ManTech International Corp.

ManTech International Corp. (MANT - Snapshot Report) has been able to maintain its growth trajectory in spite of the challenging economic environment. This government/defense consulting company recently reported strong quarterly results, provided a bullish earnings forecast and announced two big deals with two government agencies.

ManTech International Corp. provides technology consulting services for national security programs in the United States and internationally. The company was founded in 1968, has a market cap. of $2.05 billion and is headquartered in Fairfax, Virginia.

An Industry Trend

With national security issues coming into focus over the last couple of years, companies catering to these interests have seen a sharp up tick in demand for their services. This dynamic has played out accordingly for ManTech, and was apparent when the company reported strong second-quarter results on July 30.

Second-Quarter Results

Revenue was up 33% from last year to $465 million. Net income totaled $21.9 million, up 45% from the same period last year. This produced earnings of 62 cents per share, ahead of analyst estimates by 2 cents.

This is the fourth time in four quarters that ManTech has beaten or matched analyst estimates, having done so by an average of 3 cents, or 5.14%.

Revenue Transparency

ManTech noted in its quarterly report that it had been awarded contracts with a value of $600 million during the quarter.

The company also announced that it had received a $151 million contract from the Navy to provide IT support and a $124 million contract with the State Department for its Global IT Modernization program.

President and chief operating officer Robert Coleman said that, "Our second quarter bookings were solid and we have continued the momentum into the third quarter with our two large awards in July."

Guidance and Estimates Raised

After the solid quarter and bullish projection from ManTech, analysts raised their estimates. The current-year estimate has advanced to $2.51 per share, up from $2.44 per share last month. The next-year estimate is pegged at $2.88 per share, a 15% earnings growth projection.

Based upon this earnings projection this is not a cheap stock, carrying a forward P/E multiple of 23X.

The Chart

Shares of MANT have been in an aggressive but smooth up trend since early July, recently hitting a new 52-week and all-time high just above $62. With shares trading at these levels this company will need to produce robust earnings to support more share appreciation. Tale a look at the chart below.