CIT Group., Ford Motor, The Clorox Company, Humana, CNA Financial, Airgas, SYSCO, Human Genome Sciences, ING Groep N.V. (ADR), Loews

Finance provider CIT Group Inc. (NYSE: CIT) filed for Chapter 11 protection in New York on November 1, with the company stating that its bondholders selected a prepackaged reorganization plan that will reduce total debt by $10 billion while allowing the company to run its business. The troubled company’s latest move is seen by the market as one of the biggest corporate bankruptcies ever.

Shares of Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) were lifted after the company reported positive earnings and revenue for the third quarter of 2009. The Dearborn, Michigan-based car maker posted a third-quarter net profit of $997 million, or 29 cents a share, from a loss of $161 million, or 7 cents a share, in the year-ago period. On an after-tax basis, excluding special items, the Company would have earned an operating profit of $873 million, or 26 cents per share, on revenue of $30.9 billion. This compares to analysts loss expectations of 13 cents a share on revenue of $29.1 billion.

Cleaning products maker The Clorox Company (NYSE: CLX) reported fiscal first-quarter earnings of $157 million, or $1.11 a share, well ahead of the year-ago period’s $128 million, or 90 cents a share; sales slightly declined by 0.72%. Analysts were looking for earnings per share of 96 cents and sales of $1.37 billion. Meanwhile, gross profit margin rose to 45.1% of sales in the quarter compared to 40.6% a year ago, attributable to price increases, lower commodity prices and cost savings. Updating its 2010 outlook, the company expects earnings in the range of $4.05-$4.20 a share.

Health insurer Humana Inc. (NYSE: HUM) posted third-quarter net income increase of 65% to $301.5 million, or $1.78 a share, as revenue climbed 8% to $7.72 billion. For the said quarter, the company reported higher memberships and premiums from its Medicare Advantage program. The company expects to realize 2009 earnings of $6.15 per share on revenue of $31 billion, versus analysts’ expectations of $6.14 per share on revenue of $31.24 billion.

National insurance provider CNA Financial Corp. (NYSE: CNA) swung to a third quarter third-quarter net income of $263 million, or 86 cents a share, with the company stating that falling catastrophe losses helped its bottom line in the said period. This compares to a net loss of $331 million, or $1.23 a share, for the comparative quarter last year. Analysts surveyed by FactSet Research were looking for earnings of $1.00 a share.

Airgas Inc. (NYSE: ARG), the largest U.S. distributor of industrial, medical and specialty gases, was recently upgraded to “Overweight” from “Equal Weight” at First Analysis Securities, with analyst Michael Harrison stating that the company “is well-positioned to gain from an economic recovery given improved non-tech industrial production, expectations for rising prices and its strong second-quarter results.” On October 29, the company said cost reductions and operating efficiencies continued to support its operating margin, which posted only a modest decline year-over-year to 11.4% from 12.5% and improved sequentially from 11.0%.

Houston-based food services company SYSCO Corp. (NYSE: SYY) announced its first-quarter net income climbed 18% to $326.2 million, or 55 cents a share, compared to the year-ago quarter’s $276.8 million, or 46 cents a share. The first quarter was reportedly boosted by 4 cents a share impact from the change in the value of corporate owned life insurance and a 5 cents a share impact from the company’s IRS settlement. Analysts were looking for the company to post earnings of 45 cents a share.

Shares of Human Genome Sciences (NASDAQ: HGSI), maker of gene-based drugs, were recently boosted on the release of positive data on its new lupus drug. HGSI, together with GlaxoSmithKline, reported that BENLYSTA™ (belimumab) passed the primary endpoint in BLISS-76, the second of two pivotal phase 3 trials in seropositive patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Human Genome and UK-based GlaxoSmithKline plan to file for approval for the drug in the United States in the first quarter of 2010.

Dutch financial services company ING Groep N.V. (ADR) (NYSE: ING) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Deutsche Bank, with the analyst upgrading the stock on valuation. On Friday, the insurance, retirement and investment services provider closed at $12.90 on volume of 5,663,877 shares, above average daily volume of 1,864,733.

Property and casualty insurance provider Loews Corp. (NYSE: L) surprised investors when it swung to third-quarter profit of $468 million, or $1.08 a share, on a 26% increase in revenue. This compares to the year-ago period where it posted loss of $137 million, or 31 cents a share; and well ahead of analysts’ forecast of 89 cents a share. The higher-than-expected third-quarter profit came in as its largest holding, CNA Financial swung to a profit on gains in its investment portfolio.