Q3 2009 Earnings Call

November 09, 2009; 11:00 am ET

Q2 2009 Earnings Call

August 7, 2009 11 am ET

This is the 4th Quarter 2008 edition of our ongoing hedge fund portfolio tracking series. Before reading this update, make sure you check out the Hedge Fund 13F filings preface.

Next up is Jeffrey Gendell's Tontine Associates. If you're unfamiliar with Tontine, they specialize in macro investing and take very large, concentrated positions in companies Gendell feels will benefit from those macro themes. Additionally, he will take on an activist role when necessary, to ensure shareholder returns. The fund has posted returns in excess of 100% in both 2003 and 2005. Conversely, 2008 was the year from hell for Tontine.

Q4 2008 Earnings Call

March 16, 2009 11:00 am ET

This is the Third Quarter 2008 edition of our ongoing hedge fund portfolio tracking series. Before reading this update, make sure you check out the preface to the series we're doing on Hedge Fund 13F filings here.

The other funds we've already covered include:

Q3 2008 Earnings Call

November 6, 2008; 11:00 am ET

Q2 2008 Earnings Call

August 7, 2008 11:00 am ET

Who's hitting 5 year highs in this 2008 bear market market and why? Watch these stocks in the coming weeks for continued momentum:

AeroVironment, Inc. (AVAV)

Key Points:

• Engineering and consulting firms are an alternative way to get exposure to the energy sector.
• A heavy reliance on revenues from oil companies provides upside, while a diversified list of customers in other industries lessens risk.
• Analysts have recently raised forecasts on several engineering and consulting firms

Last week, I discussed how the decline in oil prices was causing analysts to lower their forecasts on exploration and production (E&P) stocks.

Q1 2008 Earnings Call

May 5, 2008 11:00 am ET

F07 Earnings Call

March 13, 2008 11:00 am ET

Yes, I know 404 is expensive to implement and much of what they come up with is boilerplate.

Not to be outdone by a rodent, Elaine Chao, Secretary of the Labor Department released her team’s prognosis last Friday for the nation’s economy through a measure of the unemployment rate in January. According to Labor, the unemployment rate climbed to 4.6%, a four-month high. Coupled with a tepid expansion of 111,000 new jobs during the month, this means only moderate growth in the economy (shadow in full view). Wall Street had been looking for 150,000 new jobs (no shadow in evidence) so most investors were prepared for a slowing from December 2006, when 206,000 new jobs were created. Trading during the day was mixed as investors processed the implications of the greater-than-expected shortfall. Maybe investors were simply perplexed by the mixed “shadows.”

ENGlobal continues to benefit from robust capital spending by the oil and gas industry and claims most of the largest players in the sector, such as ExxonMobile (XOM) and Chevron Corporation (CVX), as customers. Revenue of $75.1 million (up 26.6% year-over-year) was $4.6 million better than we expected. Excluding the $2.0 million contribution (our estimate) from the acquisition of WRC in late May 2006, total revenue would have grown 23.3% year-over-year.

ENGlobal was successful in completing negotiations with several customers on contract renewals with more favorable pricing for ENGlobal. We estimate gross profits on Engineering Services increased to 14.4% of sales compared to 13.4% in the previous quarter. Our new sales estimate for 2006 is $294.2 million (from $282.6 million) providing net earnings of $8.7 million or $0.32 per share (from $7.2 million and $0.27 per share.