Neutral - Price 20.71 on Oct. 20
by Hilliard Lyons

Lexington, Ky.-based foam-bedding maker Tempur-Pedic reported 3Q09 EPS of 34 cents, versus 32 cents a year ago....Total sales declined 11% year/over/year, significantly better than our forecast for a decline of 21%, as a roughly 4% price increase partially offset a 15% y/o/y unit-volume decline....We judge the valuation to be at least "fair" at premiums to the five-year medians of EV/Ebitda and forward P/E averaging 28%....We hesitate to chase the name at these relatively lofty valuations. We thus maintain our Neutral rating. Market cap: $1.6 billion.

50.2

Friedman Fleischer & Lowe GP II and its affiliates reported ownership of 4,474,220 shares (6%). The firm said that it had engaged or may in the future engage legal and financial advisers to assist it in evaluating strategic alternatives.

Tempur Pedic (TPX) was upgraded from Hold to Buy, Citigroup said. $49 price target. Company's brand awareness has reached an inflection point, and TPX should be able to sustain double-digit earnings growth over the next few years.

Tempur Pedic International recently beat Q3 earnings estimates and guided higher for next quarter. Revenues for the quarter were $294.1 million, versus the consensus of $277.59 million.

StreetInsider.com reports that Tempur Pedic announced it has completed its prior buyback and authorized a new $300 million repurchase program.

Tempur-Pedic International Inc. is a manufacturer, marketer and distributor of mattresses and pillows, which it sells globally in over 70 countries under the TEMPUR and Tempur-Pedic brands.

18-Oct-07 AMC earnings were 49c vs 34c with est of 45c. It ran to $37.22 Friday but settled up +1.07% at 34.04. IBD ratings: B+ technical, A+ fundamental, D group tech, E group fundamental.

Mattress that will remember you...poor Lindsey W. But it does appear that springs don't sell anymore if you have looked at ZZ. 2.94B Cap, Qt Rev Growth 17.70%, Gross Margin 48.47 %, p/e ttm 25.78. peg 1.25, Est Growth 28%.

Tempur-Pedic (TPX) was upgraded from Sector Perform to Outperform, CIBC said. $40 price target. Company hosted a very bullish analyst meeting, saying that customer demand remains very strong.

Tempur-Pedic (TPX) was upgraded to Overweight, JP Morgan said. Sales growth will continue to be driven by the company's innovative product lineup and robust demand. Company also set to raise prices.

The last one we’ll take a look at today is Tempur-Pedic International. The company, which makes mattresses and pillows, recently announced it will repurchase up to $200 million in shares.

This announcement cam on the same day last week in which the company also raised its full year earnings outlook for 2007. This was mainly due to price increases on its Deluxe and Classic models in the third quarter. The following day, the company continued the good news when it posted Q2 earnings that had profit rising 26% year over year, easily beating expectations.

The street responded by lifting the stock to 52 week highs and we then saw the analysts start chiming in as well.

The Standard & Poor's equity analyst raised his price target by $4 to $37, noting the share buyback as well as a new mattress factory should continue to drive EPS growth.

Stifel Nicolaus analyst John A. Baugh was also pleased with all the positive announcements. Baugh pointed out that "there was little to be critical of in this quarter, and the sharp pricing actions and strong orders bode well for the second half of the year.”

sold it right before it tripled

bad environment

Like their bed thought their stock might be a winner, wrong.