Zacks Investment Research upgraded
Gibraltar Industries, Inc.
(
ROCK
) to a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) on March 19, 2013. The company
with a market capitalization of roughly $555 million operates in
the steel & iron industry and primarily manufactures and
markets building products.
Why the Upgrade?
Financial results for the fourth quarter and year 2012 posted by
Gibraltar Industries on February 22, 2013 were impressive. Net
results in the quarter, adjusted for one-time items, were
earnings of 5 cents per share, a drastic improvement over a 17
cent loss reported in the year-ago quarter. Compared with the
Zacks Consensus Estimate of earnings per share of 3 cents, the
results improved by 66.7%.
Talking of top line, Gibraltar Industries generated roughly
$172.6 million in revenue, a slight decline of 0.9% from the
year-ago quarter. Demand from infrastructural activities was
strong in the quarter while softness was seen in the European
automotive market and the oil & gas sector of North America.
Despite the poor revenue performance, a decline of 3.7% in cost
of sales and 21.8% in selling, general and administrative
expenses kept the momentum strong for Gibraltar Industries.
Operating margin in the quarter came in at 4.0% compared with
(2.5%) in the year-ago quarter.
For 2013, management of Gibraltar Industries is hopeful about
generating a better revenue and earnings on the back of lower
cost structure, absence of restructuring charges, benefits from
acquired assets and lower interest expenses.
Solid quarter results and optimistic outlook for 2013 helped push
the earnings estimates for Gibraltar Industries. In the last 60
days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2013 increased by 6.5% to
98 cents while that for 2014 the estimate went up 3.3% to $1.27.
Also, we have an Earnings ESP (Read:
Zacks Earnings ESP: A Better Method
) of +9.2% for 2013.
Other Stocks to Consider
Other stocks to watch out for in the industry are
Shiloh Industries Inc.
(
SHLO
), with a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) and
Companhia Siderurgica Nacional
(
SID
) and
Kobe Steel Ltd.
(
KBSTY
), each with a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
KOBE STEEL-ADR (KBSTY): Get Free Report
GIBRALTAR INDUS (ROCK): Free Stock Analysis
Report
SHILOH INDS INC (SHLO): Get Free Report
CIA SIDERUR-ADR (SID): Free Stock Analysis
Report
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