Stocks to Watch: Stocks to watch Friday: Solutia, Transocean

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) � Among the stocks that could see active trade in Friday�s session are Solutia Inc., Transocean Ltd. and Juniper Networks Inc.STX

On Friday�s earnings calendar are Dow Jones Industrial Average components Chevron Corp. CVX �and Procter & Gamble Co. PG �as well as Ford Motor Co. F , Altria Group Inc. MO ,�Honeywell International Inc. HON �, A.O. Smith Corp. AOS , Universal Stainless & Alloy Products Inc. USAP , Columbus McKinnon Corp. CMCO , NextEra Energy Inc. NEE , D.R. Horton Inc. DHI , Newell Rubbermaid Inc. NWL , Legg Mason Inc. LM �and T.Row Price Group Inc. TROW , among others.

St. Louis-based Solutia SOA �has agreed to be acquired by Eastman Chemical Co. EMN �in a deal that the companies valued at $4.7 billion including assumed debt. Terms call for Eastman to pay $22 in cash and 0.12 share of the Kingsport, Tenn.-based company�s stock for each share of Solutia. The $27.65-a-share deal price works out to a 42% over Solutia�s closing price of $19.51 a share on Thursday. Eastman estimated that the deal should contribute to earnings on an adjusted basis immediately upon completion, raising its 2012 forecast to about $5 a share and its 2013 outlook to more than $6 a share. Eastman also said it would fund the deal via cash on hand plus debt.

Transocean RIG , owner of the ill-fated Deepwater Horizon drilling rig that was the scene of a deadly explosion in April 2010 and a months-long oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, won�t have to pay compensatory damages, according to a Wall Street Journal Report. A federal judge in New Orleans upheld Thursday portions of Transocean�s indemnification agreement with BP PLC BP �dealing with compensatory damages, the Journal reported.

The board of Chubb Corp. CB �board authorized a new share-buyback program covering up to $1.2 billion in common stock. Repurchases may be made from time to time in the open market or via privately negotiated transactions, the Warren, N.J.-based company said. Chubb�s previous repurchase program, which provided for buying back as many as 30 million shares, has been completed. The insurer also reported fourth-quarter financial results late Thursday.

The board of Seagate Technology PLC STX �cleared the company to make an additional $1 billion in stock repurchases and approved a 39% increase in its quarterly dividend. This puts the company�s total buyback authorization at $1.9 billion. To date, Seagate has spent about $1.1 billion of a $2 billion authorization dating from November 2010 to buy back 67.8 million shares. The remaining $900 million under the earlier program is expected to be used by the end of June, Cupertino, Calif.-based Seagate said. The increased cash dividend of 25 cents a share, is payable March 1 to stockholders of record as of Feb. 15.

The board of SLM Corp. SLM , also known as Sallie Mae, authorized share repurchases to the tune of $500 million and approved a 25% increase in the company�s quarterly dividend on common stock. The new dividend of 12.5 cents a share is payable March 16 to stockholders of record as of March 2, the Newark, Del.-based company said.

Along with reporting fourth-quarter results and disclosing the company�s 2012 financial outlook, Delphi Automotive PLC DLPH �said its board authorized up to $300 million in repurchases of ordinary shares. The program end Dec. 31 if the authorization isn�t exhausted first, the Troy, Mich.-based company said. Following a spell in bankruptcy, Delphi Automotive went public last November.

The board of J.M. Smucker Co. SJM �approved increasing the company�s stock-repurchase authorization by 5 million common shares. The Orrville, Ohio-based company said it has about 2 million shares remaining under a buyback authorization made a year ago. The board also declared a regular quarterly dividend of 48 cents a share, payable March 1 to stockholders of record as of Feb. 10.

Dynex Capital Inc. DX �said it will sell 12.5 million common shares in a secondary public offering. Dynex�s management intends to use net proceeds to acquire additional investments and for general corporate purposes, the Glen Allen, Va.-based company said. Underwriters will have a 30-day option to buy up to nearly 1.88 million additional shares to satisfy investor demand if warranted.

Thursday earnings recap

Juniper Networks JNPR �reported a fourth-quarter net profit of $96.2 million, or 18 cents a share, down from $190.2 million, or 35 cents, earned in the final three months of 2010. Quarterly revenue also fell, down to $1.12 billion from the prior year�s $1.19 billion. On an adjusted basis, Sunnyvale, Calif.-based Juniper�s profit came to 28 cents a share for the latest quarter. The consensus of analysts polled by FactSet Research had been for a profit of 28 cents a share on revenue of $1.13 billion. And for the first quarter, the company projected adjusted earnings of 11 cents to 14 cents a share on revenue in a range of $960 million to $990 million, reflecting in part �near-term uncertainty in the macro-environment.� The FactSet-derived consensus stood at 27 cents a share and $1.1 billion, respectively.

Along with reporting fourth-quarter and 2011 results, Riverbed Technology Inc. RVBD �forecast first-quarter revenue in a range of $183 million to $187 million, a shortfall from analysts� consensus projection of $197 million. Management anticipates �some disruption of product sales,� followed by a period of accelerated growth as new hardware offerings are launched, the San Francisco-based company said. Riverbed�s fourth-quarter earnings and revenue climbed from the year-earlier period.