Topic: How To Invest

Hi Pat: Could I have your purchase advice on American Railcar Industries? Thanks so much.

Article Excerpt

American Railcar Industries Inc., $67.70, symbol ARII on Nasdaq (Shares outstanding: 21.4 million; Market cap: $1.4 billion; www.americanrailcar.com), designs and makes hopper and tank railcars. Manufacturing accounts for 86% of its revenue. It gets a further 10% by repairing and servicing railcars. Leasing provides the remaining 4%. In the three months ended March 31, 2014, American Railcar’s revenue fell 6.7%, to $182.1 million from $195.1 million a year earlier. That’s mainly because the company sold 1,130 railcars in the quarter, down 17.5% from 1,370. However, American Railcar continues to expand its leasing operations to cut its reliance on manufacturing, and its leasing revenue jumped 79.5% in the latest quarter. Revenue from repair services rose 5.2%. Earnings per share gained 15.5%, to $0.97 from $0.84. American Railcar’s long-term debt of $306.3 million is a moderate 20% of its market cap. The company ended the latest quarter with cash of $161.7 million, or $7.57 a share. The Canadian government recently announced plans to phase out older DOT-111…