chris1929's Blog : UHAL

Good Choice!

Bill Wilton agrees with you.

AMERCO - Aggressive Growth

AMERCO (UHAL) hit a multi-year high following the latest earnings surprise. Net income almost doubled expectations.
Company Description

AMERCO is the parent company of U-Haul, the widely recognized moving and storage company. Additionally, AMERCO is a parent to 2 insurance companies and a real estate company, which comprise a small portion of the balance sheet.

Crushed Estimates

On Aug 4 AMERCO reported first-quarter results for fiscal 2011 that included net income of more than $63 million, or $3.26 per share. Heading into the announcement the Zacks Consensus Estimate was only $1.70, marking the fourth consecutive surprise.

Revenue from self-moving rentals hit a record high of almost $420 million. Occupied storage rooms were up 5% since last year.

Analysts Reaction

Immediately following the report one analyst pegged their full-year estimate at $4.45, above the current consensus of $4.32. I am looking for the remaining analyst to come in well above the consensus for this year and next year as well.

Given the present estimates, however, growth rates are still impressive. AMERCO earned $2.74 last year, making expected growth rates 58% and 15% for the next 2 years.

The Chart

Shares of UHAL have soared since the original feature as a Zacks Rank Buy in June. The stock set a new multi-year high and once the new estimates come in, that forward P/E of 17 should come down, delivering some value as well.

Read the June 16th Feature Here


Bill Wilton is the Growth Stock Strategist for Zacks.com. He is also the Editor in charge of the market-beating Zacks Growth Trader service