Harris Corp. SCORES FAA Project and 4 Stock Enjoying 52-Week Highs

Dollar Thrifty Autom (NYSE:DTG): Hertz Global Holdings (NYSE:HTZ) and Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group (NYSE:DTG) announced that they have entered into a definitive merger agreement beneath which Hertz is to acquire Dollar Thrifty for $87.50 per share in cash in a transaction valued at a corporate enterprise value of nearly $2.3 billion. The boards of directors of both companies unanimously approved the transaction. Additionally, Hertz has announced that it has reached an agreement for the sell the Advantage business to Franchise Services of North America, or FSNA, and Macquarie Capital. The closing of that divestiture is conditioned upon, along with other things, Hertz’s completion of an acquisition of Dollar Thrifty. The combined company would have enhanced leadership positions in main markets globally, with combined June 30, 2012 LTM sales totaling $10.2 billion and EBITDA of about $1.8 billion across nearly 10,000 locations globally. The company anticipates a minimum of $160 million of annual cost synergies from the transaction, with additional sales growth opportunities. The transaction is structured as a two-step acquisition including a cash tender offer for all outstanding Dollar Thrifty common stock followed by a cash merger in which Hertz is to acquire any remaining outstanding shares of Dollar Thrifty common stock. The shares closed at $87.08, up $6.08 or 7.51% on the day. They have traded in a 52-week range of $50.94 to $84.91.

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Directv (NASDAQ:DTV): DirecTV will launch a dedicated 24/7 “Tropical Storm Isaac Information” channel intended to provide live broadcasts from local stations in markets seeing effects by the tropical storm to DirecTV viewers nationwide. DirecTV intends to deliver constant coverage until the storm has lost all strength. DirecTV will also broadcast local news and information coverage from numerous stations in affected markets as the storm moves up from the Florida Keys through the Gulf of Mexico. DirecTV also intends to deliver graphical information to inform its customer base regarding possible evacuations, closures, event cancellations along with any other necessary critical information. Storm preparation information also is to be delivered in graphical form from the American Red Cross with information from other emergency organizations. While DirecTV tracks the storm it will manually switch to a local station in the affected market. The shares closed at $52.56, down $0.07 or 0.13% on the day. They have traded in a 52-week range of $39.82 to $52.77.

Fisher Communication (NASDAQ:FSCI) has announced that its Board of Directors approved two measures for the return of value to its shareholders. The Board announced a special cash dividend in the amount of $10 per share, which will be payable on Oct. 19 to shareholders of record as of Sept. 28. The special dividend, totaling about $89 million, is to be funded from the company’s existing cash and short- and long-term investments. Also, the Board has approved a dividend policy beneath which the company plans to pay a quarterly cash dividend starting in Q4 of 2012. The company expects the initial quarterly dividend rate to be 15c/sh. The shares closed at $36.99, up $3.17 or 9.37% on the day. They have traded in a 52-week range of $21.90 to $34.33.

Harris Corp. (NYSE:HRS): The Federal Aviation Administration announced that its selection of Harris Corp. for the support of an essential element of the Next Generation Air Transportation System. The NextGen-enabling program has been named the National Airspace System Voice System. NVS will replace the 40-year-old, legacy voice switches with a both modern and flexible operational voice capability. The shares closed at $47.02, up $0.49 or 1.05% on the day. They have traded in a 52-week range of $32.68 to $46.68.

J. Alexander’s Corp. (NASDAQ:JAX): In a regulatory filing, J. Alexander’s revealed that its Board has authorized the company’s management for an engagement in negotiations and discussions with a group labeled in the filing as “Party F” in regards to its acquisition proposal for a two-step tender offer and merger transaction for the acquisition of all outstanding shares of company Common Stock at $14.25 per share. As of August 27, the company stated, “the Board had not concluded that Party F’s proposal or Party G’s proposal is superior to the proposed transactions with Fidelity (NYSE:FNF) and, as a result, the Board continues to recommend that the shareholders of the company accept the Fidelity tender  offer.” The shares closed at $14.22, up $0.69 or 5.1% on the day. They have traded in a 52-week range of $5.36 to $13.96.

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