Infrastructure Spending Is on Its Way. Here’s a Cheap Way to Play It

1.12K
95
Favorite

Infrastructure Spending Is on Its Way. Here’s a Cheap Way to Play It

Barron's2021-07-31

U.S. lawmakers appear to be on the cusp of passing a massive and long-awaitedinfrastructure-investment bill, totaling some $1 trillion. The legislation should be a boost to businesses likeVulcan ...

Source Link

Disclaimer: Investing carries risk. This is not financial advice. The above content should not be regarded as an offer, recommendation, or solicitation on acquiring or disposing of any financial products, any associated discussions, comments, or posts by author or other users should not be considered as such either. It is solely for general information purpose only, which does not consider your own investment objectives, financial situations or needs. TTM assumes no responsibility or warranty for the accuracy and completeness of the information, investors should do their own research and may seek professional advice before investing.

1.12K

Report

Comment（95）

littlekitten
·2021-08-02
Cool!
Reply
1
Report
Stingray8
·2021-08-01
Good read
Reply
6
Report
Fold Replies
- Maskcollect:
  ?
  2021-08-01
  Reply
  Report
Unraveling7
·2021-08-01
Interesting
Reply
2
Report
kirbyang
·2021-08-01
Wow
Reply
2
Report
Anneater
·2021-08-01
Oh
Reply
2
Report
Andersonkana
·2021-08-01
Nice
Reply
6
Report
SebbyBoy
·2021-08-01
I believe atlas has a lot of upside
Reply
4
Report
Fold Replies
- Ck38:
  Agreed tHis havE potential
  2021-08-01
  Reply
  Report
ivy888
·2021-08-01
Like
Reply
2
Report
Wanlin927
·2021-08-01
Ok like please
Reply
6
Report
Went
·2021-08-01
Like
Reply
1
Report
monokey
·2021-08-01
Hi
Reply
3
Report
Fold Replies
- Wanlin927:
  Ho
  2021-08-01
  Reply
  Report
KSLeck
·2021-08-01
Good info
Reply
2
Report
Fold Replies
- Chloess:
  ok
  2021-08-01
  Reply
  Report
Lim888
·2021-08-01
Like
Reply
Like
Report
JonC1997
·2021-08-01
Hi
Reply
1
Report
Pluto891
·2021-08-01
is the bill confirmed? even if confirmed when will the spending take place and when will profits be recognized?
Reply
Like
Report
Fold Replies
- JonC1997:
  Hi
  2021-08-01
  Reply
  Report
1Man2Stonks
·2021-08-01
Ok buy them all
Reply
2
Report
Rocketupup
·2021-08-01
Pls like
Reply
3
Report
Fold Replies
- DKim:
  Ok
  2021-08-01
  Reply
  Report
charlito
·2021-08-01
Lets go go go
Reply
3
Report
EHG
·2021-08-01
Like
Reply
3
Report
Fold Replies
- oohsodope:
  Like
  2021-08-01
  Reply
  Report
- JooL:
  [Cool]
  2021-08-01
  Reply
  Report
MengYang
·2021-08-01
Please like
Reply
1
Report
Fold Replies
- Supermark:
  Yea
  2021-08-01
  Reply
  Report

Most Discussed

7x24

All

Terms and Conditions·Privacy Policy

Company: TTMF Limited. Tech supported by Xiangshang Yixin.

