Former US Fed Chair Ben Bernanke will be delivering a key economic presentation at the University of Southern Indiana in Evansville, Indiana on March 23, 2015. It is open to the public and free of charge. Nashville, TN, with its great Universities and huge Hospital Organizations, is only 150 miles from Evansville, Austin Peay State University only 110 miles and Middle Tennessee State University only 185 miles as the crow flies.
Thus, as a backdrop for this upcoming speech and continuing a much deserved tribute to Bernanke's key role in helping the US avoid a Deep, Prolonged Financial Depression, I think it would be helpful to update just what has been going on with Stock Market Prices for Companies in each US State since March 6, 2009, the lowest point for the overall US Stock Market resulting from the aftershocks of the horrific late 2008 US Financial Meltdown, through the most recent date March 13, 2015......a roughly six year period of time.
Long-term Audited Earnings From Continuing Operations Under US Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) drive Long-Term Changes in Stock Market Prices. These Company Earnings crashed with the late 2008 US Financial Meltdown and thus the linked Stock Market Prices of the related Companies also crashed.
But since the 2008 US Financial Meltdown, these Earnings have been consistently exceptional and thus the Stock Market Prices of the related Companies have also consistently exploded upwardly in the past six years.
This is the dilemma faced by the current US Fed ..... raise US interest rates or continue former US Fed Chair Ben Bernanke's economic policies which have continued to spur Company Earnings and thus also Company Stock Market Prices.
I think the current US Fed should tweak Bernanke's economic policies some to try to more effectively deal with income and wealth inequality, but why in the world would you want to alter them significantly since they have been so incredibly successful?
And the US Congress, and frankly also US Companies, just have to do a much better job addressing income and wealth inequality.
Tennessee Companies spectacular 578% average stock market price increase in the past six years is the highest so far of all US States in the latter part of the alphabet (T-Z).
Tennessee has so many very successful Health Care Companies which have all been helped enormously by both the Affordable Care Act and also by Ben Bernanke's prescient actions to financially resuscitate the severely damaged economic state of US Hospitals after the late 2008 Financial Meltdown.
Below here are the 42 Tennessee Headquartered Companies with Stock Market Caps now above $100 mil and which have had their common stocks trading from December 31, 2007, or early in 2008 for companies first going public then, through the most recent date March 13, 2015, or the date the Companies were sold, if they were sold since the beginning of 2014.
| Market | Market | Market | ||||||
| Price | Price | Price | ||||||
| % | % | % | ||||||
| Change | Change | Change | ||||||
| Market | Market | Market | 3-6-09 | 12-31-07 | 12-31-07 | |||
| Price | Price | Price | to | to | to | |||
| Tennessee | HQs | 3-13-15 | 3-6-09 | 12-31-07 | 3-13-15 | 3-6-09 | 3-13-15 | |
| $s | $s | $s | ||||||
| Acadia Healthcare | Franklin | TN | 70.16 | 2.04 | 12.00 | 3339% | -83% | 485% |
| NN Inc | Johnson City | TN | 20.95 | 0.93 | 9.42 | 2153% | -90% | 122% |
