Why Foster Wheeler Shares Popped

Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over market movements, we do like to keep an eye on big changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.

What: Shares of engineering and construction company Foster Wheeler climbed 11% today after its quarterly results and outlook impressed Wall Street.

So what: The stock has been volatile over the past year on concerns over weak global demand, but today's wide Q2 earnings beat -- adjusted EPS of $0.54 versus the consensus of $0.33 -- coupled with upbeat guidance naturally eases some of that worry. While revenue in the quarter slipped 8%, operating margins in both its global engineering and construction and global power segments increased nicely over the year-ago period, giving analysts plenty of good vibes about its profitability going forward.

Don't expect the operating momentum to slow anytime soon. "We are raising our full-year earnings guidance," said CEO Kent Masters. "We now expect our full-year 2013 adjusted diluted earnings per share from continuing operations to be moderately above $1.54, due in part to the company's strong performance in the second quarter of 2013." Of course, with the stock flirting with 52-week highs and trading at a P/E around 25, much of that bullishness might already be baked into the price.

The best investing approach is to choose great companies and stick with them for the long term. The Motley Fool's free report, "3 Stocks That Will Help You Retire Rich", names stocks that could help you build long-term wealth and retire well, along with some winning wealth-building strategies that every investor should be aware of. Click here now to keep reading.

The article Why Foster Wheeler Shares Popped originally appeared on Fool.com.

Fool contributor Brian Pacampara has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. 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 Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Copyright © 1995 - 2013 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.