This Boat Could Pick Up Speed
The recession has slowed business far and wide, and shippers are suffering. So analysts aren't upbeat on Aegean Marine Petroleum (ANW) (ANW), based in Piraeus, Greece, whose stock trades on the Big Board. Aegean supplies fuel to ships in port and at sea from service centers in such places as Greece, Singapore, and West Africa, using a fleet of tankers. Although earnings are on the rise, the stock has sunk, to 9.96 on Nov. 19 from 44 on May 16. However, "concerns of a global slowdown are overblown," says Kevin Sterling of investment bank Stephens, which did business with Aegean. He tags the stock overweight.
Steven Ferazani of researcher Sidoti rates Aegean a buy with a target of 31. Part of Aegean's success is its focus on less competitive markets, such as Ghana and Jamaica. Ferazani sees profits of $2.06 a share in 2009 and $3.42 in 2010, vs. 99 cents in 2008.
Unless otherwise noted, neither the sources cited in Inside Wall Street nor their firms hold positions in the stocks under discussion. Similarly, they have no investment banking or other financial relationships with them.
Marcial writes the Inside Wall Street column for BusinessWeek.
—Gene Marcial
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