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 energy control systems specialist Woodward (WWD 0.56%) climbed 10% today after its quarterly results easily topped Wall Street expectations.
So what: Woodward has suffered in 2012 as demand for its services have dropped amid the recession, but a wide fourth-quarter profit beat -- EPS of $0.66 versus the average analyst estimate of just $0.57 -- is triggering hopes of a turnaround. While demand for its wind turbine offerings remains hampered by the recession, solid revenue growth of 9% in its aerospace division suggests that Woodward is diversified enough to get through the current rough patch.
Now what: Management sees full-year2013 EPS of $2.15-$2.35 on sales of $1.85 billion-$2 billion, versus the consensus of $2.26 and $1.97 billion, respectively.
"Overall economic uncertainty continues to impact the markets we serve," cautioned CEO Thomas Gendron. "We continue to anticipate market share growth in our Aerospace segment, while in our Energy segment growth in natural gas offerings is being offset by the significant decline in the wind turbine market." Of course, with the stock still off more than 20% from its 52-week highs, much of those headwinds remain priced into the valuation.
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