Cash Is Nice, but Profit Divine

One of the more interesting names was Brink's Co. (BCO - commentary - Cramer's Take), best known for its armored car transportation business. Brink's shares are down 62 percent year to date. The company recently spun off Brinks Home Security Holdings (CFL - commentary - Cramer's Take) and also divested its coal assets to Massey Energy (MEE - commentary - Cramer's Take) (a very small deal for $9.4 million in cash and assumption of $5 million in liabilities).

Brink's security business -- its bread and butter -- should hold up well during this recession. Currently trading at just 5 times earnings and yielding a respectable 1.8%, the company has $258 million in cash and $145 million in long-term debt. Consensus estimates call for earnings of $2.15 in 2009 for a respectable forward P/E of 10. Business has held up well; third-quarter sales grew 16% to $949 million and net income rose 85% to $48 million (53% from continuing operations).

Construction services company Perini Corp (PCR - commentary - Cramer's Take), which works on both public and private projects, also stood out. Perini is down 49% year to date despite a 10 point run-up in the past three weeks. Currently trading at 6 times trailing earnings, Perini has $409 million in cash plus another $100 million in long-term investments (primarily auction-rate securities, the majority of which are backed by government-backed student loan portfolios) and just $49 million in long-term debt.

Revenue for the third quarter rose 14%, while net income rose 42% to $34.1 million. Still, the company recently provided lowered guidance that suggests 2009 revenue of $6.0 to $6.5 billion (down from $7.3-$7.8 billion) and earnings in the $2.80-$3.00 range (down from $4.00-$4.20). At the low end of guidance, Perini currently trades at 8 times forward earnings. The company also recently announced plans to buy back up $100 million in stock over the next year.

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At the time of publication, Heller had no positions in the stocks mentioned, though positions can change at any time.

Jonathan Heller, CFA, is president of KEJ Financial Advisors, a fee-only financial planning he recently launched. Jon spent 17 years at Bloomberg Financial Markets in various roles, from 1989 until 2005. He ran Bloomberg's Equity Fundamental Research Department from 1994 until 1998, when he assumed responsibility for Bloomberg's Equity Data Research Department. In 2001, he joined Bloomberg's Publishing group as senior markets editor and writer for Bloomberg Personal Finance Magazine, and an associate editor and contributor for Bloomberg Markets Magazine. In 2005, he joined SEI Investments as director of investment communications within SEI's Investment Management Unit.

Jon is also the founder of the Cheap Stocks Web site, a site dedicated to deep-value investing. He has an undergraduate degree from Grove City College and an MBA from Rider University, where he has also served on the adjunct faculty; he is also a CFA charter holder.