Email：uservice@ttm.financial

{"i18n":{"language":"en_US"},"data":{"share":"https://ttm.financial/m/news/1186334150?lang=en_US&edition=fundamental","thumbnail":"","is_english":true,"pubTime":"2021-07-31 14:44","share_image_url":"https://static.laohu8.com/e9f99090a1c2ed51c021029395664489","id":"1186334150","market":"us","top_or_hot":-1,"title":"Infrastructure Spending Is on Its Way. Here’s a Cheap Way to Play It","media":"Barron's","content":"<div>\n<p>U.S. lawmakers appear to be on the cusp of passing a massive and long-awaitedinfrastructure-investment bill, totaling some $1 trillion.\nThe legislation should be a boost to businesses likeVulcan ...</p>\n\n<a href=\"https://www.barrons.com/articles/infrastructure-buy-atlas-technical-consultants-stock-51627684191?mod=hp_LEAD_2\">Source Link</a>\n\n</div>\n","source":"lsy1610680873436","html":"<!DOCTYPE html>\n<html>\n<head>\n<meta http-equiv=\"Content-Type\" content=\"text/html; charset=utf-8\" />\n<meta name=\"viewport\" content=\"width=device-width,initial-scale=1.0,minimum-scale=1.0,maximum-scale=1.0,user-scalable=no\"/>\n<meta name=\"format-detection\" content=\"telephone=no,email=no,address=no\" />\n<title>Infrastructure Spending Is on Its Way. Here’s a Cheap Way to Play It</title>\n<style type=\"text/css\">\na,abbr,acronym,address,applet,article,aside,audio,b,big,blockquote,body,canvas,caption,center,cite,code,dd,del,details,dfn,div,dl,dt,\nem,embed,fieldset,figcaption,figure,footer,form,h1,h2,h3,h4,h5,h6,header,hgroup,html,i,iframe,img,ins,kbd,label,legend,li,mark,menu,nav,\nobject,ol,output,p,pre,q,ruby,s,samp,section,small,span,strike,strong,sub,summary,sup,table,tbody,td,tfoot,th,thead,time,tr,tt,u,ul,var,video{ font:inherit;margin:0;padding:0;vertical-align:baseline;border:0 }\nbody{ font-size:16px; line-height:1.5; color:#999; background:transparent; }\n.wrapper{ overflow:hidden;word-break:break-all;padding:10px; }\nh1,h2{ font-weight:normal; line-height:1.35; margin-bottom:.6em; }\nh3,h4,h5,h6{ line-height:1.35; margin-bottom:1em; }\nh1{ font-size:24px; }\nh2{ font-size:20px; }\nh3{ font-size:18px; }\nh4{ font-size:16px; }\nh5{ font-size:14px; }\nh6{ font-size:12px; }\np,ul,ol,blockquote,dl,table{ margin:1.2em 0; }\nul,ol{ margin-left:2em; }\nul{ list-style:disc; }\nol{ list-style:decimal; }\nli,li p{ margin:10px 0;}\nimg{ max-width:100%;display:block;margin:0 auto 1em; }\nblockquote{ color:#B5B2B1; border-left:3px solid #aaa; padding:1em; }\nstrong,b{font-weight:bold;}\nem,i{font-style:italic;}\ntable{ width:100%;border-collapse:collapse;border-spacing:1px;margin:1em 0;font-size:.9em; }\nth,td{ padding:5px;text-align:left;border:1px solid #aaa; }\nth{ font-weight:bold;background:#5d5d5d; }\n.symbol-link{font-weight:bold;}\n/* header{ border-bottom:1px solid #494756; } */\n.title{ margin:0 0 8px;line-height:1.3;color:#ddd; }\n.meta {color:#5e5c6d;font-size:13px;margin:0 0 .5em; }\na{text-decoration:none; color:#2a4b87;}\n.meta .head { display: inline-block; overflow: hidden}\n.head .h-thumb { width: 30px; height: 30px; margin: 0; padding: 0; border-radius: 50%; float: left;}\n.head .h-content { margin: 0; padding: 0 0 0 9px; float: left;}\n.head .h-name {font-size: 13px; color: #eee; margin: 0;}\n.head .h-time {font-size: 11px; color: #7E829C; margin: 0;line-height: 11px;}\n.small {font-size: 12.5px; display: inline-block; transform: scale(0.9); -webkit-transform: scale(0.9); transform-origin: left; -webkit-transform-origin: left;}\n.smaller {font-size: 12.5px; display: inline-block; transform: scale(0.8); -webkit-transform: scale(0.8); transform-origin: left; -webkit-transform-origin: left;}\n.bt-text {font-size: 12px;margin: 1.5em 0 0 0}\n.bt-text p {margin: 0}\n</style>\n</head>\n<body>\n<div class=\"wrapper\">\n<header>\n<h2 class=\"title\">\nInfrastructure Spending Is on Its Way. Here’s a Cheap Way to Play It\n</h2>\n\n<h4 class=\"meta\">\n\n\n2021-07-31 14:44 GMT+8&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href=https://www.barrons.com/articles/infrastructure-buy-atlas-technical-consultants-stock-51627684191?mod=hp_LEAD_2><strong>Barron's</strong></a>\n\n\n</h4>\n\n</header>\n<article>\n<div>\n<p>U.S. lawmakers appear to be on the cusp of passing a massive and long-awaitedinfrastructure-investment bill, totaling some $1 trillion.\nThe legislation should be a boost to businesses likeVulcan ...</p>\n\n<a href=\"https://www.barrons.com/articles/infrastructure-buy-atlas-technical-consultants-stock-51627684191?mod=hp_LEAD_2\">Source Link</a>\n\n</div>\n\n\n</article>\n</div>\n</body>\n</html>\n","isBrief":false,"type":0,"news_type":1,"symbol":null,"symbol_name":null,"start_time":0,"source_url":"https://www.barrons.com/articles/infrastructure-buy-atlas-technical-consultants-stock-51627684191?mod=hp_LEAD_2","article_id":"1186334150","we_media_id":null,"thumbnails":[],"rights":null,"url":"https://stock-news.laohu8.com/highlight/detail?id=1186334150","pubTimestamp":1627713845,"sourceInfo":{"source_id":"lsy1610680873436","name":"Barron's"},"weMediaInfo":null,"summary":"U.S. lawmakers appear to be on the cusp of passing a massive and long-awaitedinfrastructure-investme","collect":0,"end_time":0,"defaultTopTitle":"barrons.com","property":[],"viewcount":null,"language":"en","relate_stocks":{},"translate_title":"基础设施支出正在进行中。这里有个便宜的玩法","themeId":null,"isJumpTheme":false,"ttsUrl":null,"symbols_score_info":{},"content_text":"U.S. lawmakers appear to be on the cusp of passing a massive and long-awaitedinfrastructure-investment bill, totaling some $1 trillion.\nThe legislation should be a boost to businesses likeVulcan Materials(ticker: VMC) andMartin Marietta Materials(MLM), which make concrete and asphalt;Caterpillar(CAT) andTerex(TEX), which make construction equipment; andUnited Rentals(URI), which rents the machinery. Most of their stocks have already jumped on theprospect of infrastructure spending.\nBut one infrastructure play has been overlooked:Atlas Technical Consultants(ATCX) provides engineering and design services, inspection and certification of buildings and public works, and other construction-related services. More construction means more plans and designs for Atlas to review. These eventually become finished projects that need annual inspections, paying dividends for years.\nAnd yet Atlas shares have stalled. At a recent $9, the stock trades for just eight times enterprise value to estimated 2022 earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization, or Ebitda. That multiple is a significant discount to companies in related inspection businesses, such asMontrose Environmental Group(MEG) andTetra Tech(TTEK), which trade for more than 22 times EV/2022 Ebitda.\n“Right now, part of the valuation discount is due to the debt, but I would say there are companies like Atlas where the debt is appropriate,” says Kevin Silverman, chief investment officer and portfolio manager at small-cap–focused Sterling Partners Equity Advisors, which owns more than $2 million worth of Atlas stock, accounting for about 2% of its assets under management. “The debt helps equity holders if you have steady profit margins and can use it for growth.”\nAnd Atlas has substantial opportunities for growth. Beyond the infrastructure-bill boost, Atlas has a long-term strategy of consolidating the fragmented U.S. inspection-services market while reducing its debt levels. Both should increase its appeal to investors and earn it a higher valuation multiple.\nThe Austin, Texas–headquartered company went public inearly 2020via a merger with a special-purpose acquisition company, or SPAC. The deal saddled the company with a convoluted capital structure, including multiple share classes, outstanding warrants, and other complications. That complexity has probably kept some investors away, as has Atlas’ relatively high debt load, which comes to 5.5 times net debt to 2021 Ebitda.\n\nAtlas has reduced that complexity—redeeming its preferred equity, buying out warrants, and increasing the stock’s publicly traded float—and is focused on bringing its net debt below three times Ebitda.\nAtlas is forecast to grow sales 13% this year, to $530 million, with Ebitda up 21%, to $76 million.\nIts customers include state departments of transportation, private building owners, electric and water utilities, airports, schools, hospitals, and more. Its national presence and leading scale helps win and retain marquee projects and big clients, including the U.S. Postal Service, the Environmental Protection Agency, the New York City Housing Authority, Stanford University,Walmart(WMT), andApple(AAPL).\nAtlas earned $64 million in adjusted Ebitda over the past four reported quarters, while it had a net loss of $18 million. As of the end of the first quarter, the company had a backlog of $689 million, or more than 140% of its last 12 months’ revenue of $482 million. “I’ve been in this business for 30 years, and it’s by far the highest I’ve seen,” Atlas CEO Joe Boyer tellsBarron’s.\nAbout 70% of the company’s revenue comes from work on existing buildings, pipes, roads, and bridges. Those jobs are nondiscretionary: As we’ve tragically learned at times, infrastructure needs to be inspected and brought up to code at regular intervals, no matter what the economic or pandemic situation is.\nThe remaining 30% of Atlas’ sales are tied to new construction, which dipped during the pandemic but is nearly back to pre-Covid-19 levels, according to Boyer.\nA long-term trend toward outsourcing services by cities and states, stricter environmental standards, and aging infrastructure in the U.S. have been drivers of Atlas’ organic growth in recent years.\nThat trend has been responsible for about half of Atlas’ 20% compound annual growth in sales since 2016, when it was owned by private-equity firm Bernhard Capital Partners. The other avenue for growth has been Atlas’ acquisition strategy.\n“The idea is to find a company in a geography or a service that we don’t dominate in, bring it onto our platform, and cross-sell across our network,” Boyer says.\nAtlas’ sweet spot for acquisition targets is about $5 million to $20 million in Ebitda, The company typically pays four to six times Ebitda in a mix of cash and stock. That makes each deal immediately accretive to earnings.\nAs a small and relatively young public company, Atlas gets minimal coverage from Wall Street, but the three analysts who cover the firm are bullish. “We think the company is in end markets that are strong or recovering; they’ve been winning large contracts, and its backlog has been growing,” says Stifel analyst Noelle Dilts. “So, we feel good about the fundamental revenue outlook.”\nShe rates Atlas a Buy, with a $14.50 price target, or 11 times her estimate of 2022 Ebitda, which doesn’t include any upside from a potential infrastructure bill. Using a 15 times Ebitda multiple, Sterling’s Silverman sees shares going to $43 three years from now, as debt paydown continues and earnings rise.\nAtlas’ balance sheet remains a fixer-upper, but the company has the right foundation.","kind":null,"is_publish_news":false,"is_publish_highlight":true,"is_publish_live":false,"is_publish_wemedia":null,"editions":null,"column":"","sentiment":"0","news_tag":"","news_rank":0,"symbols":[],"gpt_button":1},"commentList":[{"id":805953059,"gmtCreate":1627855719671,"gmtModify":1703496472336,"author":{"id":"3584860762907200","authorId":"3584860762907200","name":"littlekitten","avatar":"https://static.tigerbbs.com/ccd59ff6c96999c839e3b5709cfb00ef","vip":1,"crmLevel":7,"crmLevelSwitch":0,"authorIdStr":"3584860762907200","idStr":"3584860762907200"},"htmlText":"Cool!","listText":"Cool!","text":"Cool!","images":[],"top":1,"highlighted":1,"essential":1,"paper":1,"likeSize":1,"commentSize":0,"repostSize":0,"link":"https://ttm.financial/post/805953059","repostId":1186334150,"repostType":4,"repost":{"id":"1186334150","pubTimestamp":1627713845,"share":"https://ttm.financial/m/news/1186334150?lang=&edition=fundamental","pubTime":"2021-07-31 14:44","market":"us","language":"en","title":"Infrastructure Spending Is on Its Way. Here’s a Cheap Way to Play It","url":"https://stock-news.laohu8.com/highlight/detail?id=1186334150","media":"Barron's","summary":"U.S. lawmakers appear to be on the cusp of passing a massive and long-awaitedinfrastructure-investme","content":"<p>U.S. lawmakers appear to be on the cusp of passing a massive and long-awaitedinfrastructure-investment bill, totaling some $1 trillion.</p>\n<p>The legislation should be a boost to businesses like<a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/VMC\">Vulcan Materials</a>(ticker: VMC) and<a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/MLM\">Martin Marietta Materials</a>(MLM), which make concrete and asphalt;<a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/CAT\">Caterpillar</a>(CAT) and<a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/TEX\">Terex</a>(TEX), which make construction equipment; and<a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/URI\">United Rentals</a>(URI), which rents the machinery. Most of their stocks have already jumped on theprospect of infrastructure spending.</p>\n<p>But <a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/AONE.U\">one</a> infrastructure play has been overlooked:<a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/AFH\">Atlas</a> Technical Consultants(ATCX) provides engineering and design services, inspection and certification of buildings and public works, and other construction-related services. More construction means more plans and designs for Atlas to review. These eventually become finished projects that need annual inspections, paying dividends for years.</p>\n<p>And yet Atlas shares have stalled. At a recent $9, the stock trades for just eight times enterprise value to estimated 2022 earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization, or Ebitda. That multiple is a significant discount to companies in related inspection businesses, such asMontrose Environmental Group(MEG) andTetra Tech(TTEK), which trade for more than 22 times EV/2022 Ebitda.</p>\n<p><img src=\"https://static.tigerbbs.com/19ad62f427fb70a25aa96068bc5d1756\" tg-width=\"442\" tg-height=\"364\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer\">“Right now, part of the valuation discount is due to the debt, but I would say there are companies like Atlas where the debt is appropriate,” says Kevin Silverman, chief investment officer and portfolio manager at small-cap–focused <a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/STL\">Sterling</a> Partners <a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/EQR\">Equity</a> Advisors, which owns more than $2 million worth of Atlas stock, accounting for about 2% of its assets under management. “The debt helps equity holders if you have steady profit margins and can use it for growth.”</p>\n<p>And Atlas has substantial opportunities for growth. Beyond the infrastructure-bill boost, Atlas has a long-term strategy of consolidating the fragmented U.S. inspection-services market while reducing its debt levels. Both should increase its appeal to investors and earn it a higher valuation multiple.</p>\n<p>The Austin, Texas–headquartered company went public inearly 2020via a merger with a special-purpose acquisition company, or SPAC. The deal saddled the company with a convoluted capital structure, including multiple share classes, outstanding warrants, and other complications. That complexity has probably kept some investors away, as has Atlas’ relatively high debt load, which comes to 5.5 times net debt to 2021 Ebitda.</p>\n<p><img src=\"https://static.tigerbbs.com/99bb73a7c212bfed6d0890b8b14fbc15\" tg-width=\"607\" tg-height=\"396\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer\"></p>\n<p>Atlas has reduced that complexity—redeeming its preferred equity, buying out warrants, and increasing the stock’s publicly traded float—and is focused on bringing its net debt below three times Ebitda.</p>\n<p>Atlas is forecast to grow sales 13% this year, to $530 million, with Ebitda up 21%, to $76 million.</p>\n<p>Its customers include state departments of transportation, private building owners, electric and water utilities, airports, schools, hospitals, and more. Its national presence and leading scale helps win and retain marquee projects and big clients, including the U.S. Postal <a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/SCI\">Service</a>, the Environmental Protection Agency, the <a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/NWY\">New York</a> <a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/CHCO\">City</a> Housing Authority, Stanford University,Walmart(WMT), and<a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/AAPL\">Apple</a>(AAPL).</p>\n<p>Atlas earned $64 million in adjusted Ebitda over the past four reported quarters, while it had a net loss of $18 million. As of the end of the first quarter, the company had a backlog of $689 million, or more than 140% of its last 12 months’ revenue of $482 million. “I’ve been in this business for 30 years, and it’s by far the highest I’ve seen,” Atlas CEO Joe Boyer tells<i>Barron’s</i>.</p>\n<p>About 70% of the company’s revenue comes from work on existing buildings, pipes, roads, and bridges. Those jobs are nondiscretionary: As we’ve tragically learned at times, infrastructure needs to be inspected and brought up to code at regular intervals, no matter what the economic or pandemic situation is.</p>\n<p>The remaining 30% of Atlas’ sales are tied to new construction, which dipped during the pandemic but is nearly back to pre-Covid-19 levels, according to Boyer.</p>\n<p>A long-term trend toward outsourcing services by cities and states, stricter environmental standards, and aging infrastructure in the U.S. have been drivers of Atlas’ organic growth in recent years.</p>\n<p>That trend has been responsible for about half of Atlas’ 20% compound annual growth in sales since 2016, when it was owned by private-equity firm Bernhard Capital Partners. The other avenue for growth has been Atlas’ acquisition strategy.</p>\n<p>“The idea is to find a company in a geography or a service that we don’t dominate in, bring it onto our platform, and cross-sell across our network,” Boyer says.</p>\n<p>Atlas’ sweet spot for acquisition targets is about $5 million to $20 million in Ebitda, The company typically pays four to six times Ebitda in a mix of cash and stock. That makes each deal immediately accretive to earnings.</p>\n<p>As a small and relatively young public company, Atlas gets minimal coverage from Wall Street, but the three analysts who cover the firm are bullish. “We think the company is in end markets that are strong or recovering; they’ve been winning large contracts, and its backlog has been growing,” says <a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/SF\">Stifel</a> analyst Noelle Dilts. “So, we feel good about the fundamental revenue outlook.”</p>\n<p>She rates Atlas a Buy, with a $14.50 price target, or 11 times her estimate of 2022 Ebitda, which doesn’t include any upside from a potential infrastructure bill. Using a 15 times Ebitda multiple, Sterling’s Silverman sees shares going to $43 three years from now, as debt paydown continues and earnings rise.</p>\n<p>Atlas’ balance sheet remains a fixer-upper, but the company has the right foundation.</p>\n<p></p>","source":"lsy1610680873436","collect":0,"html":"<!DOCTYPE html>\n<html>\n<head>\n<meta http-equiv=\"Content-Type\" content=\"text/html; charset=utf-8\" />\n<meta name=\"viewport\" content=\"width=device-width,initial-scale=1.0,minimum-scale=1.0,maximum-scale=1.0,user-scalable=no\"/>\n<meta name=\"format-detection\" content=\"telephone=no,email=no,address=no\" />\n<title>Infrastructure Spending Is on Its Way. Here’s a Cheap Way to Play It</title>\n<style type=\"text/css\">\na,abbr,acronym,address,applet,article,aside,audio,b,big,blockquote,body,canvas,caption,center,cite,code,dd,del,details,dfn,div,dl,dt,\nem,embed,fieldset,figcaption,figure,footer,form,h1,h2,h3,h4,h5,h6,header,hgroup,html,i,iframe,img,ins,kbd,label,legend,li,mark,menu,nav,\nobject,ol,output,p,pre,q,ruby,s,samp,section,small,span,strike,strong,sub,summary,sup,table,tbody,td,tfoot,th,thead,time,tr,tt,u,ul,var,video{ font:inherit;margin:0;padding:0;vertical-align:baseline;border:0 }\nbody{ font-size:16px; line-height:1.5; color:#999; background:transparent; }\n.wrapper{ overflow:hidden;word-break:break-all;padding:10px; }\nh1,h2{ font-weight:normal; line-height:1.35; margin-bottom:.6em; }\nh3,h4,h5,h6{ line-height:1.35; margin-bottom:1em; }\nh1{ font-size:24px; }\nh2{ font-size:20px; }\nh3{ font-size:18px; }\nh4{ font-size:16px; }\nh5{ font-size:14px; }\nh6{ font-size:12px; }\np,ul,ol,blockquote,dl,table{ margin:1.2em 0; }\nul,ol{ margin-left:2em; }\nul{ list-style:disc; }\nol{ list-style:decimal; }\nli,li p{ margin:10px 0;}\nimg{ max-width:100%;display:block;margin:0 auto 1em; }\nblockquote{ color:#B5B2B1; border-left:3px solid #aaa; padding:1em; }\nstrong,b{font-weight:bold;}\nem,i{font-style:italic;}\ntable{ width:100%;border-collapse:collapse;border-spacing:1px;margin:1em 0;font-size:.9em; }\nth,td{ padding:5px;text-align:left;border:1px solid #aaa; }\nth{ font-weight:bold;background:#5d5d5d; }\n.symbol-link{font-weight:bold;}\n/* header{ border-bottom:1px solid #494756; } */\n.title{ margin:0 0 8px;line-height:1.3;color:#ddd; }\n.meta {color:#5e5c6d;font-size:13px;margin:0 0 .5em; }\na{text-decoration:none; color:#2a4b87;}\n.meta .head { display: inline-block; overflow: hidden}\n.head .h-thumb { width: 30px; height: 30px; margin: 0; padding: 0; border-radius: 50%; float: left;}\n.head .h-content { margin: 0; padding: 0 0 0 9px; float: left;}\n.head .h-name {font-size: 13px; color: #eee; margin: 0;}\n.head .h-time {font-size: 11px; color: #7E829C; margin: 0;line-height: 11px;}\n.small {font-size: 12.5px; display: inline-block; transform: scale(0.9); -webkit-transform: scale(0.9); transform-origin: left; -webkit-transform-origin: left;}\n.smaller {font-size: 12.5px; display: inline-block; transform: scale(0.8); -webkit-transform: scale(0.8); transform-origin: left; -webkit-transform-origin: left;}\n.bt-text {font-size: 12px;margin: 1.5em 0 0 0}\n.bt-text p {margin: 0}\n</style>\n</head>\n<body>\n<div class=\"wrapper\">\n<header>\n<h2 class=\"title\">\nInfrastructure Spending Is on Its Way. Here’s a Cheap Way to Play It\n</h2>\n\n<h4 class=\"meta\">\n\n\n2021-07-31 14:44 GMT+8&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href=https://www.barrons.com/articles/infrastructure-buy-atlas-technical-consultants-stock-51627684191?mod=hp_LEAD_2><strong>Barron's</strong></a>\n\n\n</h4>\n\n</header>\n<article>\n<div>\n<p>U.S. lawmakers appear to be on the cusp of passing a massive and long-awaitedinfrastructure-investment bill, totaling some $1 trillion.\nThe legislation should be a boost to businesses likeVulcan ...</p>\n\n<a href=\"https://www.barrons.com/articles/infrastructure-buy-atlas-technical-consultants-stock-51627684191?mod=hp_LEAD_2\">Web Link</a>\n\n</div>\n\n\n</article>\n</div>\n</body>\n</html>\n","type":0,"thumbnail":"","relate_stocks":{},"source_url":"https://www.barrons.com/articles/infrastructure-buy-atlas-technical-consultants-stock-51627684191?mod=hp_LEAD_2","is_english":true,"share_image_url":"https://static.laohu8.com/e9f99090a1c2ed51c021029395664489","article_id":"1186334150","content_text":"U.S. lawmakers appear to be on the cusp of passing a massive and long-awaitedinfrastructure-investment bill, totaling some $1 trillion.\nThe legislation should be a boost to businesses likeVulcan Materials(ticker: VMC) andMartin Marietta Materials(MLM), which make concrete and asphalt;Caterpillar(CAT) andTerex(TEX), which make construction equipment; andUnited Rentals(URI), which rents the machinery. Most of their stocks have already jumped on theprospect of infrastructure spending.\nBut one infrastructure play has been overlooked:Atlas Technical Consultants(ATCX) provides engineering and design services, inspection and certification of buildings and public works, and other construction-related services. More construction means more plans and designs for Atlas to review. These eventually become finished projects that need annual inspections, paying dividends for years.\nAnd yet Atlas shares have stalled. At a recent $9, the stock trades for just eight times enterprise value to estimated 2022 earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization, or Ebitda. That multiple is a significant discount to companies in related inspection businesses, such asMontrose Environmental Group(MEG) andTetra Tech(TTEK), which trade for more than 22 times EV/2022 Ebitda.\n“Right now, part of the valuation discount is due to the debt, but I would say there are companies like Atlas where the debt is appropriate,” says Kevin Silverman, chief investment officer and portfolio manager at small-cap–focused Sterling Partners Equity Advisors, which owns more than $2 million worth of Atlas stock, accounting for about 2% of its assets under management. “The debt helps equity holders if you have steady profit margins and can use it for growth.”