Franklin-based manufacturer of filtration products, today filed papers with the SEC saying CEO Norm Johnson voluntarily scrapped a bonus clause from his compensation package. Clarcor Vice President of Finance and CFO Bruce Klein said the clause never came into effect, but would have paid Johnson – who earned $1.1 million in '06 – if Clarcor had reached a certain size. "It is real money he gave up, but he thought it was unfair," Klein said about the gesture – a sharp contrast to another local public company's moves last year that resulted in quite the squabble.

Yeah, it's that kind of market: HealthSpring guided 2008 estimates higher this morning, but ended the day down 0.3 percent.

Investing mammoth Barclays Global Investors recently filed a holdings report showing it sold almost 7 million shares of Louisiana-Pacific in 2007, when LP slid from more than $23 to less than $14. The sales slashed its stake in the construction materials supplier from almost 10 percent to 3.4 percent.