econ1: Yesterday's close was $17.49. MLR is a stock I do not hold, but am giving serious consideration to right now. The company manufactures vehicle towing and recovery equipment with manufacturing plants in the US, France & UK. How it stacks up against my criteria:
(1) Small Cap - Market cap is only a little over $200M.
(2) Low Debt - No long term debt, 1.94 quick ratio, 40.16 X interest coverage.
(3) Sustainable Products - I don't see why a need for wrecking and towing equipment should dry up and blow away, or why a competitor is likely to come up with dramatically improved versions.
(4) Little Government Influence - MLR sells some product to governments, but I don't believe the industry is especially over-regulated or a political target relative to other industries.
(5) Low or Reasonable PE and PEG - 18.45 PE end of trading yesterday (although stock is up significantly today, 15.7% YOY revenue growth and 16.8% YOY net income growth last reported Q (2nd Q 2014). So PE and PEG both reasonable, but somewhat higher than I like.
(6) Decent & Growing Dividends - 3.43% this morning before stock's rise. Dividend last raised by 7.1% in March 2014. I'd consider a repeat likely in March 2015, so I would be happy with both the current dividend and prospects for an increase.
(7) Positive Recent Information - In most recent quarterly report (8-6-14) management talks about a challenging, but improving economic environment, increased order flow and backlog, and actively bidding on attractive global projects.
The company reports again very soon. Like possibly next week. The chart looks positive as today the stock is breaking higher after failing to set a new low versus early Oct. However, the price is still under the 200 day moving average.
