Churchill is on the upswing

Article Excerpt

THE CHURCHILL CORP. $9.11 (Toronto symbol CUQ; TSINetwork Rating: Speculative) (780-454-3667; www.churchillcorporation.com; Shares outstanding: 24.6 million; Market cap: $224.1 million; Dividend yield: 5.3%) has reported earnings of just $485,000, or $0.02 a share, in the three months ended June 30, 2013. However, that’s a big improvement from a loss of $4.3 million, or $0.18 a share, a year earlier. Churchill’s long-term prospects are sound, and the stock has rebounded from its low of $7 earlier this year. The company’s order backlog stood at $1.81 billion at the end of June 2013, up 15.2% from $1.57 billion a year previous. Meanwhile, its dividend, which yields a high 5.3%, appears safe. However, the stock trades at a high 31.4 times the company’s forecast 2013 earnings of $0.29 a share, and its long-term debt of $150.2 million, which is a high 67% of its market cap, adds risk. The Churchill Corp. is still a hold. hold…