Douglas Dynamics Inc. Stock Downgraded (PLOW)

Editor's Note: 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.

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Douglas Dynamics (NYSE:PLOW) has been downgraded by TheStreet Ratings from buy to hold. Among the primary strengths of the company is its solid financial position based on a variety of debt and liquidity measures that we have evaluated. At the same time, however, we also find weaknesses including a generally disappointing performance in the stock itself, deteriorating net income and disappointing return on equity.

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Highlights from the ratings report include:

• The debt-to-equity ratio is somewhat low, currently at 0.85, and is less than that of the industry average, implying that there has been a relatively successful effort in the management of debt levels. To add to this, PLOW has a quick ratio of 1.95, which demonstrates the ability of the company to cover short-term liquidity needs.
• PLOW, with its decline in revenue, underperformed when compared the industry average of 0.6%. Since the same quarter one year prior, revenues fell by 29.4%. The declining revenue appears to have seeped down to the company's bottom line, decreasing earnings per share.
• DOUGLAS DYNAMICS INC's earnings per share declined by 44.4% in the most recent quarter compared to the same quarter a year ago. 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, DOUGLAS DYNAMICS INC increased its bottom line by earning $0.86 versus $0.06 in the prior year. For the next year, the market is expecting a contraction of 68.6% in earnings ($0.27 versus $0.86).
• The company, on the basis of change in net income from the same quarter one year ago, has significantly underperformed when compared to that of the S&P 500 and the Machinery industry. The net income has significantly decreased by 40.9% when compared to the same quarter one year ago, falling from $3.97 million to $2.35 million.
• The share price of DOUGLAS DYNAMICS INC has not done very well: it is down 6.85% and has underperformed the S&P 500, in part reflecting the company's sharply declining earnings per share when compared to the year-earlier quarter. Looking ahead, we do not see anything in this company's numbers that would change the one-year trend. It was down over the last twelve months; and it could be down again in the next twelve. Naturally, a bull or bear market could sway the movement of this stock.

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Douglas Dynamics, Inc. designs, manufactures, and sells snow and ice control equipment for light trucks in the United States and Canada. It products include snowplows, sand and salt spreaders, and related parts and accessories. The company has a P/E ratio of 22.2, above the S&P 500 P/E ratio of 17.7. Douglas Dynamics has a market cap of $289 million and is part of the consumer goods sector and automotive industry. Shares are down 9.2% year to date as of the close of trading on Tuesday.

You can view the full Douglas Dynamics Ratings Report or get investment ideas from our investment research center.

-- Written by a member of TheStreet Ratings Staff

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