\nAnd Atlas has substantial opportunities for growth. Beyond the infrastructure-bill boost, Atlas has a long-term strategy of consolidating the fragmented U.S. inspection-services market while reducing its debt levels. Both should increase its appeal to investors and earn it a higher valuation multiple.\nThe Austin, Texas–headquartered company went public inearly 2020via a merger with a special-purpose acquisition company, or SPAC. The deal saddled the company with a convoluted capital structure, including multiple share classes, outstanding warrants, and other complications. That complexity has probably kept some investors away, as has Atlas’ relatively high debt load, which comes to 5.5 times net debt to 2021 Ebitda.\n\nAtlas has reduced that complexity—redeeming its preferred equity, buying out warrants, and increasing the stock’s publicly traded float—and is focused on bringing its net debt below three times Ebitda.\nAtlas is forecast to grow sales 13% this year, to $530 million, with Ebitda up 21%, to $76 million.\nIts customers include state departments of transportation, private building owners, electric and water utilities, airports, schools, hospitals, and more. Its national presence and leading scale helps win and retain marquee projects and big clients, including the U.S. Postal Service, the Environmental Protection Agency, the New York City Housing Authority, Stanford University,Walmart(WMT), andApple(AAPL).\nAtlas earned $64 million in adjusted Ebitda over the past four reported quarters, while it had a net loss of $18 million. As of the end of the first quarter, the company had a backlog of $689 million, or more than 140% of its last 12 months’ revenue of $482 million. “I’ve been in this business for 30 years, and it’s by far the highest I’ve seen,” Atlas CEO Joe Boyer tellsBarron’s.\nAbout 70% of the company’s revenue comes from work on existing buildings, pipes, roads, and bridges. Those jobs are nondiscretionary: As we’ve tragically learned at times, infrastructure needs to be inspected and brought up to code at regular intervals, no matter what the economic or pandemic situation is.\nThe remaining 30% of Atlas’ sales are tied to new construction, which dipped during the pandemic but is nearly back to pre-Covid-19 levels, according to Boyer.\nA long-term trend toward outsourcing services by cities and states, stricter environmental standards, and aging infrastructure in the U.S. have been drivers of Atlas’ organic growth in recent years.\nThat trend has been responsible for about half of Atlas’ 20% compound annual growth in sales since 2016, when it was owned by private-equity firm Bernhard Capital Partners. The other avenue for growth has been Atlas’ acquisition strategy.\n“The idea is to find a company in a geography or a service that we don’t dominate in, bring it onto our platform, and cross-sell across our network,” Boyer says.\nAtlas’ sweet spot for acquisition targets is about $5 million to $20 million in Ebitda, The company typically pays four to six times Ebitda in a mix of cash and stock. That makes each deal immediately accretive to earnings.\nAs a small and relatively young public company, Atlas gets minimal coverage from Wall Street, but the three analysts who cover the firm are bullish. “We think the company is in end markets that are strong or recovering; they’ve been winning large contracts, and its backlog has been growing,” says Stifel analyst Noelle Dilts. “So, we feel good about the fundamental revenue outlook.”\nShe rates Atlas a Buy, with a $14.50 price target, or 11 times her estimate of 2022 Ebitda, which doesn’t include any upside from a potential infrastructure bill. Using a 15 times Ebitda multiple, Sterling’s Silverman sees shares going to $43 three years from now, as debt paydown continues and earnings rise.\nAtlas’ balance sheet remains a fixer-upper, but the company has the right foundation.","news_type":1},"isVote":1,"likeStatus":false,"favoriteStatus":false,"reportStatus":false,"tweetType":1,"langContent":"EN"},{"id":802714371,"gmtCreate":1627806847093,"gmtModify":1703496150464,"author":{"id":"3582101468174801","authorId":"3582101468174801","name":"Stingray8","avatar":"https://community-static.tradeup.com/news/61835c24442db698417e83348c394372","vip":1,"crmLevel":5,"crmLevelSwitch":0,"authorIdStr":"3582101468174801","idStr":"3582101468174801"},"htmlText":"Good read&nbsp;","listText":"Good read&nbsp;","text":"Good read","images":[],"top":1,"highlighted":1,"essential":1,"paper":1,"likeSize":6,"commentSize":1,"repostSize":0,"link":"https://ttm.financial/post/802714371","repostId":1186334150,"repostType":4,"repost":{"id":"1186334150","pubTimestamp":1627713845,"share":"https://ttm.financial/m/news/1186334150?lang=&edition=fundamental","pubTime":"2021-07-31 14:44","market":"us","language":"en","title":"Infrastructure Spending Is on Its Way. Here’s a Cheap Way to Play It","url":"https://stock-news.laohu8.com/highlight/detail?id=1186334150","media":"Barron's","summary":"U.S. lawmakers appear to be on the cusp of passing a massive and long-awaitedinfrastructure-investme","content":"<p>U.S. lawmakers appear to be on the cusp of passing a massive and long-awaitedinfrastructure-investment bill, totaling some $1 trillion.</p>\n<p>The legislation should be a boost to businesses like<a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/VMC\">Vulcan Materials</a>(ticker: VMC) and<a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/MLM\">Martin Marietta Materials</a>(MLM), which make concrete and asphalt;<a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/CAT\">Caterpillar</a>(CAT) and<a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/TEX\">Terex</a>(TEX), which make construction equipment; and<a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/URI\">United Rentals</a>(URI), which rents the machinery. Most of their stocks have already jumped on theprospect of infrastructure spending.</p>\n<p>But <a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/AONE.U\">one</a> infrastructure play has been overlooked:<a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/AFH\">Atlas</a> Technical Consultants(ATCX) provides engineering and design services, inspection and certification of buildings and public works, and other construction-related services. More construction means more plans and designs for Atlas to review. These eventually become finished projects that need annual inspections, paying dividends for years.</p>\n<p>And yet Atlas shares have stalled. At a recent $9, the stock trades for just eight times enterprise value to estimated 2022 earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization, or Ebitda. That multiple is a significant discount to companies in related inspection businesses, such asMontrose Environmental Group(MEG) andTetra Tech(TTEK), which trade for more than 22 times EV/2022 Ebitda.</p>\n<p><img src=\"https://static.tigerbbs.com/19ad62f427fb70a25aa96068bc5d1756\" tg-width=\"442\" tg-height=\"364\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer\">“Right now, part of the valuation discount is due to the debt, but I would say there are companies like Atlas where the debt is appropriate,” says Kevin Silverman, chief investment officer and portfolio manager at small-cap–focused <a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/STL\">Sterling</a> Partners <a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/EQR\">Equity</a> Advisors, which owns more than $2 million worth of Atlas stock, accounting for about 2% of its assets under management. “The debt helps equity holders if you have steady profit margins and can use it for growth.”</p>\n<p>And Atlas has substantial opportunities for growth. Beyond the infrastructure-bill boost, Atlas has a long-term strategy of consolidating the fragmented U.S. inspection-services market while reducing its debt levels. Both should increase its appeal to investors and earn it a higher valuation multiple.</p>\n<p>The Austin, Texas–headquartered company went public inearly 2020via a merger with a special-purpose acquisition company, or SPAC. The deal saddled the company with a convoluted capital structure, including multiple share classes, outstanding warrants, and other complications. That complexity has probably kept some investors away, as has Atlas’ relatively high debt load, which comes to 5.5 times net debt to 2021 Ebitda.</p>\n<p><img src=\"https://static.tigerbbs.com/99bb73a7c212bfed6d0890b8b14fbc15\" tg-width=\"607\" tg-height=\"396\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer\"></p>\n<p>Atlas has reduced that complexity—redeeming its preferred equity, buying out warrants, and increasing the stock’s publicly traded float—and is focused on bringing its net debt below three times Ebitda.</p>\n<p>Atlas is forecast to grow sales 13% this year, to $530 million, with Ebitda up 21%, to $76 million.</p>\n<p>Its customers include state departments of transportation, private building owners, electric and water utilities, airports, schools, hospitals, and more. Its national presence and leading scale helps win and retain marquee projects and big clients, including the U.S. Postal <a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/SCI\">Service</a>, the Environmental Protection Agency, the <a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/NWY\">New York</a> <a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/CHCO\">City</a> Housing Authority, Stanford University,Walmart(WMT), and<a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/AAPL\">Apple</a>(AAPL).</p>\n<p>Atlas earned $64 million in adjusted Ebitda over the past four reported quarters, while it had a net loss of $18 million. As of the end of the first quarter, the company had a backlog of $689 million, or more than 140% of its last 12 months’ revenue of $482 million. “I’ve been in this business for 30 years, and it’s by far the highest I’ve seen,” Atlas CEO Joe Boyer tells<i>Barron’s</i>.</p>\n<p>About 70% of the company’s revenue comes from work on existing buildings, pipes, roads, and bridges. Those jobs are nondiscretionary: As we’ve tragically learned at times, infrastructure needs to be inspected and brought up to code at regular intervals, no matter what the economic or pandemic situation is.</p>\n<p>The remaining 30% of Atlas’ sales are tied to new construction, which dipped during the pandemic but is nearly back to pre-Covid-19 levels, according to Boyer.</p>\n<p>A long-term trend toward outsourcing services by cities and states, stricter environmental standards, and aging infrastructure in the U.S. have been drivers of Atlas’ organic growth in recent years.</p>\n<p>That trend has been responsible for about half of Atlas’ 20% compound annual growth in sales since 2016, when it was owned by private-equity firm Bernhard Capital Partners. The other avenue for growth has been Atlas’ acquisition strategy.</p>\n<p>“The idea is to find a company in a geography or a service that we don’t dominate in, bring it onto our platform, and cross-sell across our network,” Boyer says.</p>\n<p>Atlas’ sweet spot for acquisition targets is about $5 million to $20 million in Ebitda, The company typically pays four to six times Ebitda in a mix of cash and stock. That makes each deal immediately accretive to earnings.</p>\n<p>As a small and relatively young public company, Atlas gets minimal coverage from Wall Street, but the three analysts who cover the firm are bullish. “We think the company is in end markets that are strong or recovering; they’ve been winning large contracts, and its backlog has been growing,” says <a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/SF\">Stifel</a> analyst Noelle Dilts. “So, we feel good about the fundamental revenue outlook.”</p>\n<p>She rates Atlas a Buy, with a $14.50 price target, or 11 times her estimate of 2022 Ebitda, which doesn’t include any upside from a potential infrastructure bill. Using a 15 times Ebitda multiple, Sterling’s Silverman sees shares going to $43 three years from now, as debt paydown continues and earnings rise.</p>\n<p>Atlas’ balance sheet remains a fixer-upper, but the company has the right foundation.</p>\n<p></p>","source":"lsy1610680873436","collect":0,"html":"<!DOCTYPE html>\n<html>\n<head>\n<meta http-equiv=\"Content-Type\" content=\"text/html; charset=utf-8\" />\n<meta name=\"viewport\" content=\"width=device-width,initial-scale=1.0,minimum-scale=1.0,maximum-scale=1.0,user-scalable=no\"/>\n<meta name=\"format-detection\" content=\"telephone=no,email=no,address=no\" />\n<title>Infrastructure Spending Is on Its Way. Here’s a Cheap Way to Play It</title>\n<style type=\"text/css\">\na,abbr,acronym,address,applet,article,aside,audio,b,big,blockquote,body,canvas,caption,center,cite,code,dd,del,details,dfn,div,dl,dt,\nem,embed,fieldset,figcaption,figure,footer,form,h1,h2,h3,h4,h5,h6,header,hgroup,html,i,iframe,img,ins,kbd,label,legend,li,mark,menu,nav,\nobject,ol,output,p,pre,q,ruby,s,samp,section,small,span,strike,strong,sub,summary,sup,table,tbody,td,tfoot,th,thead,time,tr,tt,u,ul,var,video{ font:inherit;margin:0;padding:0;vertical-align:baseline;border:0 }\nbody{ font-size:16px; line-height:1.5; color:#999; background:transparent; }\n.wrapper{ overflow:hidden;word-break:break-all;padding:10px; }\nh1,h2{ font-weight:normal; line-height:1.35; margin-bottom:.6em; }\nh3,h4,h5,h6{ line-height:1.35; margin-bottom:1em; }\nh1{ font-size:24px; }\nh2{ font-size:20px; }\nh3{ font-size:18px; }\nh4{ font-size:16px; }\nh5{ font-size:14px; }\nh6{ font-size:12px; }\np,ul,ol,blockquote,dl,table{ margin:1.2em 0; }\nul,ol{ margin-left:2em; }\nul{ list-style:disc; }\nol{ list-style:decimal; }\nli,li p{ margin:10px 0;}\nimg{ max-width:100%;display:block;margin:0 auto 1em; }\nblockquote{ color:#B5B2B1; border-left:3px solid #aaa; padding:1em; }\nstrong,b{font-weight:bold;}\nem,i{font-style:italic;}\ntable{ width:100%;border-collapse:collapse;border-spacing:1px;margin:1em 0;font-size:.9em; }\nth,td{ padding:5px;text-align:left;border:1px solid #aaa; }\nth{ font-weight:bold;background:#5d5d5d; }\n.symbol-link{font-weight:bold;}\n/* header{ border-bottom:1px solid #494756; } */\n.title{ margin:0 0 8px;line-height:1.3;color:#ddd; }\n.meta {color:#5e5c6d;font-size:13px;margin:0 0 .5em; }\na{text-decoration:none; color:#2a4b87;}\n.meta .head { display: inline-block; overflow: hidden}\n.head .h-thumb { width: 30px; height: 30px; margin: 0; padding: 0; border-radius: 50%; float: left;}\n.head .h-content { margin: 0; padding: 0 0 0 9px; float: left;}\n.head .h-name {font-size: 13px; color: #eee; margin: 0;}\n.head .h-time {font-size: 11px; color: #7E829C; margin: 0;line-height: 11px;}\n.small {font-size: 12.5px; display: inline-block; transform: scale(0.9); -webkit-transform: scale(0.9); transform-origin: left; -webkit-transform-origin: left;}\n.smaller {font-size: 12.5px; display: inline-block; transform: scale(0.8); -webkit-transform: scale(0.8); transform-origin: left; -webkit-transform-origin: left;}\n.bt-text {font-size: 12px;margin: 1.5em 0 0 0}\n.bt-text p {margin: 0}\n</style>\n</head>\n<body>\n<div class=\"wrapper\">\n<header>\n<h2 class=\"title\">\nInfrastructure Spending Is on Its Way. Here’s a Cheap Way to Play It\n</h2>\n\n<h4 class=\"meta\">\n\n\n2021-07-31 14:44 GMT+8&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href=https://www.barrons.com/articles/infrastructure-buy-atlas-technical-consultants-stock-51627684191?mod=hp_LEAD_2><strong>Barron's</strong></a>\n\n\n</h4>\n\n</header>\n<article>\n<div>\n<p>U.S. lawmakers appear to be on the cusp of passing a massive and long-awaitedinfrastructure-investment bill, totaling some $1 trillion.\nThe legislation should be a boost to businesses likeVulcan ...</p>\n\n<a href=\"https://www.barrons.com/articles/infrastructure-buy-atlas-technical-consultants-stock-51627684191?mod=hp_LEAD_2\">Web Link</a>\n\n</div>\n\n\n</article>\n</div>\n</body>\n</html>\n","type":0,"thumbnail":"","relate_stocks":{},"source_url":"https://www.barrons.com/articles/infrastructure-buy-atlas-technical-consultants-stock-51627684191?mod=hp_LEAD_2","is_english":true,"share_image_url":"https://static.laohu8.com/e9f99090a1c2ed51c021029395664489","article_id":"1186334150","content_text":"U.S. lawmakers appear to be on the cusp of passing a massive and long-awaitedinfrastructure-investment bill, totaling some $1 trillion.\nThe legislation should be a boost to businesses likeVulcan Materials(ticker: VMC) andMartin Marietta Materials(MLM), which make concrete and asphalt;Caterpillar(CAT) andTerex(TEX), which make construction equipment; andUnited Rentals(URI), which rents the machinery. Most of their stocks have already jumped on theprospect of infrastructure spending.\nBut one infrastructure play has been overlooked:Atlas Technical Consultants(ATCX) provides engineering and design services, inspection and certification of buildings and public works, and other construction-related services. More construction means more plans and designs for Atlas to review. These eventually become finished projects that need annual inspections, paying dividends for years.\nAnd yet Atlas shares have stalled. At a recent $9, the stock trades for just eight times enterprise value to estimated 2022 earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization, or Ebitda. That multiple is a significant discount to companies in related inspection businesses, such asMontrose Environmental Group(MEG) andTetra Tech(TTEK), which trade for more than 22 times EV/2022 Ebitda.\n“Right now, part of the valuation discount is due to the debt, but I would say there are companies like Atlas where the debt is appropriate,” says Kevin Silverman, chief investment officer and portfolio manager at small-cap–focused Sterling Partners Equity Advisors, which owns more than $2 million worth of Atlas stock, accounting for about 2% of its assets under management. “The debt helps equity holders if you have steady profit margins and can use it for growth.”\nAnd Atlas has substantial opportunities for growth. Beyond the infrastructure-bill boost, Atlas has a long-term strategy of consolidating the fragmented U.S. inspection-services market while reducing its debt levels. Both should increase its appeal to investors and earn it a higher valuation multiple.\nThe Austin, Texas–headquartered company went public inearly 2020via a merger with a special-purpose acquisition company, or SPAC. The deal saddled the company with a convoluted capital structure, including multiple share classes, outstanding warrants, and other complications. That complexity has probably kept some investors away, as has Atlas’ relatively high debt load, which comes to 5.5 times net debt to 2021 Ebitda.\n\nAtlas has reduced that complexity—redeeming its preferred equity, buying out warrants, and increasing the stock’s publicly traded float—and is focused on bringing its net debt below three times Ebitda.\nAtlas is forecast to grow sales 13% this year, to $530 million, with Ebitda up 21%, to $76 million.\nIts customers include state departments of transportation, private building owners, electric and water utilities, airports, schools, hospitals, and more. Its national presence and leading scale helps win and retain marquee projects and big clients, including the U.S. Postal Service, the Environmental Protection Agency, the New York City Housing Authority, Stanford University,Walmart(WMT), andApple(AAPL).\nAtlas earned $64 million in adjusted Ebitda over the past four reported quarters, while it had a net loss of $18 million. As of the end of the first quarter, the company had a backlog of $689 million, or more than 140% of its last 12 months’ revenue of $482 million. “I’ve been in this business for 30 years, and it’s by far the highest I’ve seen,” Atlas CEO Joe Boyer tellsBarron’s.\nAbout 70% of the company’s revenue comes from work on existing buildings, pipes, roads, and bridges. Those jobs are nondiscretionary: As we’ve tragically learned at times, infrastructure needs to be inspected and brought up to code at regular intervals, no matter what the economic or pandemic situation is.\nThe remaining 30% of Atlas’ sales are tied to new construction, which dipped during the pandemic but is nearly back to pre-Covid-19 levels, according to Boyer.\nA long-term trend toward outsourcing services by cities and states, stricter environmental standards, and aging infrastructure in the U.S. have been drivers of Atlas’ organic growth in recent years.\nThat trend has been responsible for about half of Atlas’ 20% compound annual growth in sales since 2016, when it was owned by private-equity firm Bernhard Capital Partners. The other avenue for growth has been Atlas’ acquisition strategy.\n“The idea is to find a company in a geography or a service that we don’t dominate in, bring it onto our platform, and cross-sell across our network,” Boyer says.\nAtlas’ sweet spot for acquisition targets is about $5 million to $20 million in Ebitda, The company typically pays four to six times Ebitda in a mix of cash and stock. That makes each deal immediately accretive to earnings.\nAs a small and relatively young public company, Atlas gets minimal coverage from Wall Street, but the three analysts who cover the firm are bullish. “We think the company is in end markets that are strong or recovering; they’ve been winning large contracts, and its backlog has been growing,” says Stifel analyst Noelle Dilts. “So, we feel good about the fundamental revenue outlook.”\nShe rates Atlas a Buy, with a $14.50 price target, or 11 times her estimate of 2022 Ebitda, which doesn’t include any upside from a potential infrastructure bill. Using a 15 times Ebitda multiple, Sterling’s Silverman sees shares going to $43 three years from now, as debt paydown continues and earnings rise.\nAtlas’ balance sheet remains a fixer-upper, but the company has the right foundation.","news_type":1},"isVote":1,"likeStatus":false,"favoriteStatus":false,"reportStatus":false,"tweetType":1,"comments":[{"id":5395599,"gmtCreate":1627828959415,"gmtModify":1663231790736,"authorId":3573541793112375,"author":{"id":3573541793112375,"idStr":"3573541793112375","authorId":3573541793112375,"name":"Maskcollect","avatar":"https://static.tigerbbs.com/23310297beaa406149b1f7c2e2384dc5","vip":1,"currentWearingBadge":{"badgeId":"44212b71d0be4ec88898348dbe882e03-3","templateUuid":"44212b71d0be4ec88898348dbe882e03","name":"President Tiger","description":"The transaction amount of the securities account reaches $1,000,000","bigImgUrl":"https://static.tigerbbs.com/fbeac6bb240db7da8b972e5183d050ba","smallImgUrl":"https://static.tigerbbs.com/436cdf80292b99f0a992e78750ac4e3a","grayImgUrl":"https://static.tigerbbs.com/506a259a7b456f037592c3b23c779599","redirectLinkEnabled":0,"hasAllocated":1,"isWearing":1,"stampPosition":0,"hasStamp":0,"allocationCount":1,"allocatedDate":"2023.07.14","exceedPercentage":"93.30%","individualDisplayEnabled":0,"individualDisplaySort":0,"categoryType":1101},"crmLevel":7,"crmLevelSwitch":1,"individualDisplayBadges":[]},"repliedAuthorId":0,"objectId":802714371,"type":1,"supId":0,"prevId":0,"content":"?","text":"?","html":"?"}],"langContent":"EN"},{"id":802445174,"gmtCreate":1627799895998,"gmtModify":1703496080839,"author":{"id":"3585225313870167","authorId":"3585225313870167","name":"Unraveling7","avatar":"https://static.tigerbbs.com/20845cb3821f7f7f3d19a528cfdab692","vip":1,"crmLevel":3,"crmLevelSwitch":0,"authorIdStr":"3585225313870167","idStr":"3585225313870167"},"htmlText":"Interesting","listText":"Interesting","text":"Interesting","images":[],"top":1,"highlighted":1,"essential":1,"paper":1,"likeSize":2,"commentSize":0,"repostSize":0,"link":"https://ttm.financial/post/802445174","repostId":1186334150,"repostType":4,"repost":{"id":"1186334150","pubTimestamp":1627713845,"share":"https://ttm.financial/m/news/1186334150?lang=&edition=fundamental","pubTime":"2021-07-31 14:44","market":"us","language":"en","title":"Infrastructure Spending Is on Its Way. Here’s a Cheap Way to Play It","url":"https://stock-news.laohu8.com/highlight/detail?id=1186334150","media":"Barron's","summary":"U.S. lawmakers appear to be on the cusp of passing a massive and long-awaitedinfrastructure-investme","content":"<p>U.S. lawmakers appear to be on the cusp of passing a massive and long-awaitedinfrastructure-investment bill, totaling some $1 trillion.</p>\n<p>The legislation should be a boost to businesses like<a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/VMC\">Vulcan Materials</a>(ticker: VMC) and<a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/MLM\">Martin Marietta Materials</a>(MLM), which make concrete and asphalt;<a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/CAT\">Caterpillar</a>(CAT) and<a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/TEX\">Terex</a>(TEX), which make construction equipment; and<a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/URI\">United Rentals</a>(URI), which rents the machinery. Most of their stocks have already jumped on theprospect of infrastructure spending.