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 transportation company Landstar System (LSTR -0.55%) jumped as much as 14% early in trading Wednesday after the company reported earnings. The jolt higher didn't last long though and shares are only about 4% higher midday.
So what: Revenue jumped 20.7% to $814.4 million and net income was up 18.1% to $35.9 million, or $0.80 per share. Both were record quarterly results for the company.
Versus estimates, the quarter was also a blowout. Wall Street expected just $780 million in revenue and $0.78 per share in earnings.
Now what: Truck transportation by independent businesses was not only a growth market but also accounted for 94% of revenue in the quarter. Management also thinks that the strong spot price market will continue throughout 2014 so earnings should be strong for the rest of the year. Given the forward P/E ratio of over 23 based on 2014 estimates I don't see this as much of a value stock but if management can keep exceeding expectations and shares fall to a better value it'll be worth another look.
