Topic: How To Invest

Hello Pat: Could you please give your quick opinion on Mullen Group? Thanks.

Article Excerpt

Mullen Group, $19.50, symbol MTL on Toronto (Shares outstanding: 80.4 million; Market cap: $1.6 billion; www.mullen-group.com), is a trucking company that mainly serves firms in the Canadian oil business. Mullen continues to benefit from increasing oil and gas drilling. Before one-time items, the company earned $0.47 a share in the three months ended September 30, 2011, up from $0.23 a year earlier. The latest earnings also beat the consensus estimate of $0.37 a share. The shares are trading in a range around $20. However, oil and gas drilling may increase at a slower rate in the coming months, given the sharp increase recently. That means Mullen shares may have trouble moving higher than their current level. Still, Mullen trades at 11.3 times its forecast 2012 earnings of $1.72 a share. As well, the stock yields 5.1%. Mullen Group is okay to hold. hold. …