Dec. 21 (Bloomberg) -- Bear Stearns Cos., the sixth-largest U.S. securities firm, said fiscal fourth-quarter profit rose 22 percent, helped by the sale of a stake in a women's clothing chain.

Net income in the three months ended November rose to $352.6 million, or $2.61 a share, from $288 million, or $2.19, a year ago, the New York-based company said in a statement. Bear Stearns was expected to earn $291 million, or $2.14 a share, based on the average estimate of 15 analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial.

The sale of a stake in New York & Co., a women's clothing chain boosted Bear Stearns's during the quarter. Analysts excluded the sale in their estimates, viewing it as a one-time gain, said Richard X. Bove, analyst at Punk, Ziegel & Co. in Pinellas Park, Florida.

``The sale of New York & Co. is in there, but it's a one- timer, and not something I'm focusing on,'' said Peter Goldman, a money manager at Chicago Asset management in Chicago, in an interview before earnings were released. Chicago Asset Management owned 154,170 shares of Bear Stearns as of September. ``Markets have picked up and bonds have remained strong, which is good for Bear.''

Bear Stearns's earnings have surpassed analysts' expectations by an average of 20 percent during the past five quarters. Last quarter net income was 10 percent less than last year's third quarter, when the company had a gain from the sale of the merchant banking group's stake in retailer Aeropostale Inc.

This is a record year for Wall Street profits. Morgan Stanley was expected to report a 14 percent jump in fourth-quarter earnings today. Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. on Dec. 15 reported a 22 percent quarterly gain in net income and Goldman Sachs Group Inc., announced a 23 percent quarterly increase on Dec. 16, bringing the firm's full-year earnings to an all-time high of $4.6 billion.

Stock Rally

Shares of Bear Stearns increased 30 percent this year, outperforming the 13 percent rise of the 12-member Amex Securities Broker/Dealer Index. The stock fell 3 cents to $104.50 in New York Stock Exchange composite trading yesterday.

Bear Stearns is the No.1 underwriter of collateralized mortgage obligations, bonds with different maturities backed by the payments from the same group of mortgages. Bear Stearns underwrote $30 billion of CMOs during the fourth quarter, 57 percent more than in the same period last year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Bear Stearns ranked 14th in underwriting U.S. debt securities, with a total of $10 billion in deals on which it earned as much as $34 million, according to Bloomberg data. The firm underwrote half of a $1.7 billion issue of five-year floating rate notes by San Francisco-based Wells Fargo & Co.

The company earned as much as $21 million for underwriting $431 million worth of U.S. equities during the quarter, Bloomberg data show. Its largest deal was the $163 million issue of shares by Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania-based pharmaceutical maker, Endo Pharmaceutical Holdings Inc. in November.

To contact the reporter on this story: Margaret Popper in New York at mpopper1@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: December 21, 2004 08:07 EST