</p>\n<p>But <a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/AONE.U\">one</a> infrastructure play has been overlooked:<a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/AFH\">Atlas</a> Technical Consultants(ATCX) provides engineering and design services, inspection and certification of buildings and public works, and other construction-related services. More construction means more plans and designs for Atlas to review. These eventually become finished projects that need annual inspections, paying dividends for years.</p>\n<p>And yet Atlas shares have stalled. At a recent $9, the stock trades for just eight times enterprise value to estimated 2022 earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization, or Ebitda. That multiple is a significant discount to companies in related inspection businesses, such asMontrose Environmental Group(MEG) andTetra Tech(TTEK), which trade for more than 22 times EV/2022 Ebitda.</p>\n<p><img src=\"https://static.tigerbbs.com/19ad62f427fb70a25aa96068bc5d1756\" tg-width=\"442\" tg-height=\"364\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer\">“Right now, part of the valuation discount is due to the debt, but I would say there are companies like Atlas where the debt is appropriate,” says Kevin Silverman, chief investment officer and portfolio manager at small-cap–focused <a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/STL\">Sterling</a> Partners <a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/EQR\">Equity</a> Advisors, which owns more than $2 million worth of Atlas stock, accounting for about 2% of its assets under management. “The debt helps equity holders if you have steady profit margins and can use it for growth.”</p>\n<p>And Atlas has substantial opportunities for growth. Beyond the infrastructure-bill boost, Atlas has a long-term strategy of consolidating the fragmented U.S. inspection-services market while reducing its debt levels. Both should increase its appeal to investors and earn it a higher valuation multiple.</p>\n<p>The Austin, Texas–headquartered company went public inearly 2020via a merger with a special-purpose acquisition company, or SPAC. The deal saddled the company with a convoluted capital structure, including multiple share classes, outstanding warrants, and other complications. That complexity has probably kept some investors away, as has Atlas’ relatively high debt load, which comes to 5.5 times net debt to 2021 Ebitda.</p>\n<p><img src=\"https://static.tigerbbs.com/99bb73a7c212bfed6d0890b8b14fbc15\" tg-width=\"607\" tg-height=\"396\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer\"></p>\n<p>Atlas has reduced that complexity—redeeming its preferred equity, buying out warrants, and increasing the stock’s publicly traded float—and is focused on bringing its net debt below three times Ebitda.</p>\n<p>Atlas is forecast to grow sales 13% this year, to $530 million, with Ebitda up 21%, to $76 million.</p>\n<p>Its customers include state departments of transportation, private building owners, electric and water utilities, airports, schools, hospitals, and more. Its national presence and leading scale helps win and retain marquee projects and big clients, including the U.S. Postal <a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/SCI\">Service</a>, the Environmental Protection Agency, the <a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/NWY\">New York</a> <a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/CHCO\">City</a> Housing Authority, Stanford University,Walmart(WMT), and<a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/AAPL\">Apple</a>(AAPL).</p>\n<p>Atlas earned $64 million in adjusted Ebitda over the past four reported quarters, while it had a net loss of $18 million. As of the end of the first quarter, the company had a backlog of $689 million, or more than 140% of its last 12 months’ revenue of $482 million. “I’ve been in this business for 30 years, and it’s by far the highest I’ve seen,” Atlas CEO Joe Boyer tells<i>Barron’s</i>.</p>\n<p>About 70% of the company’s revenue comes from work on existing buildings, pipes, roads, and bridges. Those jobs are nondiscretionary: As we’ve tragically learned at times, infrastructure needs to be inspected and brought up to code at regular intervals, no matter what the economic or pandemic situation is.</p>\n<p>The remaining 30% of Atlas’ sales are tied to new construction, which dipped during the pandemic but is nearly back to pre-Covid-19 levels, according to Boyer.</p>\n<p>A long-term trend toward outsourcing services by cities and states, stricter environmental standards, and aging infrastructure in the U.S. have been drivers of Atlas’ organic growth in recent years.</p>\n<p>That trend has been responsible for about half of Atlas’ 20% compound annual growth in sales since 2016, when it was owned by private-equity firm Bernhard Capital Partners. The other avenue for growth has been Atlas’ acquisition strategy.</p>\n<p>“The idea is to find a company in a geography or a service that we don’t dominate in, bring it onto our platform, and cross-sell across our network,” Boyer says.</p>\n<p>Atlas’ sweet spot for acquisition targets is about $5 million to $20 million in Ebitda, The company typically pays four to six times Ebitda in a mix of cash and stock. That makes each deal immediately accretive to earnings.</p>\n<p>As a small and relatively young public company, Atlas gets minimal coverage from Wall Street, but the three analysts who cover the firm are bullish. “We think the company is in end markets that are strong or recovering; they’ve been winning large contracts, and its backlog has been growing,” says <a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/SF\">Stifel</a> analyst Noelle Dilts. “So, we feel good about the fundamental revenue outlook.”</p>\n<p>She rates Atlas a Buy, with a $14.50 price target, or 11 times her estimate of 2022 Ebitda, which doesn’t include any upside from a potential infrastructure bill. Using a 15 times Ebitda multiple, Sterling’s Silverman sees shares going to $43 three years from now, as debt paydown continues and earnings rise.</p>\n<p>Atlas’ balance sheet remains a fixer-upper, but the company has the right foundation.</p>\n<p></p>","source":"lsy1610680873436","collect":0,"html":"<!DOCTYPE html>\n<html>\n<head>\n<meta http-equiv=\"Content-Type\" content=\"text/html; charset=utf-8\" />\n<meta name=\"viewport\" content=\"width=device-width,initial-scale=1.0,minimum-scale=1.0,maximum-scale=1.0,user-scalable=no\"/>\n<meta name=\"format-detection\" content=\"telephone=no,email=no,address=no\" />\n<title>Infrastructure Spending Is on Its Way. Here’s a Cheap Way to Play It</title>\n<style type=\"text/css\">\na,abbr,acronym,address,applet,article,aside,audio,b,big,blockquote,body,canvas,caption,center,cite,code,dd,del,details,dfn,div,dl,dt,\nem,embed,fieldset,figcaption,figure,footer,form,h1,h2,h3,h4,h5,h6,header,hgroup,html,i,iframe,img,ins,kbd,label,legend,li,mark,menu,nav,\nobject,ol,output,p,pre,q,ruby,s,samp,section,small,span,strike,strong,sub,summary,sup,table,tbody,td,tfoot,th,thead,time,tr,tt,u,ul,var,video{ font:inherit;margin:0;padding:0;vertical-align:baseline;border:0 }\nbody{ font-size:16px; line-height:1.5; color:#999; background:transparent; }\n.wrapper{ overflow:hidden;word-break:break-all;padding:10px; }\nh1,h2{ font-weight:normal; line-height:1.35; margin-bottom:.6em; }\nh3,h4,h5,h6{ line-height:1.35; margin-bottom:1em; }\nh1{ font-size:24px; }\nh2{ font-size:20px; }\nh3{ font-size:18px; }\nh4{ font-size:16px; }\nh5{ font-size:14px; }\nh6{ font-size:12px; }\np,ul,ol,blockquote,dl,table{ margin:1.2em 0; }\nul,ol{ margin-left:2em; }\nul{ list-style:disc; }\nol{ list-style:decimal; }\nli,li p{ margin:10px 0;}\nimg{ max-width:100%;display:block;margin:0 auto 1em; }\nblockquote{ color:#B5B2B1; border-left:3px solid #aaa; padding:1em; }\nstrong,b{font-weight:bold;}\nem,i{font-style:italic;}\ntable{ width:100%;border-collapse:collapse;border-spacing:1px;margin:1em 0;font-size:.9em; }\nth,td{ padding:5px;text-align:left;border:1px solid #aaa; }\nth{ font-weight:bold;background:#5d5d5d; }\n.symbol-link{font-weight:bold;}\n/* header{ border-bottom:1px solid #494756; } */\n.title{ margin:0 0 8px;line-height:1.3;color:#ddd; }\n.meta {color:#5e5c6d;font-size:13px;margin:0 0 .5em; }\na{text-decoration:none; color:#2a4b87;}\n.meta .head { display: inline-block; overflow: hidden}\n.head .h-thumb { width: 30px; height: 30px; margin: 0; padding: 0; border-radius: 50%; float: left;}\n.head .h-content { margin: 0; padding: 0 0 0 9px; float: left;}\n.head .h-name {font-size: 13px; color: #eee; margin: 0;}\n.head .h-time {font-size: 11px; color: #7E829C; margin: 0;line-height: 11px;}\n.small {font-size: 12.5px; display: inline-block; transform: scale(0.9); -webkit-transform: scale(0.9); transform-origin: left; -webkit-transform-origin: left;}\n.smaller {font-size: 12.5px; display: inline-block; transform: scale(0.8); -webkit-transform: scale(0.8); transform-origin: left; -webkit-transform-origin: left;}\n.bt-text {font-size: 12px;margin: 1.5em 0 0 0}\n.bt-text p {margin: 0}\n</style>\n</head>\n<body>\n<div class=\"wrapper\">\n<header>\n<h2 class=\"title\">\nInfrastructure Spending Is on Its Way. Here’s a Cheap Way to Play It\n</h2>\n\n<h4 class=\"meta\">\n\n\n2021-07-31 14:44 GMT+8&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href=https://www.barrons.com/articles/infrastructure-buy-atlas-technical-consultants-stock-51627684191?mod=hp_LEAD_2><strong>Barron's</strong></a>\n\n\n</h4>\n\n</header>\n<article>\n<div>\n<p>U.S. lawmakers appear to be on the cusp of passing a massive and long-awaitedinfrastructure-investment bill, totaling some $1 trillion.\nThe legislation should be a boost to businesses likeVulcan ...</p>\n\n<a href=\"https://www.barrons.com/articles/infrastructure-buy-atlas-technical-consultants-stock-51627684191?mod=hp_LEAD_2\">Web Link</a>\n\n</div>\n\n\n</article>\n</div>\n</body>\n</html>\n","type":0,"thumbnail":"","relate_stocks":{},"source_url":"https://www.barrons.com/articles/infrastructure-buy-atlas-technical-consultants-stock-51627684191?mod=hp_LEAD_2","is_english":true,"share_image_url":"https://static.laohu8.com/e9f99090a1c2ed51c021029395664489","article_id":"1186334150","content_text":"U.S. lawmakers appear to be on the cusp of passing a massive and long-awaitedinfrastructure-investment bill, totaling some $1 trillion.\nThe legislation should be a boost to businesses likeVulcan Materials(ticker: VMC) andMartin Marietta Materials(MLM), which make concrete and asphalt;Caterpillar(CAT) andTerex(TEX), which make construction equipment; andUnited Rentals(URI), which rents the machinery. Most of their stocks have already jumped on theprospect of infrastructure spending.\nBut one infrastructure play has been overlooked:Atlas Technical Consultants(ATCX) provides engineering and design services, inspection and certification of buildings and public works, and other construction-related services. More construction means more plans and designs for Atlas to review. These eventually become finished projects that need annual inspections, paying dividends for years.\nAnd yet Atlas shares have stalled. At a recent $9, the stock trades for just eight times enterprise value to estimated 2022 earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization, or Ebitda. That multiple is a significant discount to companies in related inspection businesses, such asMontrose Environmental Group(MEG) andTetra Tech(TTEK), which trade for more than 22 times EV/2022 Ebitda.\n“Right now, part of the valuation discount is due to the debt, but I would say there are companies like Atlas where the debt is appropriate,” says Kevin Silverman, chief investment officer and portfolio manager at small-cap–focused Sterling Partners Equity Advisors, which owns more than $2 million worth of Atlas stock, accounting for about 2% of its assets under management. “The debt helps equity holders if you have steady profit margins and can use it for growth.”\nAnd Atlas has substantial opportunities for growth. Beyond the infrastructure-bill boost, Atlas has a long-term strategy of consolidating the fragmented U.S. inspection-services market while reducing its debt levels. Both should increase its appeal to investors and earn it a higher valuation multiple.\nThe Austin, Texas–headquartered company went public inearly 2020via a merger with a special-purpose acquisition company, or SPAC. The deal saddled the company with a convoluted capital structure, including multiple share classes, outstanding warrants, and other complications. That complexity has probably kept some investors away, as has Atlas’ relatively high debt load, which comes to 5.5 times net debt to 2021 Ebitda.\n\nAtlas has reduced that complexity—redeeming its preferred equity, buying out warrants, and increasing the stock’s publicly traded float—and is focused on bringing its net debt below three times Ebitda.\nAtlas is forecast to grow sales 13% this year, to $530 million, with Ebitda up 21%, to $76 million.\nIts customers include state departments of transportation, private building owners, electric and water utilities, airports, schools, hospitals, and more. Its national presence and leading scale helps win and retain marquee projects and big clients, including the U.S. Postal Service, the Environmental Protection Agency, the New York City Housing Authority, Stanford University,Walmart(WMT), andApple(AAPL).\nAtlas earned $64 million in adjusted Ebitda over the past four reported quarters, while it had a net loss of $18 million. As of the end of the first quarter, the company had a backlog of $689 million, or more than 140% of its last 12 months’ revenue of $482 million. “I’ve been in this business for 30 years, and it’s by far the highest I’ve seen,” Atlas CEO Joe Boyer tellsBarron’s.\nAbout 70% of the company’s revenue comes from work on existing buildings, pipes, roads, and bridges. Those jobs are nondiscretionary: As we’ve tragically learned at times, infrastructure needs to be inspected and brought up to code at regular intervals, no matter what the economic or pandemic situation is.\nThe remaining 30% of Atlas’ sales are tied to new construction, which dipped during the pandemic but is nearly back to pre-Covid-19 levels, according to Boyer.\nA long-term trend toward outsourcing services by cities and states, stricter environmental standards, and aging infrastructure in the U.S. have been drivers of Atlas’ organic growth in recent years.\nThat trend has been responsible for about half of Atlas’ 20% compound annual growth in sales since 2016, when it was owned by private-equity firm Bernhard Capital Partners. The other avenue for growth has been Atlas’ acquisition strategy.\n“The idea is to find a company in a geography or a service that we don’t dominate in, bring it onto our platform, and cross-sell across our network,” Boyer says.\nAtlas’ sweet spot for acquisition targets is about $5 million to $20 million in Ebitda, The company typically pays four to six times Ebitda in a mix of cash and stock. That makes each deal immediately accretive to earnings.\nAs a small and relatively young public company, Atlas gets minimal coverage from Wall Street, but the three analysts who cover the firm are bullish. “We think the company is in end markets that are strong or recovering; they’ve been winning large contracts, and its backlog has been growing,” says Stifel analyst Noelle Dilts. “So, we feel good about the fundamental revenue outlook.”\nShe rates Atlas a Buy, with a $14.50 price target, or 11 times her estimate of 2022 Ebitda, which doesn’t include any upside from a potential infrastructure bill. Using a 15 times Ebitda multiple, Sterling’s Silverman sees shares going to $43 three years from now, as debt paydown continues and earnings rise.\nAtlas’ balance sheet remains a fixer-upper, but the company has the right foundation.","news_type":1},"isVote":1,"likeStatus":false,"favoriteStatus":false,"reportStatus":false,"tweetType":1,"langContent":"EN"},{"id":802490075,"gmtCreate":1627792848597,"gmtModify":1703495974483,"author":{"id":"3586766903231838","authorId":"3586766903231838","name":"kirbyang","avatar":"https://static.tigerbbs.com/589dc26dc37637d0aa3c78f7e14048e7","vip":1,"crmLevel":1,"crmLevelSwitch":0,"authorIdStr":"3586766903231838","idStr":"3586766903231838"},"htmlText":"Wow","listText":"Wow","text":"Wow","images":[],"top":1,"highlighted":1,"essential":1,"paper":1,"likeSize":2,"commentSize":0,"repostSize":0,"link":"https://ttm.financial/post/802490075","repostId":1186334150,"repostType":4,"repost":{"id":"1186334150","pubTimestamp":1627713845,"share":"https://ttm.financial/m/news/1186334150?lang=&edition=fundamental","pubTime":"2021-07-31 14:44","market":"us","language":"en","title":"Infrastructure Spending Is on Its Way. Here’s a Cheap Way to Play It","url":"https://stock-news.laohu8.com/highlight/detail?id=1186334150","media":"Barron's","summary":"U.S. lawmakers appear to be on the cusp of passing a massive and long-awaitedinfrastructure-investme","content":"<p>U.S. lawmakers appear to be on the cusp of passing a massive and long-awaitedinfrastructure-investment bill, totaling some $1 trillion.</p>\n<p>The legislation should be a boost to businesses like<a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/VMC\">Vulcan Materials</a>(ticker: VMC) and<a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/MLM\">Martin Marietta Materials</a>(MLM), which make concrete and asphalt;<a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/CAT\">Caterpillar</a>(CAT) and<a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/TEX\">Terex</a>(TEX), which make construction equipment; and<a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/URI\">United Rentals</a>(URI), which rents the machinery. Most of their stocks have already jumped on theprospect of infrastructure spending.</p>\n<p>But <a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/AONE.U\">one</a> infrastructure play has been overlooked:<a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/AFH\">Atlas</a> Technical Consultants(ATCX) provides engineering and design services, inspection and certification of buildings and public works, and other construction-related services. More construction means more plans and designs for Atlas to review. These eventually become finished projects that need annual inspections, paying dividends for years.</p>\n<p>And yet Atlas shares have stalled. At a recent $9, the stock trades for just eight times enterprise value to estimated 2022 earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization, or Ebitda. That multiple is a significant discount to companies in related inspection businesses, such asMontrose Environmental Group(MEG) andTetra Tech(TTEK), which trade for more than 22 times EV/2022 Ebitda.</p>\n<p><img src=\"https://static.tigerbbs.com/19ad62f427fb70a25aa96068bc5d1756\" tg-width=\"442\" tg-height=\"364\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer\">“Right now, part of the valuation discount is due to the debt, but I would say there are companies like Atlas where the debt is appropriate,” says Kevin Silverman, chief investment officer and portfolio manager at small-cap–focused <a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/STL\">Sterling</a> Partners <a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/EQR\">Equity</a> Advisors, which owns more than $2 million worth of Atlas stock, accounting for about 2% of its assets under management. “The debt helps equity holders if you have steady profit margins and can use it for growth.”</p>\n<p>And Atlas has substantial opportunities for growth. Beyond the infrastructure-bill boost, Atlas has a long-term strategy of consolidating the fragmented U.S. inspection-services market while reducing its debt levels. Both should increase its appeal to investors and earn it a higher valuation multiple.</p>\n<p>The Austin, Texas–headquartered company went public inearly 2020via a merger with a special-purpose acquisition company, or SPAC. The deal saddled the company with a convoluted capital structure, including multiple share classes, outstanding warrants, and other complications. That complexity has probably kept some investors away, as has Atlas’ relatively high debt load, which comes to 5.5 times net debt to 2021 Ebitda.</p>\n<p><img src=\"https://static.tigerbbs.com/99bb73a7c212bfed6d0890b8b14fbc15\" tg-width=\"607\" tg-height=\"396\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer\"></p>\n<p>Atlas has reduced that complexity—redeeming its preferred equity, buying out warrants, and increasing the stock’s publicly traded float—and is focused on bringing its net debt below three times Ebitda.</p>\n<p>Atlas is forecast to grow sales 13% this year, to $530 million, with Ebitda up 21%, to $76 million.</p>\n<p>Its customers include state departments of transportation, private building owners, electric and water utilities, airports, schools, hospitals, and more. Its national presence and leading scale helps win and retain marquee projects and big clients, including the U.S. Postal <a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/SCI\">Service</a>, the Environmental Protection Agency, the <a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/NWY\">New York</a> <a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/CHCO\">City</a> Housing Authority, Stanford University,Walmart(WMT), and<a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/AAPL\">Apple</a>(AAPL).</p>\n<p>Atlas earned $64 million in adjusted Ebitda over the past four reported quarters, while it had a net loss of $18 million. As of the end of the first quarter, the company had a backlog of $689 million, or more than 140% of its last 12 months’ revenue of $482 million. “I’ve been in this business for 30 years, and it’s by far the highest I’ve seen,” Atlas CEO Joe Boyer tells<i>Barron’s</i>.</p>\n<p>About 70% of the company’s revenue comes from work on existing buildings, pipes, roads, and bridges. Those jobs are nondiscretionary: As we’ve tragically learned at times, infrastructure needs to be inspected and brought up to code at regular intervals, no matter what the economic or pandemic situation is.</p>\n<p>The remaining 30% of Atlas’ sales are tied to new construction, which dipped during the pandemic but is nearly back to pre-Covid-19 levels, according to Boyer.</p>\n<p>A long-term trend toward outsourcing services by cities and states, stricter environmental standards, and aging infrastructure in the U.S. have been drivers of Atlas’ organic growth in recent years.</p>\n<p>That trend has been responsible for about half of Atlas’ 20% compound annual growth in sales since 2016, when it was owned by private-equity firm Bernhard Capital Partners. The other avenue for growth has been Atlas’ acquisition strategy.</p>\n<p>“The idea is to find a company in a geography or a service that we don’t dominate in, bring it onto our platform, and cross-sell across our network,” Boyer says.</p>\n<p>Atlas’ sweet spot for acquisition targets is about $5 million to $20 million in Ebitda, The company typically pays four to six times Ebitda in a mix of cash and stock. That makes each deal immediately accretive to earnings.</p>\n<p>As a small and relatively young public company, Atlas gets minimal coverage from Wall Street, but the three analysts who cover the firm are bullish. “We think the company is in end markets that are strong or recovering; they’ve been winning large contracts, and its backlog has been growing,” says <a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/SF\">Stifel</a> analyst Noelle Dilts. “So, we feel good about the fundamental revenue outlook.”</p>\n<p>She rates Atlas a Buy, with a $14.50 price target, or 11 times her estimate of 2022 Ebitda, which doesn’t include any upside from a potential infrastructure bill. Using a 15 times Ebitda multiple, Sterling’s Silverman sees shares going to $43 three years from now, as debt paydown continues and earnings rise.</p>\n<p>Atlas’ balance sheet remains a fixer-upper, but the company has the right foundation.