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Raven Industries Scales a 52-Week High on Strong Q2, View

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Shares of Raven Industries Inc. hit a 52-week high of $25.38 yesterday and closed a little lower at $24.99. The stock price appreciation came on the back robust second-quarter 2017 performance and an encouraging outlook.

This Sioux Falls, South Dakota-based industrial goods manufacturer has a market cap of $903.6 million. Meanwhile, average volume of shares traded over the last three months is approximately 287K. Raven has delivered a year-to-date return of 59.1%.

Driving Factors

Shares of Raven have been on the rise since it reported strong second-quarter fiscal 2017 results on Aug 23. Earnings per share increased around 9% year over year to 12 cents as repurchases executed over the past 12 months resulted in lower outstanding shares.

RAVEN INDS INC Price and Consensus

RAVEN INDS INC Price and Consensus | RAVEN INDS INC Quote

Raven expects fiscal 2017 sales and adjusted operating income to increase year over year. In applied technology, the company is increasing market share through technological advancements. Through sustained funding of key R&D projects over the last few years, the company introduced two significant products, Hawkeye nozzle control system and next-generation rate control system. These products are receiving favorable customer feedback and are also generating strong demand. This is expected to continue in the second half of the year and into fiscal 2018.

In engineered films, Raven witnessed stabilization in the energy and geomembrane markets, albeit at a much lower rate than the prior year. In the second half of the year, the company expects improvement in overall sales at the division.

Raven is also focused on bringing the Aerostar segment back to profits. The company is also striving to build opportunities and convert these opportunities into backlog.

Raven currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Stocks to Consider

Better-ranked stocks in the same industry include Crane Co. (CR - Free Report) , Barloworld Ltd. (BRRAY - Free Report) and AO Smith Corp. (AOS - Free Report) . All of these stocks carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

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