CONSUMER DM stocks registered significant gains throughout the winter. Improvements in previous quarters were led primarily by electronic marketers, but in the three months ended Feb. 26 both consumer cataloger and cataloger/retailer issues fared better.

The 52 consumer DM stocks in Gruppo, Levey & Co.’s Direct Marketing Index rose an average of 27% for the quarter, outpacing the Standard & Poor’s 500, up 6.4% during that time. Cataloger and retailer issues were up 31% and 52%.

Mergers and acquisitions and e-commerce spurred stock performance.

During the quarter and trailing 12-month period, Fingerhut stock soared 121% and 211%, respectively, as the cataloger agreed to be bought by Federated Department Stores.

Even outside the electronic marketing sector, which racked up a quarterly average price per share increase of 22%, e-commerce initiatives reaped benefits for old-line and newer consumer DMers alike.

Playboy Enterprises’ and The Reader’s Digest Association’s stocks rose more than 40% in the quarter owing to new or improved Internet efforts. SkyMall, Delia’s and Shop at Home’s issues did well due to profitable Web strategies.

Rebounding from a volatile summer, consumer direct marketing stocks regained some ground in late fall after months of market uncertainty.

The 54 consumer DM companies in Gruppo, Levey & Capell Inc.’s GLC Portfolio recorded an average stock price increase of 49% for the three-month period ended Nov. 30, outpacing the Standard & Poor’s 500, which rose 22% in the same time frame. The electronic marketing category drove much of the growth, as average stock prices in the category jumped 111%. Factoring out the triple-digit gains of Amazon.com Inc., CDnow Inc. and Cybershop International Inc.-up 129%, 210% and 529%, respectively-stock prices in the category still climbed an average of 64% over the three months.

Continued growth in electronic commerce, especially during the holiday season, is having a major impact on consumer DM company earnings. For example, high-tech gadget developer and retailer The Sharper Image experienced a one-day gain of 180% in its stock price on Nov. 30, after the firm announced that Internet sales had shot up more than 300% and post-Thanksgiving weekend same-store sales (transactions at stores open at least one year) were up 37% compared with last year.

For the 12 months ended Nov. 30, the typical stock was up 24%, again outpacing the S&P 500. Stock price gains in the electronic marketing and retail categories offset a 24% drop in catalog stock value.

The downturn resulted when several catalogers missed their third-quarter numbers and others issued fourth quarter sales warnings. Fingerhut Cos. Inc. provided one of the few bright spots here, with its stock posting an increase of 67%.