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 Furmanite Corporation (NYSE: FRM) have lost 10% of their value today after the company reported fourth-quarter earnings that fell far below analyst estimates.
So what: Furmanite's fourth-quarter revenue came in at $130.4 million, a 40% year-over-year improvement, and its earnings were $0.07 per share, compared to just $0.03 per share from the year-ago quarter. However, analysts had sought $133 million on the top line and $0.16 in EPS, so the bottom-line result was far weaker than what Wall Street was looking for. Furmanite's annual results of $427.3 million on the top line and $0.37 in EPS also came in below the consensus, which sought $429.3 million in revenue and $0.47 in EPS.
Furmanite now projects full-year earnings for fiscal 2014 to fall in the range of $540 million to $560 million, and anticipates full-year EPS in a range of $0.52 to $0.57. This is a disappointment compared to analyst expectations of $555.1 million in revenue and $0.62 in EPS for 2014, but it does represent growth of 29% on the top line and 47% on the bottom line, which is really nothing to sneeze at.
Now what: Furmanite's shares had already enjoyed a near-double before this earnings report, and its forward P/E now stands at roughly 19 after today's drop and the company's new guidance range are taken into account. That's really quite reasonable for a company pegging itself to such a strong year-over-year earnings growth rate, and investors seem to be coming around to this idea already, as Furmanite's shares have been rebounding since shortly before noon. You might want to dig a little deeper into this small cap, as it could be a worthwhile growth opportunity.
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