The Federal Reserve’s announcement this week that it would not start to trim its $85 billion-a-month bond-buying program just yet was met with widespread surprise. This was particularly striking because the Fed almost always has been direct in its communications under the leadership of chairman Ben Bernanke.
Stocks roared to new all-time highs and bond prices rose, while yields dropped, as the Fed defied the market’s consensus opinion. High-yield stocks, notably utilities and real estate investment trusts, plus housing stocks, all of which had been hammered by rising interest rates, were the day’s big winners.
Why the confusion?
Evidently, investors and commentators alike all too often demand precision about the unknowable, even though anybody with commonsense knows that “It’s tough to make predictions, especially about the future,” as Yogi Berra, Samuel Goldwyn, Niels Bohr, Mark Twain, other famous people, and you and I have said in our own way.
Back in May, Bernanke set forth a scenario in which the Fed would unwind its bond-buying program. Bernanke also made it clear in May that the scenario depended on whether the projections would live up to the reality. In other words, it was a data-dependent timetable.
The scenario was backed by what turned out to be an overly optimistic economic forecast. No surprise there: Since 2010, the Federal Reserve has consistently overestimated how fast the economy would grow.
As I advised in early August after the last Fed meeting before this week’s,
“Our economy is performing well below the level that the Fed has said would bring about reduced bond-buying. So the recent scenario that the Fed will begin its taper next month now seems questionable. What’s more, the whole debt-ceiling debate will return in September…with the potential to disrupt the economy. So that won’t be a good time to announce a reduction in QE.”
Top 10 India Companies To Buy For 2015: Marsh & McLennan Companies Inc. (MMC)
Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc., a professional services company, provides advice and solutions in the areas of risk, strategy, and human capital. It operates in two segments, Risk and Insurance Services, and Consulting. The Risk and Insurance Services segment provides risk management and insurance broking, reinsurance broking, and insurance program management services for businesses, public entities, insurance companies, associations, professional services organizations, and private clients. The Consulting segment offers advice and services to the managements of organizations in the area of human resource consulting, comprising retirement and investments, health and benefits, outsourcing and talent; and strategy and risk management consulting, such as management, economic, and brand consulting. The company also provides investment consulting services for endowments and foundations in the United States; health and benefit recordkeeping, and employee enrollment technology; human resource knowledge, data, and solutions for professionals in various industries; and Medicaid policy consulting services. It principally serves customers in the United States, the United Kingdom, the Asia Pacific, and Continental Europe. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. was founded in 1871 and is headquartered in New York, New York.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Keith Speights]
Flourishing
While the federal Obamacare exchanges flail, private health insurance exchanges are flourishing. For example,�Mercer, a subsidiary of Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE: MMC ) ,�announced in April that several large insurers -- including Aetna, Cigna, Humana, and UnitedHealthcare -- would be part of its Mercer Marketplace private exchange. Mercer Marketplace allows employers to contribute a defined amount for its employees to use on health coverage. Employees use the system to shop around for the insurance plans that best meet their needs.
Best US Companies To Buy For 2014: Actuant Corp (ATU)
Actuant Corporation, incorporated on October 26, 1910, is a global diversified company that designs, manufactures and distributes a range of industrial products and systems to various end markets. The Company operates four business segments: Industrial, Energy, Electrical and Engineered Solutions. The Industrial segment is primarily involved in the design, manufacture and distribution of branded hydraulic and mechanical tools to the maintenance, industrial, infrastructure and production automation markets. The Energy segment provides joint integrity products and services, as well as rope and cable solutions to the global oil and gas, power generation and other energy markets. The Electrical segment is primarily involved in the design, manufacture and distribution of a range of electrical products to the retail DIY, wholesale, original equipment manufacturer (OEM), solar, utility, marine and other harsh environment markets. The Engineered Solutions segment provides engineered position and motion control systems to OEMs in various on and off-highway vehicle markets, as well as, a range of other products to the industrial and agricultural markets. In August 2013, the Company announced the completion of its acquisition of Viking SeaTech (Viking).
Industrial
The Industrial segment is a global supplier of branded hydraulic and mechanical tools to a broad array of end markets, including general maintenance and repair, industrial, infrastructure and production automation. The Company's primary products include hydraulic tools, engineered heavy lifting solutions, workholding (production automation) solutions and concrete stressing products. These hydraulic and mechanical tools are marketed primarily through the Company's Enerpac, Simplex, Precision Sure-Lock and Milwaukee Cylinder brand names. The high-force hydraulic and mechanical tools, including cylinders, pumps, valves, specialty tools and presses.
