FleetCor Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:FLT - News) has limited operating history, but what we see, we like. The stock is a Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy).
Company Description
FleetCor Technologies, Inc. provides specialized payment products and services to businesses, commercial fleets, oil companies, lodging clients, petroleum marketers, and government entities in North America, Europe, Africa, and Asia. It sells a range of customized fleet and lodging payment programs; and offers fuel, vehicle maintenance, or lodging services to its customers.
Good Earnings History
With only a few quarters as a public company, we have a limited amount of information to look back on. What we do have, we like to see, as the company has beaten the Zacks Consensus Estimate in all four quarters that there has been an estimate.
The earnings beats are good in terms of percentage ahead of expectations, averaging about 7%. Those beats, however, have not been enough to really put a jolt into the stock, as the average price impact is just about 3%. A large beat, something around 15% could be the thing the company needs to see that big price move.
Recent Acquisitions
On December 13, the company bought AllStar Business Solutions from fleet management company Arval Group for about $304 million, to expand its operations in the UK. The deal is expected to be accretive to revenue and earnings for 2012.
Last Earnings Report, Next Expected
In the September quarter of 2011, the company reported earnings of $0.53 on revenues of $134 million. This was ahead the Zacks Consensus Estimate by $0.06 and $9 million respectively. Analysts are expecting the December 2011 quarter to have sales of $128 million and earnings of $0.48 when the company reports sometime in February 2012.
Valuations
Shares of FLT trade at a premium to the industry average when looking at most metrics. The lone stand out is the trailing twelve months PE multiple, where the company trades at a discount to the industry average. A trailing PE of 17.5X compares favorably to the 27X industry average, but the forward multiple of 14x for the company is just under double the 7.4x industry average.
The Chart
FLT has a limited history of estimates, so a price and consensus chart does not make a lot of sense here. The chart below shows the stock recently moving through its 200 day moving average, an indication that technical buyers tend to look for.
A chart for FleetCor Technologies
Brian Bolan is the Aggressive Growth Stock Strategist for Zacks.com. He is also the Editor in charge of the Zacks Home Run Investor service
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