StockRanks USA - upgrades and downgrades - September 19th

It is an exciting time to be following US stocks. The S&P 500 is within a hair of its all-time high and the Dow Jones Industrial Average has broken through the key 17,000 level, more than 3,000 points above the peak reached just before the financial crisis set in. But there are still plenty of opportunities out there. Let's take a look at what's moving up and down the stock ranks this week, to see which companies have been isolated as having good quality, value and momentum credentials.

Werner Enterprises Inc

Werner Enterprises Inc is the largest StockRanks gainer this week, leaping 16 points from 75 (10 September) to 90 (19 September). The firm is a transportation and logistics company, engaged primarily in hauling truckload shipments of general commodities in both interstate and intrastate commerce.

Werner's management recently released the company's fiscal second quarter results and it seems as if the company is benefitting from the economic recovery within the U.S. According to management during the second quarter: "Freight demand showed consistent strength, and we were overbooked throughout second quarter 2014." Revenue during the second quarter jumped 7% year on year.

These results have helped the company's shares to outperform the S&P 500 by 1.1% over the past month - leading to a rise in MomentumRank to 77. What's more, the company exhibits some attractive value and quality attributes. and a very high ValueRank of 78.

The company has a healthy current ratio (2.01) and quick ratio (1.93) with a low level of gross gearing (5%). All attractive quality attributes. As a result Werner has a QualityRank of 77.

Brady

At the other end of the spectrum is Brady. The company has slipped down the StockRanks by 45 points this week and now has a lowly rank of only 54. The company reported fiscal fourth quarter earnings of $0.41 per share, missing the analysts' estimate of $0.49 per share. Revenue for the quarter was up 2% percent to $316.73m from $310.59m in the same quarter of last year, but lower than the analysts' consensus estimate of $318.53m.

Brady President and CEO J. Michael Nauman blamed these poor results of costs arising due to the consolidation of the company's facilities and challenges in terms of sales mix and product pricing. This is one factor which led the company to underperform the market by 13.9% over the past month and 35.6% over the past year. The company has an overall MomentumRank of 24.

The company also has a poor ValueRank of 60. Brady trades at a price to tangible book value of 9.25 compared to the market average of 2.54. Brady has a large amount of goodwill ($515m) and intangible assets ($91m) on its balance sheet, in total, these assets add up to $606m around 48% of Brady's total asset value.

Matrix Service Co

Leaping up the Quality and Value rankings this week, rising 13 points to a Quality and Value rank of 95, is Matrix Service Co.

Matrix's overall StockRank is 75. The company's has underperformed the market by 9.3% over the past month and has a low MomentumRank of 37. It's easy to trace this underperformance back to the company's fiscal fourth quarter results, which missed analysts' expectations. The company reported net income for the quarter of $7.6m, or $0.28 compared to analysts' expectations of $0.36 per share.

Nevertheless, while the company missed expectations for the quarter, Matrix experienced a record year in terms of revenue, with strong organic and acquisition related growth. Revenues increased 46.2% in the fourth quarter to $344.4m and 41.5% in the fiscal year to $1.3bn. This growth was led by the company's presence within the North American energy infrastructure market.

The company saw a record demand for its construction services with the hydrocarbon storage and transportation solutions market. As part of the company's growth within this market, Matrix acquired California-based energy construction firm HDB Ltd, in order to advance the company's expansion into the upstream and midstream markets within the 3rd largest oil producing state in the U.S.

With an average ValueRank (72) and high QualityRank (98), Matrix has the credentials of, “a good business at a reasonable price” - as Warren Buffett might put it. The company's return on capital (19.6%) is more than three times greater than the industry average (5.8%) and the company has a net cash position ($65.5m).

The bottom line

Hopefully, this brief analysis of what's moving up and down the StockRanks this week will give you some investing ideas and food for thought.

However, these information is only intended to act as a starting point for further research and you should always do your own research before initiating a position. And of course, if you have any ideas or reflections on the above information, the StockRanks or informative insights, please leave a comment below.