The Company's hydraulic tools operate at high pressures of approxim! ately 5,000 to 12,000 pounds per square inch and are generally sold by a diverse group of industrial and specialty fluid power distributors to customers in the infrastructure, mining, steel mill, cement, rail, oil and gas and general maintenance industries. Key industrial distributors include W.W. Grainger, Applied Industrial Technologies and MSC. In addition to providing a line of industrial tools, the segment also provides hydraulic systems (integrated solutions) to meet customer specific requirements for safe and precise control of movement and positioning. These customized heavy lifting solutions, which combine hydraulics, steel fabrication and electronic controls with engineering and application knowledge, are typically utilized in major infrastructure projects (bridges, stadiums, tunnels and offshore platforms) for heavy lifting, launching & skidding or synchronous lifting applications.
The Industrial segment has leveraged production and engineering capabilities to also offer a range of workholding products (work supports, swing cylinders and system components) that are marketed through distributors to the automotive, machine tool and fixture design markets. In addition, the segment designs, manufactures and distributes concrete pre- and post-tensioning products (chucks and wedges, stressing jacks and anchors) which are used by concrete tensioning system designers, fabricators and installers for the residential and commercial construction, railroad, bridge, infrastructure and mining markets.
Energy
The Energy segment provides technical products and services to the global energy markets, where safety, security, reliability and productivity are key value drivers. Products include joint integrity tools and connectors for oil & gas and power generation installations, as well as rope and cable solutions. In addition to these products, the Energy segment also provides manpower services, including machining, engineering and maintenance activities. The products and ! services ! of the Energy segment are distributed and marketed under various brand names (principally Hydratight, D.L. Ricci, Morgrip, Cortland, FibronBX, Puget Sound Rope, Biach, Selantic and Jeyco) to OEMs, maintenance and service organizations and energy producers in emerging and developed countries.
Joint integrity products include hydraulic torque wrenches, bolt tensioners and portable machining equipment. These products are used in the maintenance of bolted joints on oil rigs and platforms, wind turbines, refineries and pipelines, petrochemical installations, as well as fossil fuel and nuclear power plants. The Energy segment also provides rope and cable solutions that maximize performance, safety and efficiency for customers in various markets, including oil and gas, heavy marine, subsea, ROV and seismic. With its global design and manufacturing capabilities the Cortland business is able to provide customized synthetic ropes, heavy lift slings, specialized mooring, rigging and towing systems, electro-optical-mechanical cables and umbilicals to customers, including firms, such as CGG Veritas, Expro and Sercel. These products are utilized in critical applications, often deployed in harsh operating conditions (sub-sea oil & gas production, maintenance and exploration) and are required to meet robust safety standards. In addition custom designed products are also sold into a range of other niche markets including medical, security, aerospace and defense.
Electrical
The Electrical segment is involved in the design, manufacture and distribution of a broad range of electrical products to the retail DIY, OEM, electrical distribution, power transformation and harsh environment electrical markets. The Electrical segment sells its products through a combination of distributors, direct sales personnel and manufacturers' representatives. The Electrical segment provides the retail DIY market with a range of electrical tools and consumables, such as wire strippers, electrical meters,! connecto! rs, terminals, cable ties, staples and other wire management products and conduit bending equipment under the Gardner Bender, Del City and A.W. Sperry brands. These products are sold to retailers, such as Lowe's, The Home Depot, Menards, True Value and Ace Hardware, as well as numerous electrical distributors and OEM's.
The Electrical segment sells power transformation products in North America, including low voltage, single-phase dry type transformers and custom toroidal transformers under the Acme Electric brand name and high voltage switches under the Turner Electric brand name. These transformers are sold through electrical wholesale distributors, as well as directly to OEMs, such as Rockwell Automation, Eaton, Yaskawa and General Electric. Product offerings also include electrical components and systems for the harsh environment and marine markets under the Ancor, Marinco, Guest, Mastervolt and B.E.P Marine brand names. These products are primarily sold to various customers in the industrial, marine, power generation, industrial and retail markets, including West Marine, Applied Materials and Kohler. Solar products (primarily high efficiency solar inverters for residential and small commercial applications) are sold through local distributors and installers.
