EnPro Industries Up to Strong Buy
Zacks Investment Research upgraded EnPro Industries, Inc. (NPO) to a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) on Aug 14, 2013.
Why the Upgrade?
EnPro Industries reported quite a decent financial result for the second quarter of 2013 on Aug 1, 2013. Adjusted earnings per share came in at 87 cents, up 14.5% year over year due to healthy revenue performance and strong margins in the quarter. Results also surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 69 cents by 26.1%.
Revenue grew 1.4% year over year on the back of accretive acquisition, strong demand for heavy-duty truck products and higher sales of diesel engine environmental upgrades. Talking of margins, gross margin increased 160 basis points (bps) year over year to 35.7%.
Exiting the second quarter of 2013, EnPro Industries’ cash and cash equivalents improved 20% sequentially while the long-term debt balance has gone down by 14.9% compared with the previous quarter.
For 2013, management of EnPro Industries anticipates to leverage benefits from its new products and markets. However, the company does not foresee further improvement in either its European or North American markets.
In the last 30 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for EnPro Industries has gone up by 2.8% to $2.90 for 2013 and increased by 4.7% to $3.35 for 2014. Also, the company had positive earnings surprise in three out of four trailing quarters with an average of 49.4%.
Others Stocks to Consider:
EnPro Industries is a $1.2 billion company, operating in the industrial equipments and components industry. Other stocks to watch out for in the industry are Gorman-Rupp Co. (GRC) and Graham Corp. (GHM), each with a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) while Barnes Group Inc. (B) carrying a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
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Read the Full Research Report on B
Read the Full Research Report on GHM
Read the Full Research Report on GRC
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