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Strategies & Market Trends : Value Investing -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: - with a K who wrote (13525)	1/2/2002 10:30:13 AM
From: Grommit	Respond to of 78549

MDU -- I do not do very extensive analysis of stock. I just look for decent companies. I see historical growth, even though the next year will be flat, as you noticed. These ratios seems better than the utility industry averages. yahoo.marketguide.com Their construction business has growth from $132 million in 1996 to $631 million in 2000. Construction and mining are giving them most of their earning increases. Natural gas prices gave them a pop in earnings in 2001, from 1.80 in 2000 to around $2.20 in 2001. They expect around $2.00 in 2002 which is based on normal nat gas prices. If you compare 2002 EPS (estimate of $1.90 to $2.10) to 2000 EPS ($1.80) and 1999 EPS ($1.52) , there is decent growth. If you mentally knock 2001 earnings in natural gas down by $10 or 20 million, EPS down to $1.65 or so, then 2001 EPS of $2.00 is a healthy increase. Dividends are continually growing. Management seems honest, isn't overpaid, and they are buying stock. Stock price heading up and it used to be alot higher. This just seems like a decent, growing, honest, no-worry, company to add to the portfolio. Please let me know if you find a black mark somewhere in your analysis. regards, Grommit