Engineered Solutions
The Engineered Solutions segment is a global designer and assembler of customized position and motion control systems and other industrial products to various transportation and other niche markets. This segment focuses on providing technical and engineered products, including actuation systems, mechanical power transmission products, engine air flow management solutions and rugged electronic instrumentation. Products in the Engineered Solutions segment are primarily marketed directly to OEMs through a technical sales organization. Approximately 55% of this segment's revenue comes from the vehicle systems product line (Power-Packer, Gits and Power Gear brands), which is sold to the t! ruck, aut! omotive, off-highway and specialty vehicle markets. Products include hydraulic cab-tilt and latching systems, which are sold to global heavy duty truck OEMs, such as Volvo, Iveco, Scania, Paccar-DAF and CNHTC and electro-hydraulic convertible top latching and actuation systems. The automotive convertible top actuation systems are utilized on both retractable soft and hard top vehicles manufactured by OEMs, such as Daimler, Volkswagen, Renault, Peugeot, BMW, Volvo and Nissan.
The Company's diesel engine air flow solutions, such as exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) systems, are used by diesel engine and turbocharger manufacturers to reduce emissions, improve fuel efficiency and horsepower. Primary end markets include heavy duty truck and off-highway equipment serving customers, such as Caterpillar, Cummins, Honeywell and Borg Warner. It also sells actuation systems to various specialty vehicle OEMs (principally in the defense, recreational vehicle and off-highway markets), such as Oshkosh and Fleetwood.
The Maxima Technologies tuck-in acquisitions of Turotest Medidores Ltda and CrossControl AB, along with the fiscal 2011 acquisition of Weasler Engineering have further diversified the geographic presence, technologies and end markets of the Engineered Solutions segment. The range of products, technologies and engineered solutions of Weasler Engineering, Maxima Technologies, Elliott Manufacturing, Sanlo and Nielsen Sessions comprise the other product line within the segment. Products include severe-duty electronic instrumentation (including displays and clusters, machine controls and sensors), power transmission products (engineered power transmission components, including drive shafts, torque limiters, gearboxes, torsional dampers and flexible shafts), and a comprehensive line of case, container and industrial hardware. These products are sold to a range of niche markets, including agricultural implement, lawn & turf, construction, forestry, industrial, aerospace, material handling! and secu! rity.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Sally Jones]
Actuant Corporation (ATU): Reduced
Up 24% over 12 months, Actuant Corp has a market cap of $2.6 billion; its shares were traded at around $35.61 with a P/E ratio of 1,483.70 and a P/B of 2.50. The dividend yield of ATU is 0.11%.
- [By Ben Levisohn]
General Electric’s earnings could also be a good sign for Actuant (ATU), United Technologies (UTX) and Honeywell International (HON), Dray says.
- [By Monica Gerson]
Actuant Corporation (NYSE: ATU) is estimated to report its Q1 earnings at $0.42 per share on revenue of $336.26 million.
Neogen Corporation (NASDAQ: NEOG) is expected to report its Q2 earnings at $0.22 per share on revenue of $69.77 million.
- [By Seth Jayson]
When judging a company's prospects, how quickly it turns cash outflows into cash inflows can be just as important as how much profit it's booking in the accounting fantasy world we call "earnings." This is one of the first metrics I check when I'm hunting for the market's best stocks. Today, we'll see how it applies to Actuant (NYSE: ATU ) .
Best US Companies To Buy For 2014: MSC Industrial Direct Co Inc (MSM)
MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (MSC), incorporated on October 25, 1995, is direct marketers and distributors of a range of metalworking and maintenance, repair and operations (MRO) products to customers throughout the United States. The Company operates primarily in the United States, with customers in all 50 states, through a network of five customer fulfillment centers (four customer fulfillment centers are located within the United States and one is located in the United Kingdom and 106 branch offices (104 branches are located within the United States, one is located in the United Kingdom and the other is located in Mexico). The Company offers approximately 600,000 stock-keeping units (SKUs) through its master catalogs, weekly, monthly and quarterly specialty and promotional catalogs, brochures and the Internet, including its Websites, mscdirect.com, mscmetalworking.com and use-enco.com (MSC Websites). In April 2013, the Company announced that it has completed the acquisition of the North American distribution business (BDNA or the Business) of Barnes Group Inc.