</p>\n<p></p>","source":"lsy1610680873436","collect":0,"html":"<!DOCTYPE html>\n<html>\n<head>\n<meta http-equiv=\"Content-Type\" content=\"text/html; charset=utf-8\" />\n<meta name=\"viewport\" content=\"width=device-width,initial-scale=1.0,minimum-scale=1.0,maximum-scale=1.0,user-scalable=no\"/>\n<meta name=\"format-detection\" content=\"telephone=no,email=no,address=no\" />\n<title>Infrastructure Spending Is on Its Way. Here’s a Cheap Way to Play It</title>\n<style type=\"text/css\">\na,abbr,acronym,address,applet,article,aside,audio,b,big,blockquote,body,canvas,caption,center,cite,code,dd,del,details,dfn,div,dl,dt,\nem,embed,fieldset,figcaption,figure,footer,form,h1,h2,h3,h4,h5,h6,header,hgroup,html,i,iframe,img,ins,kbd,label,legend,li,mark,menu,nav,\nobject,ol,output,p,pre,q,ruby,s,samp,section,small,span,strike,strong,sub,summary,sup,table,tbody,td,tfoot,th,thead,time,tr,tt,u,ul,var,video{ font:inherit;margin:0;padding:0;vertical-align:baseline;border:0 }\nbody{ font-size:16px; line-height:1.5; color:#999; background:transparent; }\n.wrapper{ overflow:hidden;word-break:break-all;padding:10px; }\nh1,h2{ font-weight:normal; line-height:1.35; margin-bottom:.6em; }\nh3,h4,h5,h6{ line-height:1.35; margin-bottom:1em; }\nh1{ font-size:24px; }\nh2{ font-size:20px; }\nh3{ font-size:18px; }\nh4{ font-size:16px; }\nh5{ font-size:14px; }\nh6{ font-size:12px; }\np,ul,ol,blockquote,dl,table{ margin:1.2em 0; }\nul,ol{ margin-left:2em; }\nul{ list-style:disc; }\nol{ list-style:decimal; }\nli,li p{ margin:10px 0;}\nimg{ max-width:100%;display:block;margin:0 auto 1em; }\nblockquote{ color:#B5B2B1; border-left:3px solid #aaa; padding:1em; }\nstrong,b{font-weight:bold;}\nem,i{font-style:italic;}\ntable{ width:100%;border-collapse:collapse;border-spacing:1px;margin:1em 0;font-size:.9em; }\nth,td{ padding:5px;text-align:left;border:1px solid #aaa; }\nth{ font-weight:bold;background:#5d5d5d; }\n.symbol-link{font-weight:bold;}\n/* header{ border-bottom:1px solid #494756; } */\n.title{ margin:0 0 8px;line-height:1.3;color:#ddd; }\n.meta {color:#5e5c6d;font-size:13px;margin:0 0 .5em; }\na{text-decoration:none; color:#2a4b87;}\n.meta .head { display: inline-block; overflow: hidden}\n.head .h-thumb { width: 30px; height: 30px; margin: 0; padding: 0; border-radius: 50%; float: left;}\n.head .h-content { margin: 0; padding: 0 0 0 9px; float: left;}\n.head .h-name {font-size: 13px; color: #eee; margin: 0;}\n.head .h-time {font-size: 11px; color: #7E829C; margin: 0;line-height: 11px;}\n.small {font-size: 12.5px; display: inline-block; transform: scale(0.9); -webkit-transform: scale(0.9); transform-origin: left; -webkit-transform-origin: left;}\n.smaller {font-size: 12.5px; display: inline-block; transform: scale(0.8); -webkit-transform: scale(0.8); transform-origin: left; -webkit-transform-origin: left;}\n.bt-text {font-size: 12px;margin: 1.5em 0 0 0}\n.bt-text p {margin: 0}\n</style>\n</head>\n<body>\n<div class=\"wrapper\">\n<header>\n<h2 class=\"title\">\nInfrastructure Spending Is on Its Way. Here’s a Cheap Way to Play It\n</h2>\n\n<h4 class=\"meta\">\n\n\n2021-07-31 14:44 GMT+8&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href=https://www.barrons.com/articles/infrastructure-buy-atlas-technical-consultants-stock-51627684191?mod=hp_LEAD_2><strong>Barron's</strong></a>\n\n\n</h4>\n\n</header>\n<article>\n<div>\n<p>U.S. lawmakers appear to be on the cusp of passing a massive and long-awaitedinfrastructure-investment bill, totaling some $1 trillion.\nThe legislation should be a boost to businesses likeVulcan ...</p>\n\n<a href=\"https://www.barrons.com/articles/infrastructure-buy-atlas-technical-consultants-stock-51627684191?mod=hp_LEAD_2\">Web Link</a>\n\n</div>\n\n\n</article>\n</div>\n</body>\n</html>\n","type":0,"thumbnail":"","relate_stocks":{},"source_url":"https://www.barrons.com/articles/infrastructure-buy-atlas-technical-consultants-stock-51627684191?mod=hp_LEAD_2","is_english":true,"share_image_url":"https://static.laohu8.com/e9f99090a1c2ed51c021029395664489","article_id":"1186334150","content_text":"U.S. lawmakers appear to be on the cusp of passing a massive and long-awaitedinfrastructure-investment bill, totaling some $1 trillion.\nThe legislation should be a boost to businesses likeVulcan Materials(ticker: VMC) andMartin Marietta Materials(MLM), which make concrete and asphalt;Caterpillar(CAT) andTerex(TEX), which make construction equipment; andUnited Rentals(URI), which rents the machinery. Most of their stocks have already jumped on theprospect of infrastructure spending.\nBut one infrastructure play has been overlooked:Atlas Technical Consultants(ATCX) provides engineering and design services, inspection and certification of buildings and public works, and other construction-related services. More construction means more plans and designs for Atlas to review. These eventually become finished projects that need annual inspections, paying dividends for years.\nAnd yet Atlas shares have stalled. At a recent $9, the stock trades for just eight times enterprise value to estimated 2022 earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization, or Ebitda. That multiple is a significant discount to companies in related inspection businesses, such asMontrose Environmental Group(MEG) andTetra Tech(TTEK), which trade for more than 22 times EV/2022 Ebitda.\n“Right now, part of the valuation discount is due to the debt, but I would say there are companies like Atlas where the debt is appropriate,” says Kevin Silverman, chief investment officer and portfolio manager at small-cap–focused Sterling Partners Equity Advisors, which owns more than $2 million worth of Atlas stock, accounting for about 2% of its assets under management. “The debt helps equity holders if you have steady profit margins and can use it for growth.”\nAnd Atlas has substantial opportunities for growth. Beyond the infrastructure-bill boost, Atlas has a long-term strategy of consolidating the fragmented U.S. inspection-services market while reducing its debt levels. Both should increase its appeal to investors and earn it a higher valuation multiple.\nThe Austin, Texas–headquartered company went public inearly 2020via a merger with a special-purpose acquisition company, or SPAC. The deal saddled the company with a convoluted capital structure, including multiple share classes, outstanding warrants, and other complications. That complexity has probably kept some investors away, as has Atlas’ relatively high debt load, which comes to 5.5 times net debt to 2021 Ebitda.\n\nAtlas has reduced that complexity—redeeming its preferred equity, buying out warrants, and increasing the stock’s publicly traded float—and is focused on bringing its net debt below three times Ebitda.\nAtlas is forecast to grow sales 13% this year, to $530 million, with Ebitda up 21%, to $76 million.\nIts customers include state departments of transportation, private building owners, electric and water utilities, airports, schools, hospitals, and more. Its national presence and leading scale helps win and retain marquee projects and big clients, including the U.S. Postal Service, the Environmental Protection Agency, the New York City Housing Authority, Stanford University,Walmart(WMT), andApple(AAPL).\nAtlas earned $64 million in adjusted Ebitda over the past four reported quarters, while it had a net loss of $18 million. As of the end of the first quarter, the company had a backlog of $689 million, or more than 140% of its last 12 months’ revenue of $482 million. “I’ve been in this business for 30 years, and it’s by far the highest I’ve seen,” Atlas CEO Joe Boyer tellsBarron’s.\nAbout 70% of the company’s revenue comes from work on existing buildings, pipes, roads, and bridges. Those jobs are nondiscretionary: As we’ve tragically learned at times, infrastructure needs to be inspected and brought up to code at regular intervals, no matter what the economic or pandemic situation is.\nThe remaining 30% of Atlas’ sales are tied to new construction, which dipped during the pandemic but is nearly back to pre-Covid-19 levels, according to Boyer.\nA long-term trend toward outsourcing services by cities and states, stricter environmental standards, and aging infrastructure in the U.S. have been drivers of Atlas’ organic growth in recent years.\nThat trend has been responsible for about half of Atlas’ 20% compound annual growth in sales since 2016, when it was owned by private-equity firm Bernhard Capital Partners. The other avenue for growth has been Atlas’ acquisition strategy.\n“The idea is to find a company in a geography or a service that we don’t dominate in, bring it onto our platform, and cross-sell across our network,” Boyer says.\nAtlas’ sweet spot for acquisition targets is about $5 million to $20 million in Ebitda, The company typically pays four to six times Ebitda in a mix of cash and stock. That makes each deal immediately accretive to earnings.\nAs a small and relatively young public company, Atlas gets minimal coverage from Wall Street, but the three analysts who cover the firm are bullish. “We think the company is in end markets that are strong or recovering; they’ve been winning large contracts, and its backlog has been growing,” says Stifel analyst Noelle Dilts. “So, we feel good about the fundamental revenue outlook.”\nShe rates Atlas a Buy, with a $14.50 price target, or 11 times her estimate of 2022 Ebitda, which doesn’t include any upside from a potential infrastructure bill. Using a 15 times Ebitda multiple, Sterling’s Silverman sees shares going to $43 three years from now, as debt paydown continues and earnings rise.\nAtlas’ balance sheet remains a fixer-upper, but the company has the right foundation.","news_type":1},"isVote":1,"likeStatus":false,"favoriteStatus":false,"reportStatus":false,"tweetType":1,"langContent":"EN"},{"id":802285469,"gmtCreate":1627783056051,"gmtModify":1703495749259,"author":{"id":"3581571807225162","authorId":"3581571807225162","name":"Anneater","avatar":"https://static.tigerbbs.com/dd99ef969b35027be1194d21c5482e54","vip":1,"crmLevel":3,"crmLevelSwitch":0,"authorIdStr":"3581571807225162","idStr":"3581571807225162"},"htmlText":"Oh","listText":"Oh","text":"Oh","images":[],"top":1,"highlighted":1,"essential":1,"paper":1,"likeSize":2,"commentSize":0,"repostSize":0,"link":"https://ttm.financial/post/802285469","repostId":1186334150,"repostType":4,"repost":{"id":"1186334150","pubTimestamp":1627713845,"share":"https://ttm.financial/m/news/1186334150?lang=&edition=fundamental","pubTime":"2021-07-31 14:44","market":"us","language":"en","title":"Infrastructure Spending Is on Its Way. Here’s a Cheap Way to Play It","url":"https://stock-news.laohu8.com/highlight/detail?id=1186334150","media":"Barron's","summary":"U.S. lawmakers appear to be on the cusp of passing a massive and long-awaitedinfrastructure-investme","content":"<p>U.S. lawmakers appear to be on the cusp of passing a massive and long-awaitedinfrastructure-investment bill, totaling some $1 trillion.</p>\n<p>The legislation should be a boost to businesses like<a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/VMC\">Vulcan Materials</a>(ticker: VMC) and<a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/MLM\">Martin Marietta Materials</a>(MLM), which make concrete and asphalt;<a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/CAT\">Caterpillar</a>(CAT) and<a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/TEX\">Terex</a>(TEX), which make construction equipment; and<a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/URI\">United Rentals</a>(URI), which rents the machinery. Most of their stocks have already jumped on theprospect of infrastructure spending.</p>\n<p>But <a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/AONE.U\">one</a> infrastructure play has been overlooked:<a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/AFH\">Atlas</a> Technical Consultants(ATCX) provides engineering and design services, inspection and certification of buildings and public works, and other construction-related services. More construction means more plans and designs for Atlas to review. These eventually become finished projects that need annual inspections, paying dividends for years.</p>\n<p>And yet Atlas shares have stalled. At a recent $9, the stock trades for just eight times enterprise value to estimated 2022 earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization, or Ebitda. That multiple is a significant discount to companies in related inspection businesses, such asMontrose Environmental Group(MEG) andTetra Tech(TTEK), which trade for more than 22 times EV/2022 Ebitda.</p>\n<p><img src=\"https://static.tigerbbs.com/19ad62f427fb70a25aa96068bc5d1756\" tg-width=\"442\" tg-height=\"364\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer\">“Right now, part of the valuation discount is due to the debt, but I would say there are companies like Atlas where the debt is appropriate,” says Kevin Silverman, chief investment officer and portfolio manager at small-cap–focused <a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/STL\">Sterling</a> Partners <a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/EQR\">Equity</a> Advisors, which owns more than $2 million worth of Atlas stock, accounting for about 2% of its assets under management. “The debt helps equity holders if you have steady profit margins and can use it for growth.”</p>\n<p>And Atlas has substantial opportunities for growth. Beyond the infrastructure-bill boost, Atlas has a long-term strategy of consolidating the fragmented U.S. inspection-services market while reducing its debt levels. Both should increase its appeal to investors and earn it a higher valuation multiple.</p>\n<p>The Austin, Texas–headquartered company went public inearly 2020via a merger with a special-purpose acquisition company, or SPAC. The deal saddled the company with a convoluted capital structure, including multiple share classes, outstanding warrants, and other complications. That complexity has probably kept some investors away, as has Atlas’ relatively high debt load, which comes to 5.5 times net debt to 2021 Ebitda.</p>\n<p><img src=\"https://static.tigerbbs.com/99bb73a7c212bfed6d0890b8b14fbc15\" tg-width=\"607\" tg-height=\"396\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer\"></p>\n<p>Atlas has reduced that complexity—redeeming its preferred equity, buying out warrants, and increasing the stock’s publicly traded float—and is focused on bringing its net debt below three times Ebitda.</p>\n<p>Atlas is forecast to grow sales 13% this year, to $530 million, with Ebitda up 21%, to $76 million.</p>\n<p>Its customers include state departments of transportation, private building owners, electric and water utilities, airports, schools, hospitals, and more. Its national presence and leading scale helps win and retain marquee projects and big clients, including the U.S. Postal <a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/SCI\">Service</a>, the Environmental Protection Agency, the <a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/NWY\">New York</a> <a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/CHCO\">City</a> Housing Authority, Stanford University,Walmart(WMT), and<a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/AAPL\">Apple</a>(AAPL).</p>\n<p>Atlas earned $64 million in adjusted Ebitda over the past four reported quarters, while it had a net loss of $18 million. As of the end of the first quarter, the company had a backlog of $689 million, or more than 140% of its last 12 months’ revenue of $482 million. “I’ve been in this business for 30 years, and it’s by far the highest I’ve seen,” Atlas CEO Joe Boyer tells<i>Barron’s</i>.</p>\n<p>About 70% of the company’s revenue comes from work on existing buildings, pipes, roads, and bridges. Those jobs are nondiscretionary: As we’ve tragically learned at times, infrastructure needs to be inspected and brought up to code at regular intervals, no matter what the economic or pandemic situation is.</p>\n<p>The remaining 30% of Atlas’ sales are tied to new construction, which dipped during the pandemic but is nearly back to pre-Covid-19 levels, according to Boyer.</p>\n<p>A long-term trend toward outsourcing services by cities and states, stricter environmental standards, and aging infrastructure in the U.S. have been drivers of Atlas’ organic growth in recent years.</p>\n<p>That trend has been responsible for about half of Atlas’ 20% compound annual growth in sales since 2016, when it was owned by private-equity firm Bernhard Capital Partners. The other avenue for growth has been Atlas’ acquisition strategy.</p>\n<p>“The idea is to find a company in a geography or a service that we don’t dominate in, bring it onto our platform, and cross-sell across our network,” Boyer says.</p>\n<p>Atlas’ sweet spot for acquisition targets is about $5 million to $20 million in Ebitda, The company typically pays four to six times Ebitda in a mix of cash and stock. That makes each deal immediately accretive to earnings.</p>\n<p>As a small and relatively young public company, Atlas gets minimal coverage from Wall Street, but the three analysts who cover the firm are bullish. “We think the company is in end markets that are strong or recovering; they’ve been winning large contracts, and its backlog has been growing,” says <a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/SF\">Stifel</a> analyst Noelle Dilts. “So, we feel good about the fundamental revenue outlook.”</p>\n<p>She rates Atlas a Buy, with a $14.50 price target, or 11 times her estimate of 2022 Ebitda, which doesn’t include any upside from a potential infrastructure bill. Using a 15 times Ebitda multiple, Sterling’s Silverman sees shares going to $43 three years from now, as debt paydown continues and earnings rise.</p>\n<p>Atlas’ balance sheet remains a fixer-upper, but the company has the right foundation.</p>\n<p></p>","source":"lsy1610680873436","collect":0,"html":"<!DOCTYPE html>\n<html>\n<head>\n<meta http-equiv=\"Content-Type\" content=\"text/html; charset=utf-8\" />\n<meta name=\"viewport\" content=\"width=device-width,initial-scale=1.0,minimum-scale=1.0,maximum-scale=1.0,user-scalable=no\"/>\n<meta name=\"format-detection\" content=\"telephone=no,email=no,address=no\" />\n<title>Infrastructure Spending Is on Its Way. Here’s a Cheap Way to Play It</title>\n<style type=\"text/css\">\na,abbr,acronym,address,applet,article,aside,audio,b,big,blockquote,body,canvas,caption,center,cite,code,dd,del,details,dfn,div,dl,dt,\nem,embed,fieldset,figcaption,figure,footer,form,h1,h2,h3,h4,h5,h6,header,hgroup,html,i,iframe,img,ins,kbd,label,legend,li,mark,menu,nav,\nobject,ol,output,p,pre,q,ruby,s,samp,section,small,span,strike,strong,sub,summary,sup,table,tbody,td,tfoot,th,thead,time,tr,tt,u,ul,var,video{ font:inherit;margin:0;padding:0;vertical-align:baseline;border:0 }\nbody{ font-size:16px; line-height:1.5; color:#999; background:transparent; }\n.wrapper{ overflow:hidden;word-break:break-all;padding:10px; }\nh1,h2{ font-weight:normal; line-height:1.35; margin-bottom:.6em; }\nh3,h4,h5,h6{ line-height:1.35; margin-bottom:1em; }\nh1{ font-size:24px; }\nh2{ font-size:20px; }\nh3{ font-size:18px; }\nh4{ font-size:16px; }\nh5{ font-size:14px; }\nh6{ font-size:12px; }\np,ul,ol,blockquote,dl,table{ margin:1.2em 0; }\nul,ol{ margin-left:2em; }\nul{ list-style:disc; }\nol{ list-style:decimal; }\nli,li p{ margin:10px 0;}\nimg{ max-width:100%;display:block;margin:0 auto 1em; }\nblockquote{ color:#B5B2B1; border-left:3px solid #aaa; padding:1em; }\nstrong,b{font-weight:bold;}\nem,i{font-style:italic;}\ntable{ width:100%;border-collapse:collapse;border-spacing:1px;margin:1em 0;font-size:.9em; }\nth,td{ padding:5px;text-align:left;border:1px solid #aaa; }\nth{ font-weight:bold;background:#5d5d5d; }\n.symbol-link{font-weight:bold;}\n/* header{ border-bottom:1px solid #494756; } */\n.title{ margin:0 0 8px;line-height:1.3;color:#ddd; }\n.meta {color:#5e5c6d;font-size:13px;margin:0 0 .5em; }\na{text-decoration:none; color:#2a4b87;}\n.meta .head { display: inline-block; overflow: hidden}\n.head .h-thumb { width: 30px; height: 30px; margin: 0; padding: 0; border-radius: 50%; float: left;}\n.head .h-content { margin: 0; padding: 0 0 0 9px; float: left;}\n.head .h-name {font-size: 13px; color: #eee; margin: 0;}\n.head .h-time {font-size: 11px; color: #7E829C; margin: 0;line-height: 11px;}\n.small {font-size: 12.5px; display: inline-block; transform: scale(0.9); -webkit-transform: scale(0.9); transform-origin: left; -webkit-transform-origin: left;}\n.smaller {font-size: 12.5px; display: inline-block; transform: scale(0.8); -webkit-transform: scale(0.8); transform-origin: left; -webkit-transform-origin: left;}\n.bt-text {font-size: 12px;margin: 1.5em 0 0 0}\n.bt-text p {margin: 0}\n</style>\n</head>\n<body>\n<div class=\"wrapper\">\n<header>\n<h2 class=\"title\">\nInfrastructure Spending Is on Its Way. Here’s a Cheap Way to Play It\n</h2>\n\n<h4 class=\"meta\">\n\n\n2021-07-31 14:44 GMT+8&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href=https://www.barrons.com/articles/infrastructure-buy-atlas-technical-consultants-stock-51627684191?mod=hp_LEAD_2><strong>Barron's</strong></a>\n\n\n</h4>\n\n</header>\n<article>\n<div>\n<p>U.S. lawmakers appear to be on the cusp of passing a massive and long-awaitedinfrastructure-investment bill, totaling some $1 trillion.\nThe legislation should be a boost to businesses likeVulcan ...</p>\n\n<a href=\"https://www.barrons.com/articles/infrastructure-buy-atlas-technical-consultants-stock-51627684191?mod=hp_LEAD_2\">Web Link</a>\n\n</div>\n\n\n</article>\n</div>\n</body>\n</html>\n","type":0,"thumbnail":"","relate_stocks":{},"source_url":"https://www.barrons.com/articles/infrastructure-buy-atlas-technical-consultants-stock-51627684191?mod=hp_LEAD_2","is_english":true,"share_image_url":"https://static.laohu8.com/e9f99090a1c2ed51c021029395664489","article_id":"1186334150","content_text":"U.S. lawmakers appear to be on the cusp of passing a massive and long-awaitedinfrastructure-investment bill, totaling some $1 trillion.\nThe legislation should be a boost to businesses likeVulcan Materials(ticker: VMC) andMartin Marietta Materials(MLM), which make concrete and asphalt;Caterpillar(CAT) andTerex(TEX), which make construction equipment; andUnited Rentals(URI), which rents the machinery. Most of their stocks have already jumped on theprospect of infrastructure spending.\nBut one infrastructure play has been overlooked:Atlas Technical Consultants(ATCX) provides engineering and design services, inspection and certification of buildings and public works, and other construction-related services. More construction means more plans and designs for Atlas to review. These eventually become finished projects that need annual inspections, paying dividends for years.\nAnd yet Atlas shares have stalled. At a recent $9, the stock trades for just eight times enterprise value to estimated 2022 earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization, or Ebitda. That multiple is a significant discount to companies in related inspection businesses, such asMontrose Environmental Group(MEG) andTetra Tech(TTEK), which trade for more than 22 times EV/2022 Ebitda.\n“Right now, part of the valuation discount is due to the debt, but I would say there are companies like Atlas where the debt is appropriate,” says Kevin Silverman, chief investment officer and portfolio manager at small-cap–focused Sterling Partners Equity Advisors, which owns more than $2 million worth of Atlas stock, accounting for about 2% of its assets under management. “The debt helps equity holders if you have steady profit margins and can use it for growth.”\nAnd Atlas has substantial opportunities for growth. Beyond the infrastructure-bill boost, Atlas has a long-term strategy of consolidating the fragmented U.S. inspection-services market while reducing its debt levels. Both should increase its appeal to investors and earn it a higher valuation multiple.\nThe Austin, Texas–headquartered company went public inearly 2020via a merger with a special-purpose acquisition company, or SPAC. The deal saddled the company with a convoluted capital structure, including multiple share classes, outstanding warrants, and other complications. That complexity has probably kept some investors away, as has Atlas’ relatively high debt load, which comes to 5.5 times net debt to 2021 Ebitda.\n\nAtlas has reduced that complexity—redeeming its preferred equity, buying out warrants, and increasing the stock’s publicly traded float—and is focused on bringing its net debt below three times Ebitda.\nAtlas is forecast to grow sales 13% this year, to $530 million, with Ebitda up 21%, to $76 million.\nIts customers include state departments of transportation, private building owners, electric and water utilities, airports, schools, hospitals, and more. Its national presence and leading scale helps win and retain marquee projects and big clients, including the U.S. Postal Service, the Environmental Protection Agency, the New York City Housing Authority, Stanford University,Walmart(WMT), andApple(AAPL).\nAtlas earned $64 million in adjusted Ebitda over the past four reported quarters, while it had a net loss of $18 million. As of the end of the first quarter, the company had a backlog of $689 million, or more than 140% of its last 12 months’ revenue of $482 million. “I’ve been in this business for 30 years, and it’s by far the highest I’ve seen,” Atlas CEO Joe Boyer tellsBarron’s.\nAbout 70% of the company’s revenue comes from work on existing buildings, pipes, roads, and bridges. Those jobs are nondiscretionary: As we’ve tragically learned at times, infrastructure needs to be inspected and brought up to code at regular intervals, no matter what the economic or pandemic situation is.\nThe remaining 30% of Atlas’ sales are tied to new construction, which dipped during the pandemic but is nearly back to pre-Covid-19 levels, according to Boyer.\nA long-term trend toward outsourcing services by cities and states, stricter environmental standards, and aging infrastructure in the U.S. have been drivers of Atlas’ organic growth in recent years.