Topic: Growth Stocks

ENERFLEX LTD. $13.10 – Toronto symbol EFX

ENERFLEX LTD. $13.10 (Toronto symbol EFX; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (403-387-6377; www.enerflex.com; Shares outstanding: 79.1 million; Market cap: $1.1 billion; Dividend yield: 2.6%) rents and sells equipment and services for natural gas production, including compression and processing plants, refrigeration gear and power generators.

On June 30, 2014, Enerflex closed its $431-million U.S. acquisition of two businesses owned by privately held Axip Energy Services: an international contract compression and processing subsidiary and a division that provides aftermarket services.

In the three months ended September 30, 2015, the company’s revenue fell 5.7%, to $425.2 million from $451.1 million a year earlier. Earnings per share were unchanged at $0.40.

Contributions from Enerflex’s Latin American businesses increased its sales, but weaker revenue in the U.S. and Canada offset these gains. Cost-cutting measures kept earnings steady.

However, falling oil and gas prices are now hurting the company’s backlog. Enerflex booked $237.3 million of new orders in the latest quarter, down 30.7% from $342.2 million a year earlier. Its backlog is now $477.6 million, down 44.9% from $866.4 million.

In response to the lower bookings, the company has reduced costs, including laying off 600 of its 3,400 employees since the start of this year. These measures, plus its international growth prospects (especially in the Middle East), should still let Enerflex earn $0.86 a share in 2016, and the stock trades at a 15.2 times that estimate. It yields 2.6%.

Enerflex is still a buy.

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