‘The stars could be aligning’

By Geert De Lombaerde Posted on January 25, 2010 at 8:14 am

Kathryn Thompson at West End-based TRG writes that the jobs stimulus bill being hammered out now is almost guaranteed to include a big chunk of cash for infrastructure spending that will allow states to better plan and staff for longer-term projects.

What is different now is the political will to do something about unemployment…even if it comes as a self-serving re-election strategy. [...] Fortunately for the construction industry, the Democratic party believes in only one formula for stimulating the economy, government spending programs. We expect to see more of it, and soon, in one form or the other. Ultimately, that will play out well for our building materials, E&C, and heavy equipment coverage universe.

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Tags: construction, employment, government stimulus, infrastructure, Kathryn I. Thompson, stimulus, Thompson Research Group LLC, unemployment  

Here are some stocks that still have upside

By Geert De Lombaerde Posted on November 24, 2009 at 11:54 am

Local researchers Kathryn Thompson and David Wells are pounding the table for a good number of the materials, engineering and construction companies they cover.

We believe the House will take up a jobs creation bill in early December. We believe the Senate will pass a six-month extension to highway spending in December that will restore funding to pre-rescission levels and begin debating a House passed job creation bill in early 2010. We also believe infrastructure spending will be included in any bill passed on job creation and funding will be in addition to the six month spending extension. If we are correct, all stocks in our coverage universe will rise.

Top picks from the Thompson Research team: Vulcan Materials (Ticker: VMC), Granite Construction (Ticker: GVA), Sterling Construction (Ticker: STRL) and Astec Industries (Ticker: ASTE).

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Tags: construction, David C. Wells Jr., government contracts, government spending, government stimulus, infrastructure, Kathryn I. Thompson, stock valuation, Thompson Research Group LLC  

Billions more for transportation?

By Geert De Lombaerde Posted on October 30, 2009 at 1:53 pm

TRG analyst Kathryn Thompson says the latest political posturing over infrastructure spending could push the conversation to a more productive place.

What does this all mean? Perhaps the biggest roadblock to transportation reauthorization debate has been lack of guidance from the White House. Durbin’s unique political position (i.e., Senate majority whip & close ties to Illinois based President Obama) could help bring to light to the Obama administration that the transportation bill is, in fact, a politically worthy cause to address sooner rather than later. Overall, it is clear that the pressure is mounting, driven by state DOTs, industry, and rising unemployment.

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Tags: government stimulus, infrastructure, legislative issues, Thompson Research Group LLC, transportation