What happened
Shares of construction giant Tutor Perini Corp (TPC -0.37%) jumped as much as 14.3% in trading today after the company reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter results. At 3:15 p.m. EST shares were holding at a 11.7% gain on the day.
So what
Revenue fell 4.3% to $1.19 billion, but net income nearly tripled to $80.9 million, or $1.60 per share. Adjusted for one-time gains, earnings were $0.55 per share, topping Wall Street estimates of $0.50.
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Management also said they expect 2018 earnings per share to be between $1.90 and $2.30. This was well below the $2.66 expected from analysts, but that's being brushed off by investors today.
Now what
Operating results were mixed for Tutor Perini, but investors were certainly seeing the positive side today. I'll note that backlog at the end of 2017 did jump 17% versus a year ago, to $7.3 billion, which is a good sign for the future of the business; that's what's giving management confidence about the future. If they can improve profitability in the back half of the year and into 2019, the stock could be a good value for long-term investors.
