Global Power Equipment Group Inc. Stock Downgraded (GLPW)

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Global Power Equipment Group (Nasdaq:GLPW) has been downgraded by TheStreet Ratings from buy to hold. The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its revenue growth, largely solid financial position with reasonable debt levels by most measures and notable return on equity. However, as a counter to these strengths, we also find weaknesses including a generally disappointing performance in the stock itself, unimpressive growth in net income and poor profit margins.

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Highlights from the ratings report include:

• The revenue growth came in higher than the industry average of 10.9%. Since the same quarter one year prior, revenues slightly increased by 0.2%. This growth in revenue does not appear to have trickled down to the company's bottom line, displaying stagnant earnings per share.
• GLPW has no debt to speak of therefore resulting in a debt-to-equity ratio of zero, which we consider to be a relatively favorable sign. Along with this, the company maintains a quick ratio of 3.67, which clearly demonstrates the ability to cover short-term cash needs.
• GLOBAL POWER EQUIPMENT GROUP reported flat earnings per share in the most recent quarter. This company has reported somewhat volatile earnings recently. We feel it is likely to report a decline in earnings in the coming year. During the past fiscal year, GLOBAL POWER EQUIPMENT GROUP increased its bottom line by earning $3.70 versus $1.80 in the prior year. For the next year, the market is expecting a contraction of 74.3% in earnings ($0.95 versus $3.70).
• The change in net income from the same quarter one year ago has exceeded that of the Electrical Equipment industry average, but is less than that of the S&P 500. The net income has decreased by 6.9% when compared to the same quarter one year ago, dropping from $0.89 million to $0.83 million.
• GLPW has underperformed the S&P 500 Index, declining 18.46% from its price level of one year ago. Turning toward the future, the fact that the stock has come down in price over the past year should not necessarily be interpreted as a negative; it could be one of the factors that may help make the stock attractive down the road. Right now, however, we believe that it is too soon to buy.

Global Power Equipment Group Inc. and its subsidiaries designs, engineers, and manufactures gas turbine auxiliary equipment; and provides routine and specialty maintenance services to customers in the utility and industrial sectors. The company has a P/E ratio of 5.5, above the average industrial industry P/E ratio of 4.5 and below the S&P 500 P/E ratio of 17.7. Global Power Equipment Group has a market cap of $347.2 million and is part of the industrial goods sector and industrial industry. Shares are down 14.9% year to date as of the close of trading on Friday.

You can view the full Global Power Equipment Group Ratings Report or get investment ideas from our investment research center.

-- Written by a member of TheStreet Ratings Staff

TheStreet ratings do not represent the views of TheStreet's staff or its contributors. Ratings are established by computer based on metrics for performance (which includes growth, stock performance, efficiency and valuation) and risk (volatility and solvency). Companies with poor cash flow or high debt levels tend to earn lower ratings in our model.

For more information on Global Power Equipment Group Inc. click any of the following:

• Global Power Equipment Group Inc. Stock Price

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• Global Power Equipment Group Inc. Key Stats & Profile

• Global Power Equipment Group Inc. Earnings

• Global Power Equipment Group Inc. Ratio Comparison

• Global Power Equipment Group Inc. Growth Rates

• Global Power Equipment Group Inc. Balance Sheet

• Global Power Equipment Group Inc. Cash Flow

• Global Power Equipment Group Inc. Income Statement