The Company's customers include a range of purchasers of industrial supply products, from individual machine shops to Fortune 1000 companies, to government agencies, such as the General Services Administration (GSA) and the Department of Defense. The Company uses its database of companies and contacts, and the Company also purchases information on prospective customers in the form of databases, mailing lists, and email lists to target the distribution of these various publications and other marketing vehicles to specific individuals within an organization whose purchasing history or other criteria suggest receptiveness to specific publication titles and promotions. The Company also provides electronic ordering capabilities (EDI and XML) to support its customers' purchase order processing.
The Company's products represent a range of MRO products that include cutting tools; measuring instruments; tooling component! s; metalworking products; fasteners; flat stock; raw materials; abrasives; machinery hand and power tools; safety and janitorial supplies; plumbing supplies; materials handling products; power transmission components; and electrical supplies. The Company provides product information and ordering capabilities on the Internet. The Company also maintains a hardware and software platform in support of its VMI program, which allows customers to integrate scanner-accumulated orders directly into its Sales Order Entry system.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Anna Prior]
MSC Industrial Direct Co.(MSM) said its fiscal third-quarter earnings edged higher will revenue increased following higher demand. Still, shares dropped 5.8% to $87.89.
Best US Companies To Buy For 2014: Dun & Bradstreet Corp (DNB)
The Dun & Bradstreet Corporation (D&B), incorporated on April 25, 2000, is the source of commercial information and insight on businesses, enabling customers to Decide with Confidence. As of December 31, 2012, the Company�� global commercial database contained more than 220 million business records. The database is enhanced by its DUNSRight Quality Process, which transforms commercial data into valuable insight which is the foundation of its global solutions. Customers use D&B Risk Management Solutions to mitigate credit and supplier risk, increase cash flow and drive profitability; D&B Sales & Marketing Solutions to provide data management capabilities that provide marketing solutions to increase revenue from new and existing customers, and D&B Internet Solutions to convert prospects into clients by enabling business professionals to research companies, executives and industries.
The Company operates in three segments: North America (which consists of its operations in the United States and Canada); Asia Pacific (which primarily consists of its operations in Australia, Greater China, India and Asia Pacific Worldwide Network), and Europe and other International Markets (which primarily consists of its operations in the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Belgium, Latin America and its European Worldwide Network). The Company conducts its business internationally through its wholly owned subsidiaries, majority-owned joint ventures, independent correspondents, strategic relationships through its D&B Worldwide Network and minority equity investments.
Risk Management Solutions
The Company provides traditional, value-added and supply management solutions. The Company�� Traditional Risk Management Solutions, which primarily includes its core DNBi product line, as well as reports from its database which are used primarily for making decisions about new credit applications, constituted 74% of its Risk Management Solutions revenue and 47% of its total revenue for the ye! ar ended December 31, 2012. Its Value-Added Risk Management Solutions, which constituted 20% of its Risk Management Solutions revenue and 12% of its total revenue for the year ended December 31, 2012, generally support automated decision-making and portfolio management through the use of scoring and integrated software solutions. The Company�� Supply Management Solutions, which can help companies understand the financial risk of their supply chain, constituted 6% of its Risk Management Solutions revenue and 4% of its total revenue in 2012. Risk Management Solutions accounted for 63% of its total revenue in 2012.
Effective January 1, 2013, the Company began managing and reporting its North America Risk Management Solutions business as DNBi subscription plans, Non-DNBi subscription plans, and projects and other risk management solutions.
The Company�� principal Risk Management Solutions are DNBi, various business information reports, eRAM, and D&B Direct. DNBi is the Company�� interactive, customizable online application that offers customers a subscription based real time access to its complete and up-to-date global DUNSRight information, comprehensive monitoring and portfolio analysis. It is also focused on helping more customers protect their business from risk through additions of DNBi products: DNBi Corporate, offering flexible pricing options allowing credit departments of all sizes to get data and options they need and Portfolio Risk Manager for DNBi, a module which allows DNBi users to create strategic one -click analytic reports to see risk and opportunity across their customer base. Various business information reports include Business Information Report, its Comprehensive Report, and its International Report that are consumed in a transactional manner across multiple platforms, such as DNB.com. eRAM is an enterprise solution for large global and domestic customers for automated decisioning and portfolio analytics. D&B Direct is a software application programming inter! face (API! ) that enables data integration inside enterprise applications, such as ERP, and enables master data management.