| Covenant Transportation Group | Chattanooga | TN | 36.55 | 1.95 | 6.72 | 1774% | -71% | 444% |
| International Paper | Memphis | TN | 54.69 | 4.09 | 32.38 | 1237% | -87% | 69% |
| Healthstream | Nashville | TN | 25.38 | 1.92 | 3.50 | 1222% | -45% | 625% |
| Louisiana-Pacific | Nashville | TN | 16.27 | 1.27 | 13.68 | 1181% | -91% | 19% |
| Ryman Hospitality Properties | Nashville | TN | 62.46 | 4.99 | 40.47 | 1152% | -88% | 54% |
| Tractor Supply | Brentwood | TN | 86.26 | 7.40 | 8.99 | 1066% | -18% | 860% |
| Brookdale Senior Living | Brentwood | TN | 37.88 | 3.39 | 28.41 | 1017% | -88% | 33% |
| The Dixie Group | Chattanooga | TN | 8.78 | 0.95 | 8.31 | 824% | -89% | 6% |
| CBL & Associates Properties | Chattanooga | TN | 19.11 | 2.09 | 23.91 | 814% | -91% | -20% |
| Kirkland's | Nashville | TN | 22.92 | 2.81 | 0.98 | 716% | 187% | 2239% |
| Eastman Chemical | Kingsport | TN | 69.64 | 9.13 | 30.55 | 663% | -70% | 128% |
| Cracker Barrel | Lebanon | TN | 151.71 | 22.15 | 32.39 | 585% | -32% | 368% |
| Ruby Tuesday | Maryville | TN | 6.35 | 0.95 | 9.75 | 568% | -90% | -35% |
| Delek US Holdings Inc | Brentwood | TN | 36.10 | 6.70 | 20.23 | 439% | -67% | 78% |
| Genesco | Nashville | TN | 67.61 | 13.58 | 37.80 | 398% | -64% | 79% |
| FedEx | Memphis | TN | 173.32 | 35.76 | 89.17 | 385% | -60% | 94% |
| AmSurg | Nashville | TN | 62.05 | 13.59 | 27.06 | 357% | -50% | 129% |
| AutoZone | Memphis | TN | 654.66 | 152.76 | 119.81 | 329% | 28% | 446% |
| Miller Industries | Ooltewah | TN | 22.77 | 5.35 | 13.69 | 326% | -61% | 66% |
| Mueller Industries | Memphis | TN | 34.84 | 8.31 | 14.50 | 319% | -43% | 140% |
| Unum Group | Chattanooga | TN | 33.27 | 8.11 | 23.79 | 310% | -66% | 40% |
| Education Realty Trust | Memphis | TN | 34.93 | 8.58 | 33.72 | 307% | -75% | 4% |
| Corrections Corp America | Nashville | TN | 39.23 | 9.82 | 29.51 | 299% | -67% | 33% |
| Lifepoint Hospitals | Brentwood | TN | 73.01 | 18.45 | 29.74 | 296% | -38% | 145% |
| Forward Air | Greeneville | TN | 53.77 | 14.43 | 31.17 | 273% | -54% | 73% |
| Community Health Systems | Franklin | TN | 50.23 | 13.95 | 36.86 | 260% | -62% | 36% |
| Pinnacle Financial Partners | Nashville | TN | 44.25 | 13.76 | 25.42 | 222% | -46% | 74% |
| National Health Investors | Murfreesboro | TN | 68.96 | 21.84 | 27.90 | 216% | -22% | 147% |
| Mid-America Apartment Communities | Memphis | TN | 74.15 | 23.71 | 42.75 | 213% | -45% | 73% |
| Healthways | Franklin | TN | 21.86 | 7.42 | 58.44 | 195% | -87% | -63% |
| CLARCOR | Franklin | TN | 65.25 | 24.30 | 37.97 | 169% | -36% | 72% |
| Regal Entertainment Group | Knoxville | TN | 22.93 | 10.08 | 18.07 | 127% | -44% | 27% |
| Wright Medical Group | Arlington | TN | 26.50 | 12.15 | 29.17 | 118% | -58% | -9% |
| First Horizon National | Memphis | TN | 14.56 | 6.93 | 15.12 | 110% | -54% | -4% |
| Healthcare Realty Trust Inc | Nashville | TN | 26.53 | 12.78 | 25.39 | 108% | -50% | 4% |
| Astec Industries | Chattanooga | TN | 42.65 | 20.82 | 37.19 | 105% | -44% | 15% |
| Fred's | Memphis | TN | 18.07 | 9.66 | 9.63 | 87% | 0% | 88% |
| National Healthcare | Murfreesboro | TN | 63.25 | 35.24 | 51.70 | 79% | -32% | 22% |
| Provectus Biopharmaceuticals | Knoxville | TN | 0.83 | 0.88 | 1.72 | -6% | -49% | -52% |
| First Security Group | Chattanooga | TN | 2.30 | 33.90 | 89.80 | -93% | -62% | -97% |
| Average % Change all 42 | 578% | -51% | 168% |
