5-Star Stocks Poised to Pop: National Presto

Updated

Based on the aggregated intelligence of 180,000-plus investors participating in Motley Fool CAPS, the Fool's free investing community, diversified manufacturer National PrestoIndustries (NYS: NPK) has earned a coveted five-star ranking.

With that in mind, let's take a closer look at National Presto's business and see what CAPS investors are saying about the stock right now.

National Presto facts

Headquarters (Founded)

Eau Claire, Wis. (1905)

Market Cap

$656 million

Industry

Aerospace and defense

Trailing-12-Month Revenue

$462.7 million

Management

Chairman/CEO Maryjo Cohen (since 1994)

CFO Randy Lieble (since 2008)

Return on Equity (Average, Past 3 Years)

19.6%

Cash/Debt

$112 million / $0

Dividend Yield

8.6%*

Competitors

L-3 Communications (NYS: LLL)

Procter & Gamble (NYS: PG)

Sources: Capital IQ (a division of Standard & Poor's) and Motley Fool CAPS. *Reflects special dividend.

On CAPS, 98.5% of the 536 members who have rated National Presto believe the stock will outperform the S&P 500 going forward. These bulls include All-Star davethewav9, who is ranked in the top 15% of our community, and glenvar.

Earlier this summer, davethewav9 offered a balanced take on National Presto: "Has some risks in that Gov contracts for ammunition could be lost or scaled back or [Wal-Mart] could stop carrying products, but if not the case, this is severely discounted even for a small growth rate. Stellar stewardship and great dividend, great ROE, great balance sheet."

In fact, National Presto boasts over $110 million in cash on its balance sheet with zero debt. Meanwhile, defense industry peers L-3 and Boeing (NYS: BA) sport a debt-to-equity ratio of 59% and 241%, respectively, while consumer-product competitor Procter & Gamble has debt-to-equity of 47%.

CAPS member glenvar elaborated on the National Presto bull case in late July:

This stock returns cash to the shareholders rather than spending it on misadventures as some other companies do. Also a lot of its competition in the small appliance sector has gotten out of the business. It has a clean balance sheet (no debt), the earnings have grown at a 23% rate over the past 5 years (including 3 recession years) and it is trading at an 11 P/E on trailing earnings.

What do you think about National Presto, or any other stock for that matter? If you want to retire rich, you need to put together the best portfolio you can. Owning exceptional stocks is a surefire way to secure your financial future, and on Motley Fool CAPS, thousands of investors are working every day to find them. CAPS is 100% free, so get started!

Interested in another easy way to trackNational Presto?Add it to your watchlist.

At the time thisarticle was published We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Fool's disclosure policy always gets a perfect score.

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