\nThat trend has been responsible for about half of Atlas’ 20% compound annual growth in sales since 2016, when it was owned by private-equity firm Bernhard Capital Partners. The other avenue for growth has been Atlas’ acquisition strategy.\n“The idea is to find a company in a geography or a service that we don’t dominate in, bring it onto our platform, and cross-sell across our network,” Boyer says.\nAtlas’ sweet spot for acquisition targets is about $5 million to $20 million in Ebitda, The company typically pays four to six times Ebitda in a mix of cash and stock. That makes each deal immediately accretive to earnings.\nAs a small and relatively young public company, Atlas gets minimal coverage from Wall Street, but the three analysts who cover the firm are bullish. “We think the company is in end markets that are strong or recovering; they’ve been winning large contracts, and its backlog has been growing,” says Stifel analyst Noelle Dilts. “So, we feel good about the fundamental revenue outlook.”\nShe rates Atlas a Buy, with a $14.50 price target, or 11 times her estimate of 2022 Ebitda, which doesn’t include any upside from a potential infrastructure bill. Using a 15 times Ebitda multiple, Sterling’s Silverman sees shares going to $43 three years from now, as debt paydown continues and earnings rise.\nAtlas’ balance sheet remains a fixer-upper, but the company has the right foundation.","news_type":1},"isVote":1,"likeStatus":false,"favoriteStatus":false,"reportStatus":false,"tweetType":1,"langContent":"EN"},{"id":802210234,"gmtCreate":1627782011028,"gmtModify":1703495724087,"author":{"id":"4088599389256890","authorId":"4088599389256890","name":"Andersonkana","avatar":"https://static.tigerbbs.com/21e08c99709245ba5acdcf7245d9c40f","vip":1,"crmLevel":1,"crmLevelSwitch":0,"authorIdStr":"4088599389256890","idStr":"4088599389256890"},"htmlText":"Nice","listText":"Nice","text":"Nice","images":[],"top":1,"highlighted":1,"essential":1,"paper":1,"likeSize":6,"commentSize":0,"repostSize":0,"link":"https://ttm.financial/post/802210234","repostId":1186334150,"repostType":4,"repost":{"id":"1186334150","pubTimestamp":1627713845,"share":"https://ttm.financial/m/news/1186334150?lang=&edition=fundamental","pubTime":"2021-07-31 14:44","market":"us","language":"en","title":"Infrastructure Spending Is on Its Way. Here’s a Cheap Way to Play It","url":"https://stock-news.laohu8.com/highlight/detail?id=1186334150","media":"Barron's","summary":"U.S. lawmakers appear to be on the cusp of passing a massive and long-awaitedinfrastructure-investme","content":"<p>U.S. lawmakers appear to be on the cusp of passing a massive and long-awaitedinfrastructure-investment bill, totaling some $1 trillion.</p>\n<p>The legislation should be a boost to businesses like<a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/VMC\">Vulcan Materials</a>(ticker: VMC) and<a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/MLM\">Martin Marietta Materials</a>(MLM), which make concrete and asphalt;<a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/CAT\">Caterpillar</a>(CAT) and<a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/TEX\">Terex</a>(TEX), which make construction equipment; and<a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/URI\">United Rentals</a>(URI), which rents the machinery. Most of their stocks have already jumped on theprospect of infrastructure spending.</p>\n<p>But <a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/AONE.U\">one</a> infrastructure play has been overlooked:<a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/AFH\">Atlas</a> Technical Consultants(ATCX) provides engineering and design services, inspection and certification of buildings and public works, and other construction-related services. More construction means more plans and designs for Atlas to review. These eventually become finished projects that need annual inspections, paying dividends for years.</p>\n<p>And yet Atlas shares have stalled. At a recent $9, the stock trades for just eight times enterprise value to estimated 2022 earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization, or Ebitda. That multiple is a significant discount to companies in related inspection businesses, such asMontrose Environmental Group(MEG) andTetra Tech(TTEK), which trade for more than 22 times EV/2022 Ebitda.</p>\n<p><img src=\"https://static.tigerbbs.com/19ad62f427fb70a25aa96068bc5d1756\" tg-width=\"442\" tg-height=\"364\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer\">“Right now, part of the valuation discount is due to the debt, but I would say there are companies like Atlas where the debt is appropriate,” says Kevin Silverman, chief investment officer and portfolio manager at small-cap–focused <a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/STL\">Sterling</a> Partners <a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/EQR\">Equity</a> Advisors, which owns more than $2 million worth of Atlas stock, accounting for about 2% of its assets under management. “The debt helps equity holders if you have steady profit margins and can use it for growth.”</p>\n<p>And Atlas has substantial opportunities for growth. Beyond the infrastructure-bill boost, Atlas has a long-term strategy of consolidating the fragmented U.S. inspection-services market while reducing its debt levels. Both should increase its appeal to investors and earn it a higher valuation multiple.</p>\n<p>The Austin, Texas–headquartered company went public inearly 2020via a merger with a special-purpose acquisition company, or SPAC. The deal saddled the company with a convoluted capital structure, including multiple share classes, outstanding warrants, and other complications. That complexity has probably kept some investors away, as has Atlas’ relatively high debt load, which comes to 5.5 times net debt to 2021 Ebitda.</p>\n<p><img src=\"https://static.tigerbbs.com/99bb73a7c212bfed6d0890b8b14fbc15\" tg-width=\"607\" tg-height=\"396\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer\"></p>\n<p>Atlas has reduced that complexity—redeeming its preferred equity, buying out warrants, and increasing the stock’s publicly traded float—and is focused on bringing its net debt below three times Ebitda.</p>\n<p>Atlas is forecast to grow sales 13% this year, to $530 million, with Ebitda up 21%, to $76 million.</p>\n<p>Its customers include state departments of transportation, private building owners, electric and water utilities, airports, schools, hospitals, and more. Its national presence and leading scale helps win and retain marquee projects and big clients, including the U.S. Postal <a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/SCI\">Service</a>, the Environmental Protection Agency, the <a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/NWY\">New York</a> <a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/CHCO\">City</a> Housing Authority, Stanford University,Walmart(WMT), and<a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/AAPL\">Apple</a>(AAPL).</p>\n<p>Atlas earned $64 million in adjusted Ebitda over the past four reported quarters, while it had a net loss of $18 million. As of the end of the first quarter, the company had a backlog of $689 million, or more than 140% of its last 12 months’ revenue of $482 million. “I’ve been in this business for 30 years, and it’s by far the highest I’ve seen,” Atlas CEO Joe Boyer tells<i>Barron’s</i>.</p>\n<p>About 70% of the company’s revenue comes from work on existing buildings, pipes, roads, and bridges. Those jobs are nondiscretionary: As we’ve tragically learned at times, infrastructure needs to be inspected and brought up to code at regular intervals, no matter what the economic or pandemic situation is.</p>\n<p>The remaining 30% of Atlas’ sales are tied to new construction, which dipped during the pandemic but is nearly back to pre-Covid-19 levels, according to Boyer.</p>\n<p>A long-term trend toward outsourcing services by cities and states, stricter environmental standards, and aging infrastructure in the U.S. have been drivers of Atlas’ organic growth in recent years.</p>\n<p>That trend has been responsible for about half of Atlas’ 20% compound annual growth in sales since 2016, when it was owned by private-equity firm Bernhard Capital Partners. The other avenue for growth has been Atlas’ acquisition strategy.</p>\n<p>“The idea is to find a company in a geography or a service that we don’t dominate in, bring it onto our platform, and cross-sell across our network,” Boyer says.</p>\n<p>Atlas’ sweet spot for acquisition targets is about $5 million to $20 million in Ebitda, The company typically pays four to six times Ebitda in a mix of cash and stock. That makes each deal immediately accretive to earnings.</p>\n<p>As a small and relatively young public company, Atlas gets minimal coverage from Wall Street, but the three analysts who cover the firm are bullish. “We think the company is in end markets that are strong or recovering; they’ve been winning large contracts, and its backlog has been growing,” says <a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/SF\">Stifel</a> analyst Noelle Dilts. “So, we feel good about the fundamental revenue outlook.”</p>\n<p>She rates Atlas a Buy, with a $14.50 price target, or 11 times her estimate of 2022 Ebitda, which doesn’t include any upside from a potential infrastructure bill. Using a 15 times Ebitda multiple, Sterling’s Silverman sees shares going to $43 three years from now, as debt paydown continues and earnings rise.</p>\n<p>Atlas’ balance sheet remains a fixer-upper, but the company has the right foundation.</p>\n<p></p>","source":"lsy1610680873436","collect":0,"html":"<!DOCTYPE html>\n<html>\n<head>\n<meta http-equiv=\"Content-Type\" content=\"text/html; charset=utf-8\" />\n<meta name=\"viewport\" content=\"width=device-width,initial-scale=1.0,minimum-scale=1.0,maximum-scale=1.0,user-scalable=no\"/>\n<meta name=\"format-detection\" content=\"telephone=no,email=no,address=no\" />\n<title>Infrastructure Spending Is on Its Way. Here’s a Cheap Way to Play It</title>\n<style type=\"text/css\">\na,abbr,acronym,address,applet,article,aside,audio,b,big,blockquote,body,canvas,caption,center,cite,code,dd,del,details,dfn,div,dl,dt,\nem,embed,fieldset,figcaption,figure,footer,form,h1,h2,h3,h4,h5,h6,header,hgroup,html,i,iframe,img,ins,kbd,label,legend,li,mark,menu,nav,\nobject,ol,output,p,pre,q,ruby,s,samp,section,small,span,strike,strong,sub,summary,sup,table,tbody,td,tfoot,th,thead,time,tr,tt,u,ul,var,video{ font:inherit;margin:0;padding:0;vertical-align:baseline;border:0 }\nbody{ font-size:16px; line-height:1.5; color:#999; background:transparent; }\n.wrapper{ overflow:hidden;word-break:break-all;padding:10px; }\nh1,h2{ font-weight:normal; line-height:1.35; margin-bottom:.6em; }\nh3,h4,h5,h6{ line-height:1.35; margin-bottom:1em; }\nh1{ font-size:24px; }\nh2{ font-size:20px; }\nh3{ font-size:18px; }\nh4{ font-size:16px; }\nh5{ font-size:14px; }\nh6{ font-size:12px; }\np,ul,ol,blockquote,dl,table{ margin:1.2em 0; }\nul,ol{ margin-left:2em; }\nul{ list-style:disc; }\nol{ list-style:decimal; }\nli,li p{ margin:10px 0;}\nimg{ max-width:100%;display:block;margin:0 auto 1em; }\nblockquote{ color:#B5B2B1; border-left:3px solid #aaa; padding:1em; }\nstrong,b{font-weight:bold;}\nem,i{font-style:italic;}\ntable{ width:100%;border-collapse:collapse;border-spacing:1px;margin:1em 0;font-size:.9em; }\nth,td{ padding:5px;text-align:left;border:1px solid #aaa; }\nth{ font-weight:bold;background:#5d5d5d; }\n.symbol-link{font-weight:bold;}\n/* header{ border-bottom:1px solid #494756; } */\n.title{ margin:0 0 8px;line-height:1.3;color:#ddd; }\n.meta {color:#5e5c6d;font-size:13px;margin:0 0 .5em; }\na{text-decoration:none; color:#2a4b87;}\n.meta .head { display: inline-block; overflow: hidden}\n.head .h-thumb { width: 30px; height: 30px; margin: 0; padding: 0; border-radius: 50%; float: left;}\n.head .h-content { margin: 0; padding: 0 0 0 9px; float: left;}\n.head .h-name {font-size: 13px; color: #eee; margin: 0;}\n.head .h-time {font-size: 11px; color: #7E829C; margin: 0;line-height: 11px;}\n.small {font-size: 12.5px; display: inline-block; transform: scale(0.9); -webkit-transform: scale(0.9); transform-origin: left; -webkit-transform-origin: left;}\n.smaller {font-size: 12.5px; display: inline-block; transform: scale(0.8); -webkit-transform: scale(0.8); transform-origin: left; -webkit-transform-origin: left;}\n.bt-text {font-size: 12px;margin: 1.5em 0 0 0}\n.bt-text p {margin: 0}\n</style>\n</head>\n<body>\n<div class=\"wrapper\">\n<header>\n<h2 class=\"title\">\nInfrastructure Spending Is on Its Way. Here’s a Cheap Way to Play It\n</h2>\n\n<h4 class=\"meta\">\n\n\n2021-07-31 14:44 GMT+8&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href=https://www.barrons.com/articles/infrastructure-buy-atlas-technical-consultants-stock-51627684191?mod=hp_LEAD_2><strong>Barron's</strong></a>\n\n\n</h4>\n\n</header>\n<article>\n<div>\n<p>U.S. lawmakers appear to be on the cusp of passing a massive and long-awaitedinfrastructure-investment bill, totaling some $1 trillion.\nThe legislation should be a boost to businesses likeVulcan ...</p>\n\n<a href=\"https://www.barrons.com/articles/infrastructure-buy-atlas-technical-consultants-stock-51627684191?mod=hp_LEAD_2\">Web Link</a>\n\n</div>\n\n\n</article>\n</div>\n</body>\n</html>\n","type":0,"thumbnail":"","relate_stocks":{},"source_url":"https://www.barrons.com/articles/infrastructure-buy-atlas-technical-consultants-stock-51627684191?mod=hp_LEAD_2","is_english":true,"share_image_url":"https://static.laohu8.com/e9f99090a1c2ed51c021029395664489","article_id":"1186334150","content_text":"U.S. lawmakers appear to be on the cusp of passing a massive and long-awaitedinfrastructure-investment bill, totaling some $1 trillion.\nThe legislation should be a boost to businesses likeVulcan Materials(ticker: VMC) andMartin Marietta Materials(MLM), which make concrete and asphalt;Caterpillar(CAT) andTerex(TEX), which make construction equipment; andUnited Rentals(URI), which rents the machinery. Most of their stocks have already jumped on theprospect of infrastructure spending.\nBut one infrastructure play has been overlooked:Atlas Technical Consultants(ATCX) provides engineering and design services, inspection and certification of buildings and public works, and other construction-related services. More construction means more plans and designs for Atlas to review. These eventually become finished projects that need annual inspections, paying dividends for years.\nAnd yet Atlas shares have stalled. At a recent $9, the stock trades for just eight times enterprise value to estimated 2022 earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization, or Ebitda. That multiple is a significant discount to companies in related inspection businesses, such asMontrose Environmental Group(MEG) andTetra Tech(TTEK), which trade for more than 22 times EV/2022 Ebitda.\n“Right now, part of the valuation discount is due to the debt, but I would say there are companies like Atlas where the debt is appropriate,” says Kevin Silverman, chief investment officer and portfolio manager at small-cap–focused Sterling Partners Equity Advisors, which owns more than $2 million worth of Atlas stock, accounting for about 2% of its assets under management. “The debt helps equity holders if you have steady profit margins and can use it for growth.”\nAnd Atlas has substantial opportunities for growth. Beyond the infrastructure-bill boost, Atlas has a long-term strategy of consolidating the fragmented U.S. inspection-services market while reducing its debt levels. Both should increase its appeal to investors and earn it a higher valuation multiple.\nThe Austin, Texas–headquartered company went public inearly 2020via a merger with a special-purpose acquisition company, or SPAC. The deal saddled the company with a convoluted capital structure, including multiple share classes, outstanding warrants, and other complications. That complexity has probably kept some investors away, as has Atlas’ relatively high debt load, which comes to 5.5 times net debt to 2021 Ebitda.\n\nAtlas has reduced that complexity—redeeming its preferred equity, buying out warrants, and increasing the stock’s publicly traded float—and is focused on bringing its net debt below three times Ebitda.\nAtlas is forecast to grow sales 13% this year, to $530 million, with Ebitda up 21%, to $76 million.\nIts customers include state departments of transportation, private building owners, electric and water utilities, airports, schools, hospitals, and more. Its national presence and leading scale helps win and retain marquee projects and big clients, including the U.S. Postal Service, the Environmental Protection Agency, the New York City Housing Authority, Stanford University,Walmart(WMT), andApple(AAPL).\nAtlas earned $64 million in adjusted Ebitda over the past four reported quarters, while it had a net loss of $18 million. As of the end of the first quarter, the company had a backlog of $689 million, or more than 140% of its last 12 months’ revenue of $482 million. “I’ve been in this business for 30 years, and it’s by far the highest I’ve seen,” Atlas CEO Joe Boyer tellsBarron’s.\nAbout 70% of the company’s revenue comes from work on existing buildings, pipes, roads, and bridges. Those jobs are nondiscretionary: As we’ve tragically learned at times, infrastructure needs to be inspected and brought up to code at regular intervals, no matter what the economic or pandemic situation is.\nThe remaining 30% of Atlas’ sales are tied to new construction, which dipped during the pandemic but is nearly back to pre-Covid-19 levels, according to Boyer.\nA long-term trend toward outsourcing services by cities and states, stricter environmental standards, and aging infrastructure in the U.S. have been drivers of Atlas’ organic growth in recent years.\nThat trend has been responsible for about half of Atlas’ 20% compound annual growth in sales since 2016, when it was owned by private-equity firm Bernhard Capital Partners. The other avenue for growth has been Atlas’ acquisition strategy.\n“The idea is to find a company in a geography or a service that we don’t dominate in, bring it onto our platform, and cross-sell across our network,” Boyer says.\nAtlas’ sweet spot for acquisition targets is about $5 million to $20 million in Ebitda, The company typically pays four to six times Ebitda in a mix of cash and stock. That makes each deal immediately accretive to earnings.\nAs a small and relatively young public company, Atlas gets minimal coverage from Wall Street, but the three analysts who cover the firm are bullish. “We think the company is in end markets that are strong or recovering; they’ve been winning large contracts, and its backlog has been growing,” says Stifel analyst Noelle Dilts. “So, we feel good about the fundamental revenue outlook.”\nShe rates Atlas a Buy, with a $14.50 price target, or 11 times her estimate of 2022 Ebitda, which doesn’t include any upside from a potential infrastructure bill. Using a 15 times Ebitda multiple, Sterling’s Silverman sees shares going to $43 three years from now, as debt paydown continues and earnings rise.\nAtlas’ balance sheet remains a fixer-upper, but the company has the right foundation.","news_type":1},"isVote":1,"likeStatus":false,"favoriteStatus":false,"reportStatus":false,"tweetType":1,"langContent":"EN"},{"id":802293521,"gmtCreate":1627780878363,"gmtModify":1703495698911,"author":{"id":"3582106084566800","authorId":"3582106084566800","name":"SebbyBoy","avatar":"https://static.tigerbbs.com/3cf1bcd25772d2022ff7746d6de06cd9","vip":1,"crmLevel":3,"crmLevelSwitch":0,"authorIdStr":"3582106084566800","idStr":"3582106084566800"},"htmlText":"I believe atlas has a lot of upside&nbsp;","listText":"I believe atlas has a lot of upside&nbsp;","text":"I believe atlas has a lot of upside","images":[],"top":1,"highlighted":1,"essential":1,"paper":1,"likeSize":4,"commentSize":1,"repostSize":0,"link":"https://ttm.financial/post/802293521","repostId":1186334150,"repostType":4,"repost":{"id":"1186334150","pubTimestamp":1627713845,"share":"https://ttm.financial/m/news/1186334150?lang=&edition=fundamental","pubTime":"2021-07-31 14:44","market":"us","language":"en","title":"Infrastructure Spending Is on Its Way. Here’s a Cheap Way to Play It","url":"https://stock-news.laohu8.com/highlight/detail?id=1186334150","media":"Barron's","summary":"U.S. lawmakers appear to be on the cusp of passing a massive and long-awaitedinfrastructure-investme","content":"<p>U.S. lawmakers appear to be on the cusp of passing a massive and long-awaitedinfrastructure-investment bill, totaling some $1 trillion.</p>\n<p>The legislation should be a boost to businesses like<a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/VMC\">Vulcan Materials</a>(ticker: VMC) and<a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/MLM\">Martin Marietta Materials</a>(MLM), which make concrete and asphalt;<a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/CAT\">Caterpillar</a>(CAT) and<a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/TEX\">Terex</a>(TEX), which make construction equipment; and<a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/URI\">United Rentals</a>(URI), which rents the machinery. Most of their stocks have already jumped on theprospect of infrastructure spending.</p>\n<p>But <a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/AONE.U\">one</a> infrastructure play has been overlooked:<a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/AFH\">Atlas</a> Technical Consultants(ATCX) provides engineering and design services, inspection and certification of buildings and public works, and other construction-related services. More construction means more plans and designs for Atlas to review. These eventually become finished projects that need annual inspections, paying dividends for years.</p>\n<p>And yet Atlas shares have stalled. At a recent $9, the stock trades for just eight times enterprise value to estimated 2022 earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization, or Ebitda. That multiple is a significant discount to companies in related inspection businesses, such asMontrose Environmental Group(MEG) andTetra Tech(TTEK), which trade for more than 22 times EV/2022 Ebitda.</p>\n<p><img src=\"https://static.tigerbbs.com/19ad62f427fb70a25aa96068bc5d1756\" tg-width=\"442\" tg-height=\"364\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer\">“Right now, part of the valuation discount is due to the debt, but I would say there are companies like Atlas where the debt is appropriate,” says Kevin Silverman, chief investment officer and portfolio manager at small-cap–focused <a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/STL\">Sterling</a> Partners <a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/EQR\">Equity</a> Advisors, which owns more than $2 million worth of Atlas stock, accounting for about 2% of its assets under management. “The debt helps equity holders if you have steady profit margins and can use it for growth.”</p>\n<p>And Atlas has substantial opportunities for growth. Beyond the infrastructure-bill boost, Atlas has a long-term strategy of consolidating the fragmented U.S. inspection-services market while reducing its debt levels. Both should increase its appeal to investors and earn it a higher valuation multiple.</p>\n<p>The Austin, Texas–headquartered company went public inearly 2020via a merger with a special-purpose acquisition company, or SPAC. The deal saddled the company with a convoluted capital structure, including multiple share classes, outstanding warrants, and other complications. That complexity has probably kept some investors away, as has Atlas’ relatively high debt load, which comes to 5.5 times net debt to 2021 Ebitda.</p>\n<p><img src=\"https://static.tigerbbs.com/99bb73a7c212bfed6d0890b8b14fbc15\" tg-width=\"607\" tg-height=\"396\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer\"></p>\n<p>Atlas has reduced that complexity—redeeming its preferred equity, buying out warrants, and increasing the stock’s publicly traded float—and is focused on bringing its net debt below three times Ebitda.</p>\n<p>Atlas is forecast to grow sales 13% this year, to $530 million, with Ebitda up 21%, to $76 million.</p>\n<p>Its customers include state departments of transportation, private building owners, electric and water utilities, airports, schools, hospitals, and more. Its national presence and leading scale helps win and retain marquee projects and big clients, including the U.S. Postal <a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/SCI\">Service</a>, the Environmental Protection Agency, the <a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/NWY\">New York</a> <a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/CHCO\">City</a> Housing Authority, Stanford University,Walmart(WMT), and<a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/AAPL\">Apple</a>(AAPL).