Why Thor Shares Roared

Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over market movements, we do like to keep an eye on big changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.

What: Shares of recreational vehicle maker Thor Industries (NYSE: THO  ) surged 12% today after its quarterly results easily topped Wall Street expectations.

So what: Thor's first-quarter results were so impressive -- revenue surged 36% to $876.8 million versus the consensus of just $737 million -- that analysts have no choice but to raise their growth estimates yet again. RV demand was hit particularly hard during the first few years of the downturn, but today's report -- sales of towable RVs and motorized RVs surged 28% and 95%, respectively -- reinforces optimism over a prolonged and sustained turnaround.

Now what: Management said that its total RV backlog at the end of the quarter was $516.7 million, up a whopping 73% from the year-ago figure of $299.5 million. "Our higher backlogs provide us with a clearer view into sales expectations through the first half of fiscal 2013," said Chairman and CEO Peter Orthwein. "Given the view of our business through the January quarter, we believe Thor will be well positioned to enter the important spring retail show season." Given Thor's rock-solid balance sheet and still-reasonable forward P/E of 14, Fools shouldn't let today's rally keep them from buying into that bullishness.

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