Today is Watchlist Wednesday, so I’m discussing three companies that have crossed my radar in the past week — and at what point I may consider taking action on these calls with my own money. Keep in mind that these aren’t concrete buy or sell recommendations, nor do I guarantee I’ll take action on the companies being discussed. What I can promise is that you can follow my real-life transactions through my profile and that I, like everyone else here at The Motley Fool, will continue to hold the integrity of our disclosure policy in the highest regard.
Arris Group Inc (NASDAQ:ARRS)
It may appear that Arris Group Inc (NASDAQ:ARRS) has hit a stumbling block over the past couple of months after a nice market-beating run. In its preliminary first-quarter results released in April, the company noted a $13 million reduction to revenue due to its purchase of Motorola Home, but managed to slightly top EPS estimates. Arris Group Inc (NASDAQ:ARRS), a supplier of video and broadband technology to cable companies, has certainly failed to live up to shareholder expectations since the recession; however, that may be about to change.
Arris Group Inc (NASDAQ:ARRS)’ fortunes are often very tied to the success of the fiber-optic sector. An uptick in fiber orders normally signals a new cycle of infrastructure buildout for the nation’s largest telecom and cable service providers. JDS Uniphase, for example, grew its optical communications business segment by 7% over the previous year in a challenging third quarter. While it’s a bit further down the food chain, Arris certainly would be expected to see a big boost in profits perhaps beginning as early as next year.
For Arris Group Inc (NASDAQ:ARRS), the company’s order backlog was up 27% to $282.1 million over the previous year with the company generating $50 million in cash from operations. Not surprisingly, estimates for next year have vaulted higher, with the company valued at less than nine times forward earnings. If I were you, I’d keep a close eye on Arris Group Inc (NASDAQ:ARRS) for any weakness as a potential buying opportunity.
Fluor Corporation (NEW) (NYSE:FLR)
Growth at Fluor Corporation (NEW) (NYSE:FLR) may have slowed to a crawl compared to previous years, but this is a company that should be looked at as practically a necessity stock.
Fluor Corporation (NEW) (NYSE:FLR) operates as a consultant and building services contractor in five business segments, but investors are having a hard time hurdling the fact that the U.S. government is one of those divisions. As you might recall, the sequester is removing $85 billion from the federal budget, which could certainly hurt future orders for Fluor Corporation (NEW) (NYSE:FLR)’s services from the Department of Energy or Defense. Then again, Fluor Corporation (NEW) (NYSE:FLR)’s tie-in with the private energy and independent oil and gas sector make it a very attractive bet over the long run.
President Obama has made it very clear that he’d like to see America become more energy independent. In order to accomplish this goal, it means the construction of new drilling rigs as well as more energy-efficient power plants, and certainly more pipeline and storage tanks capable of holding an increasing number of natural gas and oil finds. Fluor’s bread-and-butter business is these energy and oil-and-gas projects. In just the last quarter alone, Fluor Corporation (NEW) (NYSE:FLR) received $6.5 billion in awards — with $3.1 billion coming from the oil and gas sector — and total backlog rose 11% to $18.6 billion.
