STOCK PICKS: Top 5 Small-Cap for Aug. 22

Furmanite(FRM Quote) began as an industrial maintenance service company and is now a global organization specializing in onsite and on-line plant and pipeline maintenance.

We have rated Furmanite a buy since May 2007, most recently because of the company's strong results in the second quarter of fiscal 2008. For the second quarter, the company reported revenue growth of 20.7% year over year. In keeping with this growth, earning per share (EPS) improved significantly, rising from 10 cents in the second quarter of fiscal 2007 to 21 cents in the most recent quarter.

Net income also increased when compared with the same quarter last year, surging 98.8% from $3.85 million to $7.66 million. Additionally, strong earnings growth of 90.90% has helped the company's stock price increase 55.79% over the past year.

Furmanite believes that it has opportunities for future growth based on worldwide economic conditions. Although the company may harbor some minor weaknesses, we do not see them as likely to have a significant impact on its future financial results.

Our quantitative rating is based on a variety of historical fundamental and pricing data and represents our opinion of a stock's risk-adjusted performance relative to other stocks.

However, the rating does not incorporate all of the factors that can alter a stock's performance. For example, it doesn't always factor in recent corporate or industry events that could affect the stock price, nor does it include recent technology developments and competitive dynamics that may affect the company.

For those reasons, we believe that a rating alone cannot tell the whole story and that it should be part of an investor's overall research.