Topic: Growth Stocks

WAJAX CORP. $16.85

WAJAX CORP. $16.85 (Toronto symbol WJX; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (905-212-3300; www.wajax.ca; Shares outstanding:20.0 million; Market cap: $335.9 million; Dividend yield: 5.9%) sells and services cranes, forklifts and other heavy equipment. It also provides related parts (such as ball bearings, motors, hoses and fittings) and power systems (including diesel engines and transmissions).

The company’s customers are in the natural resource, construction, manufacturing and transportation industries.

In the three months ended December 31, 2015, Wajax’s clients in mining and oil and gas made fewer purchases. As a result, revenue fell 16.0%, to $324.4 million from $386.1 million a year earlier. Earnings, excluding one-time items, declined sharply, to $4.0 million, or $0.20 a share, from $11.0 million, or $0.66.

Small acquisition in eastern Canada

Wajax needs sustained growth in Canadian mining and oil and gas drilling for its revenue and earnings to rebound. But its long-term outlook is positive. To offset some of its exposure to Western Canada, it just bought Montreal-based Wilson Machine for $5 million. Wilson makes and repairs precision machinery and has annual sales of $6 million.

The company’s overall debt of $151.6 million is a manageable 45% of its market cap. The stock trades at 13.1 times Wajax’s forecast 2016 earnings of $1.29 a share. That estimate could prove optimistic if commodity prices are slow to recover.

Wajax yields 5.9%, and the current dividend looks sustainable.

Wajax is still a buy.

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