6 Reasons To Add Apogee (APOG) Stock To Your Portfolio Now

Apogee Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:APOG) has been performing well of late, scaling new highs following its forecast-topping results in fourth-quarter fiscal 2017. The company has a market capitalization of $1.6 billion, and is involved in the design and development of value-added glass products and services.

We are positive on the company’s prospects and believe that the time is right for you to add the stock to portfolio, as it looks promising and is poised to carry the momentum ahead.

Why this Stock is an Attractive Pick?

Estimates on the Upswing

We note that earnings estimates for Apogee displayed a healthy uptrend, over the past 60 days. For fiscal 2018, the Zacks Consensus Estimate has moved up approximately 3.7% to $3.60. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for fiscal 2019 also jumped 4.9% over the same time period to $4.28.

Positive Earnings Surprise History

Apogee has an impressive earnings surprise history, outpacing the Zacks Consensus Estimate in three out of the trailing four quarters, delivering a positive average earnings surprise of 14.03%.

Upbeat Guidance

For fiscal 2018, Apogee projects earnings per share to lie between $3.35 and $3.55, while revenues are anticipated to be up 10%. The upbeat guidance came on the back of sound execution of strategies to improve operational performance, productivity and project selection.

An Outperformer

Apogee has significantly outperformed the Zacks categorized Glass Products industry over the past one year, partly reflecting its forecast-topping earnings performance and strategic growth initiatives. The company’s shares have gained around 26.8% over this period compared with the industry’s gain of roughly 20.9%.

Focus on Operational Improvements

Apogee’s results indicate successful execution of key strategies in commercial construction markets. The company is delivering on initiatives to better position itself over a cycle, including growing its share of mid-size projects in architectural glass, expanding geographic presence and product offerings, further penetrating the retrofit market, as well as executing acquisitions. Focus on productivity improvement, cost control and improvements in volume, mix, project margins and operating leverage will also aid margin expansion.

Favorable Rank and Solid VGM Score

Apogee currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) and a favorable VGM Score of ‘A’. Back-tested results show that only stocks with a VGM Style Score of A or B, when combined with a Zacks Rank #1 or 2 (Buy), offer the best upside potential. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Other Stocks to Consider

Other similarly-ranked stocks in the same space include AGCO Corp. (NYSE:AGCO) , Altra Industrial Motion Corp. (NASDAQ:AIMC) and Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) .

AGCO has a remarkable average positive earnings surprise of 40.39% for the last four quarters. Altra Industrial Motion generated an average positive earnings surprise of 15.93% over the trailing four quarters. Applied Industrial Technologies has delivered an average positive earnings surprise of 9.78% in the past four quarters.

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