MasTec Is Short-Circuiting
Shares of MasTec (NYS: MTZ) hit a 52-week low recently. Let's look at how it got here and whether more clouds are ahead.
How it got here
Electrical contractor MasTec has had a rough go of it on the market recently, despite the company gaining more business in the past year. During the first quarter, revenue rose 26% to $778 million, but the results didn't trickle down to the bottom line and earnings per share actually fell from $0.26 a year ago to $0.17 last quarter. Full-year earnings-per-share guidance remained unchanged at $1.42.
The upgrading of our national grid was supposed to mean increased business for contractors like MasTec, Pike Electric (NYS: PIKE) , Quanta Services (NYS: PWR) , and Dycom Industries (NYS: DY) . But the "smart grid" has been slow to make its way to utilities and an expansion of renewable energy production hasn't been followed by a sharp increase in transmission and distribution construction.
All of that has left stock prices languishing over the past year, as you can see below.
The falling stock price may mean an opportunity for investors looking at MasTec. I agree with concerns over margins, but the company's forward P/E ratio is lower than competitors', growth is stronger, and I think this business will only get stronger as our grid ages.
MasTec | 1.4 | 5.7% | 25.9% | 8.2 |
Dycom Industries | 1.6 | 5.7% | 17.3% | 13.0 |
Pike Electric | 1.0 | 3.3% | 5.8% | 16.5 |
Quanta Services | 1.4 | 4.5% | 67.9% | 16.1 |
Source: Yahoo! Finance.
Compared to its competitors, MasTec doesn't look too bad, but will the stock rise anytime soon?
What's next?
The stock is likely to languish until management can prove the lower margins are a short-term phenomenon and not a long-term trend. In a business like this, margins can fluctuate on a single contract, so I'm not terribly concerned for the long term but I wouldn't rush out to buy shares now. Shares trade at less than 10 times management's earnings estimates for 2012, so I also see value emerging, especially if management can turn things around.
The CAPS community is a bit more ho-hum, giving the stock a three-star rating (out of five), and six All-Stars think the stock will underperform the market.
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The article MasTec Is Short-Circuiting originally appeared on Fool.com.
Fool contributorTravis Hoiumdoes not have a position in any company mentioned. You can follow Travis on Twitter at@FlushDrawFool, check out hispersonal stock holdingsor follow his CAPS picks atTMFFlushDraw.The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe thatconsidering a diverse range of insightsmakes us better investors. Try any of our Foolish newsletter servicesfree for 30 days.
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