New 52-Week High for Colfax
Shares of Colfax Corporation (CFX) touched a new 52-week high of $52.63 during its trading session on Jun 14. This represents an increase of 1.3% over its previous high.
Colfax closed the trading day on Jun 14 at $52.21, reflecting a solid year-to-date return of 75.4%. The trading volume for the session was 0.3 million shares. We believe that this Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) stock has the potential to experience further upsides, reflected by the upward revision in earnings estimates over the past 60 days and the expected growth rate of 49.3% for 2013.
Growth Drivers
Colfax reported impressive financial results for the first quarter of 2013 on Apr 25. Adjusted earnings per share came in at 26 cents, up 8.3% over the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 24 cents. Result also improved 13% year over year due to improved sales and margins in the quarter.
Revenues grew 6.8% year over year due to higher contribution from acquisitions, partially offset by a drop in the existing business, accompanied by foreign currency adjustments. Total orders in the quarter were $502.1 million, up 0.9% year over year, whereas total backlog stood at $1,443.4 million, compared with $1,372.8 million at the end of first quarter 2012.
Additionally, Colfax managed to beat estimates in 3 out of the trailing 4 quarters with an average earnings surprise of 7.5%. This, along with impressive results in the last reported quarter, raised optimism for a better performance ahead.
Estimate Revisions Show Potency
Over the last 60 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for Colfax increased by 7.0% to $2.00 per share for 2013 and grew 3.7% to $2.53 for 2014.
Other stocks in the industry that are worth considering are Graco Inc. (GGG), Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd. (KWHIY) and Middleby Corp. (MIDD). While Graco and Kawasaki carry a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), Middleby carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Read the Full Research Report on GGG
Read the Full Research Report on KWHIY
Read the Full Research Report on ^MIDD
Read the Full Research Report on CFX
More From Zacks.com