</p>\n<p>Atlas earned $64 million in adjusted Ebitda over the past four reported quarters, while it had a net loss of $18 million. As of the end of the first quarter, the company had a backlog of $689 million, or more than 140% of its last 12 months’ revenue of $482 million. “I’ve been in this business for 30 years, and it’s by far the highest I’ve seen,” Atlas CEO Joe Boyer tells<i>Barron’s</i>.</p>\n<p>About 70% of the company’s revenue comes from work on existing buildings, pipes, roads, and bridges. Those jobs are nondiscretionary: As we’ve tragically learned at times, infrastructure needs to be inspected and brought up to code at regular intervals, no matter what the economic or pandemic situation is.</p>\n<p>The remaining 30% of Atlas’ sales are tied to new construction, which dipped during the pandemic but is nearly back to pre-Covid-19 levels, according to Boyer.</p>\n<p>A long-term trend toward outsourcing services by cities and states, stricter environmental standards, and aging infrastructure in the U.S. have been drivers of Atlas’ organic growth in recent years.</p>\n<p>That trend has been responsible for about half of Atlas’ 20% compound annual growth in sales since 2016, when it was owned by private-equity firm Bernhard Capital Partners. The other avenue for growth has been Atlas’ acquisition strategy.</p>\n<p>“The idea is to find a company in a geography or a service that we don’t dominate in, bring it onto our platform, and cross-sell across our network,” Boyer says.</p>\n<p>Atlas’ sweet spot for acquisition targets is about $5 million to $20 million in Ebitda, The company typically pays four to six times Ebitda in a mix of cash and stock. That makes each deal immediately accretive to earnings.</p>\n<p>As a small and relatively young public company, Atlas gets minimal coverage from Wall Street, but the three analysts who cover the firm are bullish. “We think the company is in end markets that are strong or recovering; they’ve been winning large contracts, and its backlog has been growing,” says <a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/SF\">Stifel</a> analyst Noelle Dilts. “So, we feel good about the fundamental revenue outlook.”</p>\n<p>She rates Atlas a Buy, with a $14.50 price target, or 11 times her estimate of 2022 Ebitda, which doesn’t include any upside from a potential infrastructure bill. Using a 15 times Ebitda multiple, Sterling’s Silverman sees shares going to $43 three years from now, as debt paydown continues and earnings rise.</p>\n<p>Atlas’ balance sheet remains a fixer-upper, but the company has the right foundation.</p>\n<p></p>","source":"lsy1610680873436","collect":0,"html":"<!DOCTYPE html>\n<html>\n<head>\n<meta http-equiv=\"Content-Type\" content=\"text/html; charset=utf-8\" />\n<meta name=\"viewport\" content=\"width=device-width,initial-scale=1.0,minimum-scale=1.0,maximum-scale=1.0,user-scalable=no\"/>\n<meta name=\"format-detection\" content=\"telephone=no,email=no,address=no\" />\n<title>Infrastructure Spending Is on Its Way. Here’s a Cheap Way to Play It</title>\n<style type=\"text/css\">\na,abbr,acronym,address,applet,article,aside,audio,b,big,blockquote,body,canvas,caption,center,cite,code,dd,del,details,dfn,div,dl,dt,\nem,embed,fieldset,figcaption,figure,footer,form,h1,h2,h3,h4,h5,h6,header,hgroup,html,i,iframe,img,ins,kbd,label,legend,li,mark,menu,nav,\nobject,ol,output,p,pre,q,ruby,s,samp,section,small,span,strike,strong,sub,summary,sup,table,tbody,td,tfoot,th,thead,time,tr,tt,u,ul,var,video{ font:inherit;margin:0;padding:0;vertical-align:baseline;border:0 }\nbody{ font-size:16px; line-height:1.5; color:#999; background:transparent; }\n.wrapper{ overflow:hidden;word-break:break-all;padding:10px; }\nh1,h2{ font-weight:normal; line-height:1.35; margin-bottom:.6em; }\nh3,h4,h5,h6{ line-height:1.35; margin-bottom:1em; }\nh1{ font-size:24px; }\nh2{ font-size:20px; }\nh3{ font-size:18px; }\nh4{ font-size:16px; }\nh5{ font-size:14px; }\nh6{ font-size:12px; }\np,ul,ol,blockquote,dl,table{ margin:1.2em 0; }\nul,ol{ margin-left:2em; }\nul{ list-style:disc; }\nol{ list-style:decimal; }\nli,li p{ margin:10px 0;}\nimg{ max-width:100%;display:block;margin:0 auto 1em; }\nblockquote{ color:#B5B2B1; border-left:3px solid #aaa; padding:1em; }\nstrong,b{font-weight:bold;}\nem,i{font-style:italic;}\ntable{ width:100%;border-collapse:collapse;border-spacing:1px;margin:1em 0;font-size:.9em; }\nth,td{ padding:5px;text-align:left;border:1px solid #aaa; }\nth{ font-weight:bold;background:#5d5d5d; }\n.symbol-link{font-weight:bold;}\n/* header{ border-bottom:1px solid #494756; } */\n.title{ margin:0 0 8px;line-height:1.3;color:#ddd; }\n.meta {color:#5e5c6d;font-size:13px;margin:0 0 .5em; }\na{text-decoration:none; color:#2a4b87;}\n.meta .head { display: inline-block; overflow: hidden}\n.head .h-thumb { width: 30px; height: 30px; margin: 0; padding: 0; border-radius: 50%; float: left;}\n.head .h-content { margin: 0; padding: 0 0 0 9px; float: left;}\n.head .h-name {font-size: 13px; color: #eee; margin: 0;}\n.head .h-time {font-size: 11px; color: #7E829C; margin: 0;line-height: 11px;}\n.small {font-size: 12.5px; display: inline-block; transform: scale(0.9); -webkit-transform: scale(0.9); transform-origin: left; -webkit-transform-origin: left;}\n.smaller {font-size: 12.5px; display: inline-block; transform: scale(0.8); -webkit-transform: scale(0.8); transform-origin: left; -webkit-transform-origin: left;}\n.bt-text {font-size: 12px;margin: 1.5em 0 0 0}\n.bt-text p {margin: 0}\n</style>\n</head>\n<body>\n<div class=\"wrapper\">\n<header>\n<h2 class=\"title\">\nInfrastructure Spending Is on Its Way. Here’s a Cheap Way to Play It\n</h2>\n\n<h4 class=\"meta\">\n\n\n2021-07-31 14:44 GMT+8&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href=https://www.barrons.com/articles/infrastructure-buy-atlas-technical-consultants-stock-51627684191?mod=hp_LEAD_2><strong>Barron's</strong></a>\n\n\n</h4>\n\n</header>\n<article>\n<div>\n<p>U.S. lawmakers appear to be on the cusp of passing a massive and long-awaitedinfrastructure-investment bill, totaling some $1 trillion.\nThe legislation should be a boost to businesses likeVulcan ...</p>\n\n<a href=\"https://www.barrons.com/articles/infrastructure-buy-atlas-technical-consultants-stock-51627684191?mod=hp_LEAD_2\">Web Link</a>\n\n</div>\n\n\n</article>\n</div>\n</body>\n</html>\n","type":0,"thumbnail":"","relate_stocks":{},"source_url":"https://www.barrons.com/articles/infrastructure-buy-atlas-technical-consultants-stock-51627684191?mod=hp_LEAD_2","is_english":true,"share_image_url":"https://static.laohu8.com/e9f99090a1c2ed51c021029395664489","article_id":"1186334150","content_text":"U.S. lawmakers appear to be on the cusp of passing a massive and long-awaitedinfrastructure-investment bill, totaling some $1 trillion.\nThe legislation should be a boost to businesses likeVulcan Materials(ticker: VMC) andMartin Marietta Materials(MLM), which make concrete and asphalt;Caterpillar(CAT) andTerex(TEX), which make construction equipment; andUnited Rentals(URI), which rents the machinery. Most of their stocks have already jumped on theprospect of infrastructure spending.\nBut one infrastructure play has been overlooked:Atlas Technical Consultants(ATCX) provides engineering and design services, inspection and certification of buildings and public works, and other construction-related services. More construction means more plans and designs for Atlas to review. These eventually become finished projects that need annual inspections, paying dividends for years.\nAnd yet Atlas shares have stalled. At a recent $9, the stock trades for just eight times enterprise value to estimated 2022 earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization, or Ebitda. That multiple is a significant discount to companies in related inspection businesses, such asMontrose Environmental Group(MEG) andTetra Tech(TTEK), which trade for more than 22 times EV/2022 Ebitda.\n“Right now, part of the valuation discount is due to the debt, but I would say there are companies like Atlas where the debt is appropriate,” says Kevin Silverman, chief investment officer and portfolio manager at small-cap–focused Sterling Partners Equity Advisors, which owns more than $2 million worth of Atlas stock, accounting for about 2% of its assets under management. “The debt helps equity holders if you have steady profit margins and can use it for growth.”\nAnd Atlas has substantial opportunities for growth. Beyond the infrastructure-bill boost, Atlas has a long-term strategy of consolidating the fragmented U.S. inspection-services market while reducing its debt levels. Both should increase its appeal to investors and earn it a higher valuation multiple.\nThe Austin, Texas–headquartered company went public inearly 2020via a merger with a special-purpose acquisition company, or SPAC. The deal saddled the company with a convoluted capital structure, including multiple share classes, outstanding warrants, and other complications. That complexity has probably kept some investors away, as has Atlas’ relatively high debt load, which comes to 5.5 times net debt to 2021 Ebitda.\n\nAtlas has reduced that complexity—redeeming its preferred equity, buying out warrants, and increasing the stock’s publicly traded float—and is focused on bringing its net debt below three times Ebitda.\nAtlas is forecast to grow sales 13% this year, to $530 million, with Ebitda up 21%, to $76 million.\nIts customers include state departments of transportation, private building owners, electric and water utilities, airports, schools, hospitals, and more. Its national presence and leading scale helps win and retain marquee projects and big clients, including the U.S. Postal Service, the Environmental Protection Agency, the New York City Housing Authority, Stanford University,Walmart(WMT), andApple(AAPL).\nAtlas earned $64 million in adjusted Ebitda over the past four reported quarters, while it had a net loss of $18 million. As of the end of the first quarter, the company had a backlog of $689 million, or more than 140% of its last 12 months’ revenue of $482 million. “I’ve been in this business for 30 years, and it’s by far the highest I’ve seen,” Atlas CEO Joe Boyer tellsBarron’s.\nAbout 70% of the company’s revenue comes from work on existing buildings, pipes, roads, and bridges. Those jobs are nondiscretionary: As we’ve tragically learned at times, infrastructure needs to be inspected and brought up to code at regular intervals, no matter what the economic or pandemic situation is.\nThe remaining 30% of Atlas’ sales are tied to new construction, which dipped during the pandemic but is nearly back to pre-Covid-19 levels, according to Boyer.\nA long-term trend toward outsourcing services by cities and states, stricter environmental standards, and aging infrastructure in the U.S. have been drivers of Atlas’ organic growth in recent years.\nThat trend has been responsible for about half of Atlas’ 20% compound annual growth in sales since 2016, when it was owned by private-equity firm Bernhard Capital Partners. The other avenue for growth has been Atlas’ acquisition strategy.\n“The idea is to find a company in a geography or a service that we don’t dominate in, bring it onto our platform, and cross-sell across our network,” Boyer says.\nAtlas’ sweet spot for acquisition targets is about $5 million to $20 million in Ebitda, The company typically pays four to six times Ebitda in a mix of cash and stock. That makes each deal immediately accretive to earnings.\nAs a small and relatively young public company, Atlas gets minimal coverage from Wall Street, but the three analysts who cover the firm are bullish. “We think the company is in end markets that are strong or recovering; they’ve been winning large contracts, and its backlog has been growing,” says Stifel analyst Noelle Dilts. “So, we feel good about the fundamental revenue outlook.”\nShe rates Atlas a Buy, with a $14.50 price target, or 11 times her estimate of 2022 Ebitda, which doesn’t include any upside from a potential infrastructure bill. Using a 15 times Ebitda multiple, Sterling’s Silverman sees shares going to $43 three years from now, as debt paydown continues and earnings rise.\nAtlas’ balance sheet remains a fixer-upper, but the company has the right foundation.","news_type":1},"isVote":1,"likeStatus":false,"favoriteStatus":false,"reportStatus":false,"tweetType":1,"comments":[{"id":5393644,"gmtCreate":1627799729452,"gmtModify":1631893456552,"authorId":3583102255464470,"author":{"id":3583102255464470,"idStr":"3583102255464470","authorId":3583102255464470,"name":"Ck38","avatar":"https://static.tigerbbs.com/9b8be8ba545142480a0d1d5dc625e918","vip":1,"currentWearingBadge":{"badgeId":"1026c425416b44e0aac28c11a0848493-2","templateUuid":"1026c425416b44e0aac28c11a0848493","name":"Senior Tiger","description":"Join the tiger community for 1000 days","bigImgUrl":"https://static.tigerbbs.com/0063fb68ea29c9ae6858c58630e182d5","smallImgUrl":"https://static.tigerbbs.com/96c699a93be4214d4b49aea6a5a5d1a4","grayImgUrl":"https://static.tigerbbs.com/35b0e542a9ff77046ed69ef602bc105d","redirectLinkEnabled":0,"hasAllocated":1,"isWearing":1,"stampPosition":0,"hasStamp":0,"allocationCount":1,"allocatedDate":"2024.01.29","individualDisplayEnabled":0,"individualDisplaySort":0,"categoryType":1001},"crmLevel":3,"crmLevelSwitch":0,"individualDisplayBadges":[]},"repliedAuthorId":0,"objectId":802293521,"type":1,"supId":0,"prevId":0,"content":"Agreed tHis havE potential ","text":"Agreed tHis havE potential ","html":"Agreed tHis havE potential "}],"langContent":"EN"},{"id":802644609,"gmtCreate":1627779546101,"gmtModify":1703495664879,"author":{"id":"3579641974902127","authorId":"3579641974902127","name":"ivy888","avatar":"https://static.tigerbbs.com/10358949b7fc96b011ec29ca7fd9c9a4","vip":1,"crmLevel":1,"crmLevelSwitch":0,"authorIdStr":"3579641974902127","idStr":"3579641974902127"},"htmlText":"Like&nbsp;","listText":"Like&nbsp;","text":"Like","images":[],"top":1,"highlighted":1,"essential":1,"paper":1,"likeSize":2,"commentSize":0,"repostSize":0,"link":"https://ttm.financial/post/802644609","repostId":1186334150,"repostType":4,"repost":{"id":"1186334150","pubTimestamp":1627713845,"share":"https://ttm.financial/m/news/1186334150?lang=&edition=fundamental","pubTime":"2021-07-31 14:44","market":"us","language":"en","title":"Infrastructure Spending Is on Its Way. Here’s a Cheap Way to Play It","url":"https://stock-news.laohu8.com/highlight/detail?id=1186334150","media":"Barron's","summary":"U.S. lawmakers appear to be on the cusp of passing a massive and long-awaitedinfrastructure-investme","content":"<p>U.S. lawmakers appear to be on the cusp of passing a massive and long-awaitedinfrastructure-investment bill, totaling some $1 trillion.</p>\n<p>The legislation should be a boost to businesses like<a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/VMC\">Vulcan Materials</a>(ticker: VMC) and<a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/MLM\">Martin Marietta Materials</a>(MLM), which make concrete and asphalt;<a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/CAT\">Caterpillar</a>(CAT) and<a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/TEX\">Terex</a>(TEX), which make construction equipment; and<a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/URI\">United Rentals</a>(URI), which rents the machinery. Most of their stocks have already jumped on theprospect of infrastructure spending.</p>\n<p>But <a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/AONE.U\">one</a> infrastructure play has been overlooked:<a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/AFH\">Atlas</a> Technical Consultants(ATCX) provides engineering and design services, inspection and certification of buildings and public works, and other construction-related services. More construction means more plans and designs for Atlas to review. These eventually become finished projects that need annual inspections, paying dividends for years.</p>\n<p>And yet Atlas shares have stalled. At a recent $9, the stock trades for just eight times enterprise value to estimated 2022 earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization, or Ebitda. That multiple is a significant discount to companies in related inspection businesses, such asMontrose Environmental Group(MEG) andTetra Tech(TTEK), which trade for more than 22 times EV/2022 Ebitda.</p>\n<p><img src=\"https://static.tigerbbs.com/19ad62f427fb70a25aa96068bc5d1756\" tg-width=\"442\" tg-height=\"364\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer\">“Right now, part of the valuation discount is due to the debt, but I would say there are companies like Atlas where the debt is appropriate,” says Kevin Silverman, chief investment officer and portfolio manager at small-cap–focused <a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/STL\">Sterling</a> Partners <a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/EQR\">Equity</a> Advisors, which owns more than $2 million worth of Atlas stock, accounting for about 2% of its assets under management. “The debt helps equity holders if you have steady profit margins and can use it for growth.”</p>\n<p>And Atlas has substantial opportunities for growth. Beyond the infrastructure-bill boost, Atlas has a long-term strategy of consolidating the fragmented U.S. inspection-services market while reducing its debt levels. Both should increase its appeal to investors and earn it a higher valuation multiple.</p>\n<p>The Austin, Texas–headquartered company went public inearly 2020via a merger with a special-purpose acquisition company, or SPAC. The deal saddled the company with a convoluted capital structure, including multiple share classes, outstanding warrants, and other complications. That complexity has probably kept some investors away, as has Atlas’ relatively high debt load, which comes to 5.5 times net debt to 2021 Ebitda.</p>\n<p><img src=\"https://static.tigerbbs.com/99bb73a7c212bfed6d0890b8b14fbc15\" tg-width=\"607\" tg-height=\"396\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer\"></p>\n<p>Atlas has reduced that complexity—redeeming its preferred equity, buying out warrants, and increasing the stock’s publicly traded float—and is focused on bringing its net debt below three times Ebitda.</p>\n<p>Atlas is forecast to grow sales 13% this year, to $530 million, with Ebitda up 21%, to $76 million.</p>\n<p>Its customers include state departments of transportation, private building owners, electric and water utilities, airports, schools, hospitals, and more. Its national presence and leading scale helps win and retain marquee projects and big clients, including the U.S. Postal <a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/SCI\">Service</a>, the Environmental Protection Agency, the <a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/NWY\">New York</a> <a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/CHCO\">City</a> Housing Authority, Stanford University,Walmart(WMT), and<a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/AAPL\">Apple</a>(AAPL).</p>\n<p>Atlas earned $64 million in adjusted Ebitda over the past four reported quarters, while it had a net loss of $18 million. As of the end of the first quarter, the company had a backlog of $689 million, or more than 140% of its last 12 months’ revenue of $482 million. “I’ve been in this business for 30 years, and it’s by far the highest I’ve seen,” Atlas CEO Joe Boyer tells<i>Barron’s</i>.</p>\n<p>About 70% of the company’s revenue comes from work on existing buildings, pipes, roads, and bridges. Those jobs are nondiscretionary: As we’ve tragically learned at times, infrastructure needs to be inspected and brought up to code at regular intervals, no matter what the economic or pandemic situation is.</p>\n<p>The remaining 30% of Atlas’ sales are tied to new construction, which dipped during the pandemic but is nearly back to pre-Covid-19 levels, according to Boyer.</p>\n<p>A long-term trend toward outsourcing services by cities and states, stricter environmental standards, and aging infrastructure in the U.S. have been drivers of Atlas’ organic growth in recent years.</p>\n<p>That trend has been responsible for about half of Atlas’ 20% compound annual growth in sales since 2016, when it was owned by private-equity firm Bernhard Capital Partners. The other avenue for growth has been Atlas’ acquisition strategy.</p>\n<p>“The idea is to find a company in a geography or a service that we don’t dominate in, bring it onto our platform, and cross-sell across our network,” Boyer says.</p>\n<p>Atlas’ sweet spot for acquisition targets is about $5 million to $20 million in Ebitda, The company typically pays four to six times Ebitda in a mix of cash and stock. That makes each deal immediately accretive to earnings.</p>\n<p>As a small and relatively young public company, Atlas gets minimal coverage from Wall Street, but the three analysts who cover the firm are bullish. “We think the company is in end markets that are strong or recovering; they’ve been winning large contracts, and its backlog has been growing,” says <a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/SF\">Stifel</a> analyst Noelle Dilts. “So, we feel good about the fundamental revenue outlook.”</p>\n<p>She rates Atlas a Buy, with a $14.50 price target, or 11 times her estimate of 2022 Ebitda, which doesn’t include any upside from a potential infrastructure bill. Using a 15 times Ebitda multiple, Sterling’s Silverman sees shares going to $43 three years from now, as debt paydown continues and earnings rise.</p>\n<p>Atlas’ balance sheet remains a fixer-upper, but the company has the right foundation.</p>\n<p></p>","source":"lsy1610680873436","collect":0,"html":"<!DOCTYPE html>\n<html>\n<head>\n<meta http-equiv=\"Content-Type\" content=\"text/html; charset=utf-8\" />\n<meta name=\"viewport\" content=\"width=device-width,initial-scale=1.0,minimum-scale=1.0,maximum-scale=1.0,user-scalable=no\"/>\n<meta name=\"format-detection\" content=\"telephone=no,email=no,address=no\" />\n<title>Infrastructure Spending Is on Its Way. Here’s a Cheap Way to Play It</title>\n<style type=\"text/css\">\na,abbr,acronym,address,applet,article,aside,audio,b,big,blockquote,body,canvas,caption,center,cite,code,dd,del,details,dfn,div,dl,dt,\nem,embed,fieldset,figcaption,figure,footer,form,h1,h2,h3,h4,h5,h6,header,hgroup,html,i,iframe,img,ins,kbd,label,legend,li,mark,menu,nav,\nobject,ol,output,p,pre,q,ruby,s,samp,section,small,span,strike,strong,sub,summary,sup,table,tbody,td,tfoot,th,thead,time,tr,tt,u,ul,var,video{ font:inherit;margin:0;padding:0;vertical-align:baseline;border:0 }\nbody{ font-size:16px; line-height:1.5; color:#999; background:transparent; }\n.wrapper{ overflow:hidden;word-break:break-all;padding:10px; }\nh1,h2{ font-weight:normal; line-height:1.35; margin-bottom:.6em; }\nh3,h4,h5,h6{ line-height:1.35; margin-bottom:1em; }\nh1{ font-size:24px; }\nh2{ font-size:20px; }\nh3{ font-size:18px; }\nh4{ font-size:16px; }\nh5{ font-size:14px; }\nh6{ font-size:12px; }\np,ul,ol,blockquote,dl,table{ margin:1.2em 0; }\nul,ol{ margin-left:2em; }\nul{ list-style:disc; }\nol{ list-style:decimal; }\nli,li p{ margin:10px 0;}\nimg{ max-width:100%;display:block;margin:0 auto 1em; }\nblockquote{ color:#B5B2B1; border-left:3px solid #aaa; padding:1em; }\nstrong,b{font-weight:bold;}\nem,i{font-style:italic;}\ntable{ width:100%;border-collapse:collapse;border-spacing:1px;margin:1em 0;font-size:.9em; }\nth,td{ padding:5px;text-align:left;border:1px solid #aaa; }\nth{ font-weight:bold;background:#5d5d5d; }\n.symbol-link{font-weight:bold;}\n/* header{ border-bottom:1px solid #494756; } */\n.title{ margin:0 0 8px;line-height:1.3;color:#ddd; }\n.meta {color:#5e5c6d;font-size:13px;margin:0 0 .5em; }\na{text-decoration:none; color:#2a4b87;}\n.meta .head { display: inline-block; overflow: hidden}\n.head .h-thumb { width: 30px; height: 30px; margin: 0; padding: 0; border-radius: 50%; float: left;}\n.head .h-content { margin: 0; padding: 0 0 0 9px; float: left;}\n.head .h-name {font-size: 13px; color: #eee; margin: 0;}\n.head .h-time {font-size: 11px; color: #7E829C; margin: 0;line-height: 11px;}\n.small {font-size: 12.5px; display: inline-block; transform: scale(0.9); -webkit-transform: scale(0.9); transform-origin: left; -webkit-transform-origin: left;}\n.smaller {font-size: 12.5px; display: inline-block; transform: scale(0.8); -webkit-transform: scale(0.8); transform-origin: left; -webkit-transform-origin: left;}\n.bt-text {font-size: 12px;margin: 1.5em 0 0 0}\n.bt-text p {margin: 0}\n</style>\n</head>\n<body>\n<div class=\"wrapper\">\n<header>\n<h2 class=\"title\">\nInfrastructure Spending Is on Its Way. Here’s a Cheap Way to Play It\n</h2>\n\n<h4 class=\"meta\">\n\n\n2021-07-31 14:44 GMT+8&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href=https://www.barrons.com/articles/infrastructure-buy-atlas-technical-consultants-stock-51627684191?mod=hp_LEAD_2><strong>Barron's</strong></a>\n\n\n</h4>\n\n</header>\n<article>\n<div>\n<p>U.S. lawmakers appear to be on the cusp of passing a massive and long-awaitedinfrastructure-investment bill, totaling some $1 trillion.\nThe legislation should be a boost to businesses likeVulcan ...