Sales & Marketing Solutions
The Company�� Sales & Marketing Solutions is a customer solution set, which accounted 29% of its total revenue in 2012. Within this customer solution set, it offers traditional and value-added solutions. Its Traditional Sales & Marketing Solutions generally consist of its marketing lists and labels used by the Company�� customers in direct mail and marketing activities, its education business and its electronic licensing solutions. These solutions constituted 30% of its Sales & Marketing Solutions revenue and 9% of its total revenue in 2012. Effective January 1, 2013, The Company began managing and reporting its Internet Solutions business as part of its Traditional Sales & Marketing Solutions set. Its Value-Added Sales & Marketing Solutions generally include decision-making and customer information management solutions, including data management solutions like Optimizer (its solution to cleanse, identify and enrich its customers' client portfolios) and products introduced as part of its Data-as-a-Service (DaaS) Strategy, which integrates the Company�� data directly into the applications and platforms that its customers use every day. The Value-Added Sales & Marketing Solutions constituted 70% of Sales & Marketing Solutions revenue and 20% of its total revenue in 2012
Internet Solutions
The Company�� Internet Solutions business provides organized and easy-to-use products that address the online sales and marketing needs of professionals and businesses, including information on companies, industries and executives. Internet Solutions, primarily representing the results of its Hoover's business, accounted for 7% of its total revenue in 2012. Effective January 1, 2013, the Company began managing and reporting its Internet Solutions business as part of its Traditional Sales & Marketing Solutions set.
T! he Company competes with Equifax, Inc., Experian Information Solutions, Inc., infoGROUP, Graydon, and Sinotrust.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Geoff Gannon] nflation plus population growth: CEC Entertainment (CEC)
路 Nominal GDP Growth: Village Supermarket (VLGEA)
Over the last 10 years ��population growth, inflation, and real output per person growth has been so low it�� hard to tell the difference between companies growing at the rate of inflation, along with the population, or along with the economy.
You have to squint really hard to see any difference in the revenue growth records of DNB, Chuck E. Cheese, and Village.
This will not be true in all countries and at all times.
A literally no growth company like Earthlink is actually shrinking. It just happens to look like it�� staying perfectly flat because inflation is hiding the company�� real decay rate. In real terms, the company has been shrinking by about 3% a year for the last 10 years. So, Earthlink is not a no growth company. It�� shrinking.
That�� a bad sign. And, frankly, I don�� know how to value Earthlink. You would need to evaluate it as a turnaround or something ��not as a business that�� simplly stuck in place. I don�� know how to do that.
So, Earhtlink goes into the ��oo hard��pile.
Dun & Bradstreet and CEC Entertainment are actual no growth businesses. This is hidden by their constant share buy backs. So, if you look at their earnings per share growth they look kind of like Peter Lynch�� idea of a ��low growth��company or even a ��talwart�� They aren��. They��e no growth businesses.
The same is pretty much true with Village Supermarket. Although this is complicated. The nature of their business ��high volume, low cost groceries ��means they can appear to be a no growth business when they are actually just keeping prices down and increasing volume. You would need to check their sales numbers more carefully. Grocery stores often discuss inflation in their annual reports. Village Supermarket always does this.
(The annual report is Exhibit 13 of the
- [By Seth Jayson]
Calling all cash flows
When you are trying to buy the market's best stocks, it's worth checking up on your companies' free cash flow once a quarter or so, to see whether it bears any relationship to the net income in the headlines. That's what we do with this series. Today, we're checking in on Dun & Bradstreet (NYSE: DNB ) , whose recent revenue and earnings are plotted below.
