US Concrete (USCR): Today's Weak On High Volume Stock
Trade-Ideas LLC identified
(
) as a weak on high relative volume candidate. In addition to specific proprietary factors, Trade-Ideas identified US Concrete as such a stock due to the following factors:
- USCR has an average dollar-volume (as measured by average daily share volume multiplied by share price) of $21.5 million.
- USCR has traded 91,624 shares today.
- USCR is trading at 3.85 times the normal volume for the stock at this time of day.
- USCR is trading at a new low 6.06% below yesterday's close.
'Weak on High Relative Volume' stocks are worth watching because major volume moves tend to indicate underlying activity such as material stock news, analyst downgrades, insider selling, selling from 'superinvestors,' or that hedge funds and traders are piling out of a stock ahead of a catalyst. Regardless of the impetus behind the price and volume action, when a stock moves with strength and volume it can indicate the start of a new trend on which early investors can capitalize (or avoid losses by trimming weak positions). In the event of a well-timed trading opportunity, combining technical indicators with fundamental trends and a disciplined trading methodology should help you take the first steps towards investment success.
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More details on USCR:
U.S. Concrete, Inc., through its subsidiaries, produces and sells ready-mixed concrete, aggregates, and concrete-related products and services for the construction industry in the United States. It operates through two segments, Ready-Mixed Concrete and Aggregate Products. USCR has a PE ratio of 34. Currently there are 3 analysts that rate US Concrete a buy, no analysts rate it a sell, and 1 rates it a hold.
The average volume for US Concrete has been 384,700 shares per day over the past 30 days. US Concrete has a market cap of $998.5 million and is part of the industrial goods sector and materials & construction industry. The stock has a beta of 0.90 and a short float of 11% with 4.30 days to cover. Shares are up 19.9% year-to-date as of the close of trading on Wednesday.
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Analysis:
rates US Concrete as a
. The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its robust revenue growth, good cash flow from operations and solid stock price performance. However, as a counter to these strengths, we also find weaknesses including generally higher debt management risk, disappointing return on equity and poor profit margins.
Highlights from the ratings report include:
- The revenue growth came in higher than the industry average of 30.9%. Since the same quarter one year prior, revenues rose by 43.0%. Growth in the company's revenue appears to have helped boost the earnings per share.
- Investors have apparently begun to recognize positive factors similar to those we have mentioned in this report, including earnings growth. This has helped drive up the company's shares by a sharp 74.17% over the past year, a rise that has exceeded that of the S&P 500 Index. Regarding the stock's future course, our hold rating indicates that we do not recommend additional investment in this stock despite its gains in the past year.
- U S CONCRETE INC has improved earnings per share by 15.2% in the most recent quarter compared to the same quarter a year ago. This company has reported somewhat volatile earnings recently. But, we feel it is poised for EPS growth in the coming year. During the past fiscal year, U S CONCRETE INC swung to a loss, reporting -$0.45 versus $1.56 in the prior year. This year, the market expects an improvement in earnings ($3.58 versus -$0.45).
- The debt-to-equity ratio is very high at 2.21 and currently higher than the industry average, implying increased risk associated with the management of debt levels within the company. Along with the unfavorable debt-to-equity ratio, USCR maintains a poor quick ratio of 0.73, which illustrates the inability to avoid short-term cash problems.
- Return on equity has greatly decreased when compared to its ROE from the same quarter one year prior. This is a signal of major weakness within the corporation. Compared to other companies in the Construction Materials industry and the overall market on the basis of return on equity, U S CONCRETE INC underperformed against that of the industry average and is significantly less than that of the S&P 500.
- You can view the full US Concrete Ratings Report.
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