This was posted on the Yahoo board:
I am a small time investor, very amateur but will give it a shot posting a brief analysis of IEC. I hold a very small amount of shares and would hold more if I did not have to diversify. Judging some of the income data from the yahoo finance sheets here is some information i have gathered that supports major increases in the p/e level from a fundamental standpoint. Any comments or suggestions are appreciated, so here it goes...
1st
Net income trend. quarterly over the last year.
quarter ending 12/25/09 saw net income at $753,000. This increased 37.58 % to $1,036,000 for quarter ending 03/26/2010. From $1,036,000 net income increased a further 19.5% to 1,238,000 for quarter ending 06/25/2010. From $1,238,000 net income increased an astounding 31.5% to 1,628,000 for quarter ending in 9/30/2010.
Profit Margins:
2010 saw a steady increase in IEC profit margins. the period from 12/25/09 to 03/26/2010 saw a profit margin of 15.58%. The following 3 quarters saw a profit margin of 15.92%, 17.84%, and 17.5% respectively. We can see a nice uptrend in the profit margins for the 1st 3 quarters with a slight decline for the last quarter.
Liquidity:
for the 4 quarters starting 12/25/09 IEC shows an acid-test ratio of 1.379, 1.248, 1.60, and 1.396 respectively. Meaning the company has been relatively liquid.
Debt to equity:
For the 4 quarters starting 12/25/09 IEC shows a debt to equity ratio of 1.518, 1.385, 1.248, and 1.19 respectively showing a steady downtrend in the amount of debt the company is holding as a percentage of it's assets. This is telling for the company as we will see it's value rise in the future if they continue to reduce debt.
My analysis indicates I was right in taking my long position and my decision has been reconfirmed by the latest economic data.
disclaimer: I am not a licensed broker or consultant.
