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 Quanta Services (PWR -0.98%) jumped as much as 10% yesterday after the company released fourth-quarter earnings.
So what: Revenue was up 9% to $1.82 billion last quarter, crushing expectations by $112 million. Net income from continuing operations rose 65% to $166.7 million, or $0.50 per share on an adjusted basis, $0.10 ahead of expectations.
Now what: Momentum in the electrical contracting business continues to be strong and Quanta's backlog increased to a record of $8.7 billion. For 2014, management expects adjusted earnings per share from continuing operations in a range of $1.85 to $2.05, up from $1.71 in 2013. The solid results are encouraging, but paying 17 times the top end of forward estimates is a steep price and will keep me out of the stock today.
