USHS..reported numbers tonight..27 cents for quarter (they are seasonal, stronger in summer, weaker in winter). I mentioned this stock 1 year ago on the zipcode board (back when it wasn't profitable yet--it was $5.40 then vs $9.90 now). Analysts predicting around 95cents for 2007. Company is projecting 20% growth rate for next year. They are in 1290 Home Depot stores for kitchen & bath refacing & around 500 for decks. A couple interesting things from the CC call:
1. In his 46 years in the industry, CEO said that they do much better in poor housing markets and higher interest rates. He said that from numbers he looked at this morning that they are doing very well in Florida and California as an example. (He's mentioned this before---it's due to owners improving what they have rather than chasing new houses). He said that he wished interest rates were actually higher.
2. They are starting a new pilot program with Home Depot to provide kitchen countertops in their Boston Market during 1rst quarter 2007. If that works out well he sees it expanding outward to the other stores. This could be a real added bonus to growth.
3. The are in 33 new Home Depot Expo stores in the 4th quarter.
4. They are also in the process of starting a new marketing campaign that works with Home Depot, but is more directed by USHS instead. They tried it in 3 major markets and were pleased with the results and will be expanding it.
This isn't an exciting company, but plugs along nicely. I've found the CEO to be straightforward. Minimum dilution in shares per year (options expenses in 3rd quarter were just $77K). It's not followed by many. Volume is around 18K shares/day. Float is 6.22M (8.4M shares total outstanding). Their "debt" was consumer financing they carried for customers. They just sold it all off for $50M the other day (but $900K worth) so they are debt free. They are fully taxed (35-8% bracket).
Dave
