Kewaunee Scientific: A Small-Cap Blue Chip
Today's Financial News - Posted August 26, 2009
The best things come in little packages. We proved it once today. Kewaunee Scientific (NASDAQ:KEQU) may be your shot at another double-digit winner.
By Andrew Snyder, TodaysFinancialNews.com
Baltimore – (TFN): For a bunch of financial writers, we sure do a lot of talking. There is no debating we have a lot of interesting discussions around the TFN office. Yesterday we got into an in-depth conversation about penny stock investing.
The question: what does the perfect small cap look like?
Of course, each of us had differing opinions based on our own theories and experiences, but we came to one obvious conclusion. Give us a small cap that has the books of a Blue Chip and we will show you a winning pick.
As if it was some sort of divine intervention, our conclusion was proven to be deadly accurate this morning.
When I initially recommended SpongeTech (OTC BB:SPNG) to Hot Stock Confidential subscribers on August 13, I said, “The company’s balance sheet reads more like a blue chip than a speculative penny pick.”
It’s true. SpongeTech was highly undervalued. It was buying back its shares and is growing like the national debt.
The recommendation was only made two weeks ago, but already it has paid off. I advised readers to sell half of their positions for gains of 30% today. By locking in at today’s price, we can afford to ride out any future volatility.
Room for more
Almost instantly after sending out the sell alert, another “small-cap Blue Chip” popped up on my screen.
The headline from the Associated Press reads, “Kewaunee Scientific raises dividend to 10 cents.”
My first thought… who in the world can raise their dividend in this economy?
For any investor who has ever studied signaling theory, this is the ultimate buy signal from the company’s management. It shows that Kewaunee’s (NASDAQ:KEQU) top brass is confident growth is going to exceed shareholder expectations organically.
Investors rewarded the company by increasing its share price by as much as 8% during the session.
Of course, digging through the company’s books, it is obvious this company is a Blue Chip in a small-cap shell.
With a market value of just $33 million, many of this company’s brethren barely have revenues worth noting. Kewaunee flexed its muscle by sporting a top line of $104 million last year. Best of all, the company turned the sales into a net profit of $4.2 million.
A 4% margin is not worth shouting about, but it sure beats what Ford (NYSE:F), Boeing (NYSE:BA) or Hone Depot (NYSE:HD) did during the same period.
Now, with a market cap of $33 million and $4 million in earnings, we get a price/earnings (P/E) ratio of 8.25.
Home Depot’s ratio stands at 20. Boeing comes in at 15. And Ford, well, it may be a few years until it finds a positive figure for the ratio’s denominator.
Of course, with any small cap, liquidity is a major risk factor. With $25 million in debt, investors should certainly watch Kewaunee’s leverage. But it is nothing worth crossing this one of your buying list for.
After all, aren’t liquidity concerns an issue at almost every Blue Chip these days? The Dow was built (and crashed) on debt.
As a manufacturer of laboratory equipment (cabinets, vent hoods and work surfaces) Kewaunee is in a strong position to take advantage of Washington’s trillion-dollar spending spree. As the biotech industry continues to grow and as more and more high-tech school labs are built, Kewaunee’s phone is going to be ringing a lot.
I am not saying to buy shares of the company right this instant – prices have risen a lot of the last six months – but it is worthy of your watch list.
I know it is at the top of mine. Our subscribers may be reading more about this winner in the months ahead.
Next Article: National Fuel Gas: A different way to play natural gas
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