L.B. Foster (NASDAQ:FSTR) Announces Earnings Results, Misses Estimates By $0.12 EPS

L.B. Foster (NASDAQ:FSTR) posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday. The basic materials company reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.41 by ($0.12), FiscalAI reports. The firm had revenue of $138.55 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $134.49 million. L.B. Foster had a return on equity of 7.64% and a net margin of 2.04%.

Here are the key takeaways from L.B. Foster’s conference call:

• Cash generation and balance-sheet improvement were major highlights: second-quarter cash flow reached $17.9 million, net debt fell 24.2% sequentially to $42.2 million, and gross leverage declined to 1.0x from 2.2x a year ago.
• First-half sales increased 7.6% and adjusted EBITDA rose 19.6%, supported by higher volumes, favorable mix, and strong growth in Global Friction Management and Technology Services and Solutions.
• Management reaffirmed full-year guidance and expects at least 80% of the $246.1 million backlog to convert into revenue by year-end; sequential backlog improved 17.4%, with rail backlog up 8.2% year over year.
• Quarterly revenue declined 3.5% to $138.6 million and adjusted EBITDA fell 4.7% to $11.7 million, largely due to customer order timing and higher personnel and incentive-compensation costs following strong first-half performance.
• Infrastructure backlog declined to $104.7 million, while the consolidated trailing-12-month book-to-bill ratio was 0.96x; weaker Precast Concrete orders and the prior cancellation of a $19 million Summit pipeline-coating order remain headwinds.

L.B. Foster Price Performance

NASDAQ FSTR traded up $0.33 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $38.27. 20,274 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 75,201. The company has a current ratio of 2.22, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The company has a market cap of $400.21 million, a PE ratio of 36.44, a P/E/G ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 1.15. L.B. Foster has a fifty-two week low of $22.32 and a fifty-two week high of $45.81. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $42.25 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $35.73.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FSTR has been the subject of several analyst reports. Zacks Research cut shares of L.B. Foster from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of L.B. Foster in a research note on Friday. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of L.B. Foster from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $32.00.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On L.B. Foster

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in L.B. Foster by 7.4% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 238,041 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $5,207,000 after purchasing an additional 16,320 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its position in L.B. Foster by 5.7% in the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 9,667 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $211,000 after buying an additional 525 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership acquired a new stake in L.B. Foster in the second quarter valued at approximately $201,000. First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of L.B. Foster by 1.5% during the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 32,042 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $701,000 after buying an additional 461 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake in shares of L.B. Foster by 15.2% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 52,527 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,149,000 after buying an additional 6,920 shares during the last quarter. 80.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About L.B. Foster

L.B. Foster Company is a diversified infrastructure solutions provider offering products and services to the transportation, energy, and construction markets. Founded in 1902 and headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the company has built a reputation for delivering specialty materials and engineering solutions that support critical infrastructure projects across various industries.

The company’s operations are organized into three primary segments: Rail Products & Services, Construction Products, and Tubular & Energy Products.