Window firm shares get big boost

VENICE - Shares of window and door manufacturer PGT Inc. nearly eclipsed $9 early Monday — the highest for the firm in more than four years.

The boost for the Venice-based firm is on a top of some big gains last week, when the stock closed May 3 at $8.29. That was up 10% for the day and more than double the $3 range it traded in late last year. The shares were in the $1 range in December 2011 and early 2012.

The increase in the shares, traded on the Nasdaq exchange under PGTI, comes five days after the company reported earnings for the 2013 first quarter. First quarter sales were up 30.1% over the same quarter in 2012, the company reports, to $49.6 million. “Improved market conditions during the quarter, and sales and marketing programs focused on our WinGuard products, drove this dramatic increase in top-line sales,” PGT President and
CEO Rod Hershberger says in a release.