Best US Companies To Buy For 2014: Polo Ralph Lauren Corporation(RL)
Ralph Lauren Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the design, marketing, and distribution of lifestyle products. The company offers men?s, women?s, and children?s clothing; and accessories comprising footwear, eyewear, watches, jewelry, hats, and belts, as well as leather goods, including handbags and luggage. It also provides products for homes, including bedding and bath products, furniture, fabric and wallpaper, paint, tabletop, and giftware; and fragrance products for women men. In addition, the company licenses its products, such as men?s sportswear, men?s tailored clothing, men?s underwear and sleepwear, eyewear, fragrances, cosmetics, and color and skin care products. It offers its products under the Polo by Ralph Lauren, Ralph Lauren Purple Label, Ralph Lauren Women?s Collection, Black Label, Blue Label, Lauren by Ralph Lauren, RRL, RLX, Rugby, Ralph Lauren Childrenswear, American Living, Chaps, and Club Monaco brand names. Ralph Lauren sells its products to department stores, specialty stores, and golf and pro shops; full-price retail stores, factory retail stores, and concessions-based shop-within-shops; and online through RalphLauren.com and Rugby.com. As of April 3, 2010, it operated 179 full-price retail stores and 171 factory stores worldwide, as well as 281 concessions-based shop-within-shops and 2 e-commerce Websites. The company was formerly known as Polo Ralph Lauren Corporation and changed its name to Ralph Lauren Corporation in August 2011. Ralph Lauren Corporation was founded in 1967 and is based in New York, New York.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By MARKETWATCH]
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Ralph Lauren Corp. (RL) said Wednesday that its fiscal second quarter profit fell to $205 million, or $2.23 a share, from $214 million, or $2.29 a share. Total revenue rose to $1.92 billion from $1.86 billion. Analysts surveyed by FactSet were looking for profit of $2.20 a share on sales of $1.91 billion. The company raised the bottom end of its full-year sales forecast to a range of 5% to 7%, from a prior projection of 4% to 7%. It also raised its quarterly dividend by 12.5% to 45 cents a share. Its shares rose 2.5% in premarket trading.
- [By Ben Levisohn]
They also drove up the share prices of its suppliers and department store rivals. Nordstrom (JWN) and Kohl�� Corp. (KSS ), both reporting Thursday, rose more than 2% each. Its suppliers Ralph Lauren Corp. (RL) and Calvin Klein parent PVH Corp. (PVH) saw their shares up 2% and 4% each.
- [By Jonathan Yates]
For investors, there are three reasons to be bullish about luxury item stocks, ranging from well-known brands such as Ralph Lauren (NYSE: RL) and Coach (NYSE: COH), to promising small caps like Premier Opportunities Group (OTC: PPBL).
Best US Companies To Buy For 2014: Marten Transport Ltd (MRTN)
Marten Transport, Ltd. is a temperature-sensitive truckload carrier. The Company specializes in transporting and distributing food and other consumer packaged goods that require a temperature-controlled or insulated environment. It operates throughout the United States and in parts of Canada and Mexico. The Company operates in two segments: Truckload and Logistics. During the year ended December 31, 2011, approximately 81% of its truckload revenue resulted from hauling temperature-sensitive products and 19% from hauling dry freight. Its long-haul traffic lanes are between the Midwest and the West Coast, Southwest, Southeast, and the East Coast, as well as from California to the Pacific Northwest. It provides regional truckload carrier services in the Southeast, West Coast, Midwest, South Central and Northeast regions.
The Company derives truckload revenue from fuel surcharges, loading and unloading activities, equipment detention and other ancillary services. Its operating revenue also includes revenue reported within its Logistics segment, which consists of revenue from its internal brokerage and intermodal operations, and through its 45% interest in MW Logistics, LLC (MWL), a third-party provider of logistics services to the transportation industry. Brokerage services involve arranging for another company to transport freight for the Company�� customers, while it retains the billing, collection and customer management responsibilities. Intermodal services involve the transport of its trailers on railroad flatcars for a portion of a trip, with the balance of the trip using its tractors or, to a lesser extent, contracted carriers. It focuses on large food and consumer-packaged goods companies whose products require temperature-sensitive services and who ship multiple truckloads per week. As of December 31, 2011, its customers were General Mills and Kraft.
As of December 31, 2011, the Company operated a fleet of 2,281 tractors, including 2,233 company owned tractors and 48 t! ractors supplied by independent contractors. The average age of its company owned tractor fleet at December 31, 2011 was approximately 2.6 years. As of December 31, 2011, it operated a fleet of 4,124 trailers. Most of its trailers are equipped with Thermo-King refrigeration units, air ride suspensions and anti-lock brakes. The average age of its trailer fleet as of December 31, 2011 was approximately 2.4 years.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Seth Jayson]
Marten Transport (Nasdaq: MRTN ) reported earnings on July 16. Here are the numbers you need to know.
The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended June 30 (Q2), Marten Transport missed estimates on revenues and missed estimates on earnings per share. - [By Monica Gerson]
Marten Transport (NASDAQ: MRTN) is estimated to post its Q3 earnings at $0.23 per share on revenue of $168.28 million.
CSX (NYSE: CSX) is expected to post its Q3 earnings at $0.43 per share on revenue of $2.95 billion.
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