The good: Company showed real promise a few years ago. They are a telecom infrastructure provider, and from what I hear, were pretty good at it. The old man was a powerhouse in the Cuban community, and wielded a lot of influence which helped MTZ get much attention.
The bad: The old man died and they put his son in charge. Seems like their greatest goal now is to enrich family members and friends at the expense of shareholders. Big push into Latin American buildtout has reversed course, and is being abandoned. Spanish operation was supposed to be a jewel, but showed failure of management to understand business or its employees, and was sold at a loss. Occasional reports of corrupt activity in Dade County contracts go mostly ignored, but don't shed a good light on the company.
The ugly: Seen this stock go from 9 to the 50s, then back to the teens. Right now they could go either way. I'm still holding for all the wrong reasons, and if I was looking at MTZ fresh today, I would probably avoid it. DY seemed to be the profitable alternative, and has done quite well for me, but lately has been under some scrutiny itself and has lost about 35% from its highs. |