</p>\n\n<a href=\"https://www.barrons.com/articles/infrastructure-buy-atlas-technical-consultants-stock-51627684191?mod=hp_LEAD_2\">Web Link</a>\n\n</div>\n\n\n</article>\n</div>\n</body>\n</html>\n","type":0,"thumbnail":"","relate_stocks":{},"source_url":"https://www.barrons.com/articles/infrastructure-buy-atlas-technical-consultants-stock-51627684191?mod=hp_LEAD_2","is_english":true,"share_image_url":"https://static.laohu8.com/e9f99090a1c2ed51c021029395664489","article_id":"1186334150","content_text":"U.S. lawmakers appear to be on the cusp of passing a massive and long-awaitedinfrastructure-investment bill, totaling some $1 trillion.\nThe legislation should be a boost to businesses likeVulcan Materials(ticker: VMC) andMartin Marietta Materials(MLM), which make concrete and asphalt;Caterpillar(CAT) andTerex(TEX), which make construction equipment; andUnited Rentals(URI), which rents the machinery. Most of their stocks have already jumped on theprospect of infrastructure spending.\nBut one infrastructure play has been overlooked:Atlas Technical Consultants(ATCX) provides engineering and design services, inspection and certification of buildings and public works, and other construction-related services. More construction means more plans and designs for Atlas to review. These eventually become finished projects that need annual inspections, paying dividends for years.\nAnd yet Atlas shares have stalled. At a recent $9, the stock trades for just eight times enterprise value to estimated 2022 earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization, or Ebitda. That multiple is a significant discount to companies in related inspection businesses, such asMontrose Environmental Group(MEG) andTetra Tech(TTEK), which trade for more than 22 times EV/2022 Ebitda.\n“Right now, part of the valuation discount is due to the debt, but I would say there are companies like Atlas where the debt is appropriate,” says Kevin Silverman, chief investment officer and portfolio manager at small-cap–focused Sterling Partners Equity Advisors, which owns more than $2 million worth of Atlas stock, accounting for about 2% of its assets under management. “The debt helps equity holders if you have steady profit margins and can use it for growth.”\nAnd Atlas has substantial opportunities for growth. Beyond the infrastructure-bill boost, Atlas has a long-term strategy of consolidating the fragmented U.S. inspection-services market while reducing its debt levels. Both should increase its appeal to investors and earn it a higher valuation multiple.\nThe Austin, Texas–headquartered company went public inearly 2020via a merger with a special-purpose acquisition company, or SPAC. The deal saddled the company with a convoluted capital structure, including multiple share classes, outstanding warrants, and other complications. That complexity has probably kept some investors away, as has Atlas’ relatively high debt load, which comes to 5.5 times net debt to 2021 Ebitda.\n\nAtlas has reduced that complexity—redeeming its preferred equity, buying out warrants, and increasing the stock’s publicly traded float—and is focused on bringing its net debt below three times Ebitda.\nAtlas is forecast to grow sales 13% this year, to $530 million, with Ebitda up 21%, to $76 million.\nIts customers include state departments of transportation, private building owners, electric and water utilities, airports, schools, hospitals, and more. Its national presence and leading scale helps win and retain marquee projects and big clients, including the U.S. Postal Service, the Environmental Protection Agency, the New York City Housing Authority, Stanford University,Walmart(WMT), andApple(AAPL).\nAtlas earned $64 million in adjusted Ebitda over the past four reported quarters, while it had a net loss of $18 million. As of the end of the first quarter, the company had a backlog of $689 million, or more than 140% of its last 12 months’ revenue of $482 million. “I’ve been in this business for 30 years, and it’s by far the highest I’ve seen,” Atlas CEO Joe Boyer tellsBarron’s.\nAbout 70% of the company’s revenue comes from work on existing buildings, pipes, roads, and bridges. Those jobs are nondiscretionary: As we’ve tragically learned at times, infrastructure needs to be inspected and brought up to code at regular intervals, no matter what the economic or pandemic situation is.\nThe remaining 30% of Atlas’ sales are tied to new construction, which dipped during the pandemic but is nearly back to pre-Covid-19 levels, according to Boyer.\nA long-term trend toward outsourcing services by cities and states, stricter environmental standards, and aging infrastructure in the U.S. have been drivers of Atlas’ organic growth in recent years.\nThat trend has been responsible for about half of Atlas’ 20% compound annual growth in sales since 2016, when it was owned by private-equity firm Bernhard Capital Partners. The other avenue for growth has been Atlas’ acquisition strategy.\n“The idea is to find a company in a geography or a service that we don’t dominate in, bring it onto our platform, and cross-sell across our network,” Boyer says.\nAtlas’ sweet spot for acquisition targets is about $5 million to $20 million in Ebitda, The company typically pays four to six times Ebitda in a mix of cash and stock. That makes each deal immediately accretive to earnings.\nAs a small and relatively young public company, Atlas gets minimal coverage from Wall Street, but the three analysts who cover the firm are bullish. “We think the company is in end markets that are strong or recovering; they’ve been winning large contracts, and its backlog has been growing,” says Stifel analyst Noelle Dilts. “So, we feel good about the fundamental revenue outlook.”\nShe rates Atlas a Buy, with a $14.50 price target, or 11 times her estimate of 2022 Ebitda, which doesn’t include any upside from a potential infrastructure bill. Using a 15 times Ebitda multiple, Sterling’s Silverman sees shares going to $43 three years from now, as debt paydown continues and earnings rise.\nAtlas’ balance sheet remains a fixer-upper, but the company has the right foundation.","news_type":1},"isVote":1,"likeStatus":false,"favoriteStatus":false,"reportStatus":false,"tweetType":1,"langContent":"EN"},{"id":802646476,"gmtCreate":1627779321495,"gmtModify":1703495660679,"author":{"id":"3582025117705198","authorId":"3582025117705198","name":"Wanlin927","avatar":"https://static.tigerbbs.com/8dcfce5bedd37636dfe4d9ca052f0f47","vip":1,"crmLevel":2,"crmLevelSwitch":0,"authorIdStr":"3582025117705198","idStr":"3582025117705198"},"htmlText":"Ok like please","listText":"Ok like please","text":"Ok like please","images":[],"top":1,"highlighted":1,"essential":1,"paper":1,"likeSize":6,"commentSize":0,"repostSize":0,"link":"https://ttm.financial/post/802646476","repostId":1186334150,"repostType":4,"repost":{"id":"1186334150","pubTimestamp":1627713845,"share":"https://ttm.financial/m/news/1186334150?lang=&edition=fundamental","pubTime":"2021-07-31 14:44","market":"us","language":"en","title":"Infrastructure Spending Is on Its Way. Here’s a Cheap Way to Play It","url":"https://stock-news.laohu8.com/highlight/detail?id=1186334150","media":"Barron's","summary":"U.S. lawmakers appear to be on the cusp of passing a massive and long-awaitedinfrastructure-investme","content":"<p>U.S. lawmakers appear to be on the cusp of passing a massive and long-awaitedinfrastructure-investment bill, totaling some $1 trillion.</p>\n<p>The legislation should be a boost to businesses like<a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/VMC\">Vulcan Materials</a>(ticker: VMC) and<a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/MLM\">Martin Marietta Materials</a>(MLM), which make concrete and asphalt;<a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/CAT\">Caterpillar</a>(CAT) and<a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/TEX\">Terex</a>(TEX), which make construction equipment; and<a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/URI\">United Rentals</a>(URI), which rents the machinery. Most of their stocks have already jumped on theprospect of infrastructure spending.</p>\n<p>But <a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/AONE.U\">one</a> infrastructure play has been overlooked:<a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/AFH\">Atlas</a> Technical Consultants(ATCX) provides engineering and design services, inspection and certification of buildings and public works, and other construction-related services. More construction means more plans and designs for Atlas to review. These eventually become finished projects that need annual inspections, paying dividends for years.</p>\n<p>And yet Atlas shares have stalled. At a recent $9, the stock trades for just eight times enterprise value to estimated 2022 earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization, or Ebitda. That multiple is a significant discount to companies in related inspection businesses, such asMontrose Environmental Group(MEG) andTetra Tech(TTEK), which trade for more than 22 times EV/2022 Ebitda.</p>\n<p><img src=\"https://static.tigerbbs.com/19ad62f427fb70a25aa96068bc5d1756\" tg-width=\"442\" tg-height=\"364\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer\">“Right now, part of the valuation discount is due to the debt, but I would say there are companies like Atlas where the debt is appropriate,” says Kevin Silverman, chief investment officer and portfolio manager at small-cap–focused <a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/STL\">Sterling</a> Partners <a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/EQR\">Equity</a> Advisors, which owns more than $2 million worth of Atlas stock, accounting for about 2% of its assets under management. “The debt helps equity holders if you have steady profit margins and can use it for growth.”</p>\n<p>And Atlas has substantial opportunities for growth. Beyond the infrastructure-bill boost, Atlas has a long-term strategy of consolidating the fragmented U.S. inspection-services market while reducing its debt levels. Both should increase its appeal to investors and earn it a higher valuation multiple.</p>\n<p>The Austin, Texas–headquartered company went public inearly 2020via a merger with a special-purpose acquisition company, or SPAC. The deal saddled the company with a convoluted capital structure, including multiple share classes, outstanding warrants, and other complications. That complexity has probably kept some investors away, as has Atlas’ relatively high debt load, which comes to 5.5 times net debt to 2021 Ebitda.</p>\n<p><img src=\"https://static.tigerbbs.com/99bb73a7c212bfed6d0890b8b14fbc15\" tg-width=\"607\" tg-height=\"396\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer\"></p>\n<p>Atlas has reduced that complexity—redeeming its preferred equity, buying out warrants, and increasing the stock’s publicly traded float—and is focused on bringing its net debt below three times Ebitda.</p>\n<p>Atlas is forecast to grow sales 13% this year, to $530 million, with Ebitda up 21%, to $76 million.</p>\n<p>Its customers include state departments of transportation, private building owners, electric and water utilities, airports, schools, hospitals, and more. Its national presence and leading scale helps win and retain marquee projects and big clients, including the U.S. Postal <a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/SCI\">Service</a>, the Environmental Protection Agency, the <a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/NWY\">New York</a> <a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/CHCO\">City</a> Housing Authority, Stanford University,Walmart(WMT), and<a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/AAPL\">Apple</a>(AAPL).</p>\n<p>Atlas earned $64 million in adjusted Ebitda over the past four reported quarters, while it had a net loss of $18 million. As of the end of the first quarter, the company had a backlog of $689 million, or more than 140% of its last 12 months’ revenue of $482 million. “I’ve been in this business for 30 years, and it’s by far the highest I’ve seen,” Atlas CEO Joe Boyer tells<i>Barron’s</i>.</p>\n<p>About 70% of the company’s revenue comes from work on existing buildings, pipes, roads, and bridges. Those jobs are nondiscretionary: As we’ve tragically learned at times, infrastructure needs to be inspected and brought up to code at regular intervals, no matter what the economic or pandemic situation is.</p>\n<p>The remaining 30% of Atlas’ sales are tied to new construction, which dipped during the pandemic but is nearly back to pre-Covid-19 levels, according to Boyer.</p>\n<p>A long-term trend toward outsourcing services by cities and states, stricter environmental standards, and aging infrastructure in the U.S. have been drivers of Atlas’ organic growth in recent years.</p>\n<p>That trend has been responsible for about half of Atlas’ 20% compound annual growth in sales since 2016, when it was owned by private-equity firm Bernhard Capital Partners. The other avenue for growth has been Atlas’ acquisition strategy.</p>\n<p>“The idea is to find a company in a geography or a service that we don’t dominate in, bring it onto our platform, and cross-sell across our network,” Boyer says.</p>\n<p>Atlas’ sweet spot for acquisition targets is about $5 million to $20 million in Ebitda, The company typically pays four to six times Ebitda in a mix of cash and stock. That makes each deal immediately accretive to earnings.</p>\n<p>As a small and relatively young public company, Atlas gets minimal coverage from Wall Street, but the three analysts who cover the firm are bullish. “We think the company is in end markets that are strong or recovering; they’ve been winning large contracts, and its backlog has been growing,” says <a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/SF\">Stifel</a> analyst Noelle Dilts. “So, we feel good about the fundamental revenue outlook.”</p>\n<p>She rates Atlas a Buy, with a $14.50 price target, or 11 times her estimate of 2022 Ebitda, which doesn’t include any upside from a potential infrastructure bill. Using a 15 times Ebitda multiple, Sterling’s Silverman sees shares going to $43 three years from now, as debt paydown continues and earnings rise.</p>\n<p>Atlas’ balance sheet remains a fixer-upper, but the company has the right foundation.</p>\n<p></p>","source":"lsy1610680873436","collect":0,"html":"<!DOCTYPE html>\n<html>\n<head>\n<meta http-equiv=\"Content-Type\" content=\"text/html; charset=utf-8\" />\n<meta name=\"viewport\" content=\"width=device-width,initial-scale=1.0,minimum-scale=1.0,maximum-scale=1.0,user-scalable=no\"/>\n<meta name=\"format-detection\" content=\"telephone=no,email=no,address=no\" />\n<title>Infrastructure Spending Is on Its Way. Here’s a Cheap Way to Play It</title>\n<style type=\"text/css\">\na,abbr,acronym,address,applet,article,aside,audio,b,big,blockquote,body,canvas,caption,center,cite,code,dd,del,details,dfn,div,dl,dt,\nem,embed,fieldset,figcaption,figure,footer,form,h1,h2,h3,h4,h5,h6,header,hgroup,html,i,iframe,img,ins,kbd,label,legend,li,mark,menu,nav,\nobject,ol,output,p,pre,q,ruby,s,samp,section,small,span,strike,strong,sub,summary,sup,table,tbody,td,tfoot,th,thead,time,tr,tt,u,ul,var,video{ font:inherit;margin:0;padding:0;vertical-align:baseline;border:0 }\nbody{ font-size:16px; line-height:1.5; color:#999; background:transparent; }\n.wrapper{ overflow:hidden;word-break:break-all;padding:10px; }\nh1,h2{ font-weight:normal; line-height:1.35; margin-bottom:.6em; }\nh3,h4,h5,h6{ line-height:1.35; margin-bottom:1em; }\nh1{ font-size:24px; }\nh2{ font-size:20px; }\nh3{ font-size:18px; }\nh4{ font-size:16px; }\nh5{ font-size:14px; }\nh6{ font-size:12px; }\np,ul,ol,blockquote,dl,table{ margin:1.2em 0; }\nul,ol{ margin-left:2em; }\nul{ list-style:disc; }\nol{ list-style:decimal; }\nli,li p{ margin:10px 0;}\nimg{ max-width:100%;display:block;margin:0 auto 1em; }\nblockquote{ color:#B5B2B1; border-left:3px solid #aaa; padding:1em; }\nstrong,b{font-weight:bold;}\nem,i{font-style:italic;}\ntable{ width:100%;border-collapse:collapse;border-spacing:1px;margin:1em 0;font-size:.9em; }\nth,td{ padding:5px;text-align:left;border:1px solid #aaa; }\nth{ font-weight:bold;background:#5d5d5d; }\n.symbol-link{font-weight:bold;}\n/* header{ border-bottom:1px solid #494756; } */\n.title{ margin:0 0 8px;line-height:1.3;color:#ddd; }\n.meta {color:#5e5c6d;font-size:13px;margin:0 0 .5em; }\na{text-decoration:none; color:#2a4b87;}\n.meta .head { display: inline-block; overflow: hidden}\n.head .h-thumb { width: 30px; height: 30px; margin: 0; padding: 0; border-radius: 50%; float: left;}\n.head .h-content { margin: 0; padding: 0 0 0 9px; float: left;}\n.head .h-name {font-size: 13px; color: #eee; margin: 0;}\n.head .h-time {font-size: 11px; color: #7E829C; margin: 0;line-height: 11px;}\n.small {font-size: 12.5px; display: inline-block; transform: scale(0.9); -webkit-transform: scale(0.9); transform-origin: left; -webkit-transform-origin: left;}\n.smaller {font-size: 12.5px; display: inline-block; transform: scale(0.8); -webkit-transform: scale(0.8); transform-origin: left; -webkit-transform-origin: left;}\n.bt-text {font-size: 12px;margin: 1.5em 0 0 0}\n.bt-text p {margin: 0}\n</style>\n</head>\n<body>\n<div class=\"wrapper\">\n<header>\n<h2 class=\"title\">\nInfrastructure Spending Is on Its Way. Here’s a Cheap Way to Play It\n</h2>\n\n<h4 class=\"meta\">\n\n\n2021-07-31 14:44 GMT+8&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href=https://www.barrons.com/articles/infrastructure-buy-atlas-technical-consultants-stock-51627684191?mod=hp_LEAD_2><strong>Barron's</strong></a>\n\n\n</h4>\n\n</header>\n<article>\n<div>\n<p>U.S. lawmakers appear to be on the cusp of passing a massive and long-awaitedinfrastructure-investment bill, totaling some $1 trillion.\nThe legislation should be a boost to businesses likeVulcan ...</p>\n\n<a href=\"https://www.barrons.com/articles/infrastructure-buy-atlas-technical-consultants-stock-51627684191?mod=hp_LEAD_2\">Web Link</a>\n\n</div>\n\n\n</article>\n</div>\n</body>\n</html>\n","type":0,"thumbnail":"","relate_stocks":{},"source_url":"https://www.barrons.com/articles/infrastructure-buy-atlas-technical-consultants-stock-51627684191?mod=hp_LEAD_2","is_english":true,"share_image_url":"https://static.laohu8.com/e9f99090a1c2ed51c021029395664489","article_id":"1186334150","content_text":"U.S. lawmakers appear to be on the cusp of passing a massive and long-awaitedinfrastructure-investment bill, totaling some $1 trillion.\nThe legislation should be a boost to businesses likeVulcan Materials(ticker: VMC) andMartin Marietta Materials(MLM), which make concrete and asphalt;Caterpillar(CAT) andTerex(TEX), which make construction equipment; andUnited Rentals(URI), which rents the machinery. Most of their stocks have already jumped on theprospect of infrastructure spending.\nBut one infrastructure play has been overlooked:Atlas Technical Consultants(ATCX) provides engineering and design services, inspection and certification of buildings and public works, and other construction-related services. More construction means more plans and designs for Atlas to review. These eventually become finished projects that need annual inspections, paying dividends for years.\nAnd yet Atlas shares have stalled. At a recent $9, the stock trades for just eight times enterprise value to estimated 2022 earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization, or Ebitda. That multiple is a significant discount to companies in related inspection businesses, such asMontrose Environmental Group(MEG) andTetra Tech(TTEK), which trade for more than 22 times EV/2022 Ebitda.\n“Right now, part of the valuation discount is due to the debt, but I would say there are companies like Atlas where the debt is appropriate,” says Kevin Silverman, chief investment officer and portfolio manager at small-cap–focused Sterling Partners Equity Advisors, which owns more than $2 million worth of Atlas stock, accounting for about 2% of its assets under management. “The debt helps equity holders if you have steady profit margins and can use it for growth.”\nAnd Atlas has substantial opportunities for growth. Beyond the infrastructure-bill boost, Atlas has a long-term strategy of consolidating the fragmented U.S. inspection-services market while reducing its debt levels. Both should increase its appeal to investors and earn it a higher valuation multiple.\nThe Austin, Texas–headquartered company went public inearly 2020via a merger with a special-purpose acquisition company, or SPAC. The deal saddled the company with a convoluted capital structure, including multiple share classes, outstanding warrants, and other complications. That complexity has probably kept some investors away, as has Atlas’ relatively high debt load, which comes to 5.5 times net debt to 2021 Ebitda.\n\nAtlas has reduced that complexity—redeeming its preferred equity, buying out warrants, and increasing the stock’s publicly traded float—and is focused on bringing its net debt below three times Ebitda.\nAtlas is forecast to grow sales 13% this year, to $530 million, with Ebitda up 21%, to $76 million.\nIts customers include state departments of transportation, private building owners, electric and water utilities, airports, schools, hospitals, and more. Its national presence and leading scale helps win and retain marquee projects and big clients, including the U.S. Postal Service, the Environmental Protection Agency, the New York City Housing Authority, Stanford University,Walmart(WMT), andApple(AAPL).\nAtlas earned $64 million in adjusted Ebitda over the past four reported quarters, while it had a net loss of $18 million. As of the end of the first quarter, the company had a backlog of $689 million, or more than 140% of its last 12 months’ revenue of $482 million. “I’ve been in this business for 30 years, and it’s by far the highest I’ve seen,” Atlas CEO Joe Boyer tellsBarron’s.\nAbout 70% of the company’s revenue comes from work on existing buildings, pipes, roads, and bridges. Those jobs are nondiscretionary: As we’ve tragically learned at times, infrastructure needs to be inspected and brought up to code at regular intervals, no matter what the economic or pandemic situation is.\nThe remaining 30% of Atlas’ sales are tied to new construction, which dipped during the pandemic but is nearly back to pre-Covid-19 levels, according to Boyer.\nA long-term trend toward outsourcing services by cities and states, stricter environmental standards, and aging infrastructure in the U.S. have been drivers of Atlas’ organic growth in recent years.\nThat trend has been responsible for about half of Atlas’ 20% compound annual growth in sales since 2016, when it was owned by private-equity firm Bernhard Capital Partners. The other avenue for growth has been Atlas’ acquisition strategy.\n“The idea is to find a company in a geography or a service that we don’t dominate in, bring it onto our platform, and cross-sell across our network,” Boyer says.\nAtlas’ sweet spot for acquisition targets is about $5 million to $20 million in Ebitda, The company typically pays four to six times Ebitda in a mix of cash and stock. That makes each deal immediately accretive to earnings.\nAs a small and relatively young public company, Atlas gets minimal coverage from Wall Street, but the three analysts who cover the firm are bullish. “We think the company is in end markets that are strong or recovering; they’ve been winning large contracts, and its backlog has been growing,” says Stifel analyst Noelle Dilts. “So, we feel good about the fundamental revenue outlook.”\nShe rates Atlas a Buy, with a $14.50 price target, or 11 times her estimate of 2022 Ebitda, which doesn’t include any upside from a potential infrastructure bill. Using a 15 times Ebitda multiple, Sterling’s Silverman sees shares going to $43 three years from now, as debt paydown continues and earnings rise.\nAtlas’ balance sheet remains a fixer-upper, but the company has the right foundation.","news_type":1},"isVote":1,"likeStatus":false,"favoriteStatus":false,"reportStatus":false,"tweetType":1,"langContent":"EN"},{"id":802646526,"gmtCreate":1627779319365,"gmtModify":1703495660512,"author":{"id":"4090111832805340","authorId":"4090111832805340","name":"Went","avatar":"https://static.tigerbbs.com/5ce3e17c83c9a606263796d27bc000ba","vip":1,"crmLevel":6,"crmLevelSwitch":0,"authorIdStr":"4090111832805340","idStr":"4090111832805340"},"htmlText":"Like&nbsp;","listText":"Like&nbsp;","text":"Like","images":[],"top":1,"highlighted":1,"essential":1,"paper":1,"likeSize":1,"commentSize":0,"repostSize":0,"link":"https://ttm.financial/post/802646526","repostId":1186334150,"repostType":4,"repost":{"id":"1186334150","pubTimestamp":1627713845,"share":"https://ttm.financial/m/news/1186334150?lang=&edition=fundamental","pubTime":"2021-07-31 14:44","market":"us","language":"en","title":"Infrastructure Spending Is on Its Way. Here’s a Cheap Way to Play It","url":"https://stock-news.laohu8.com/highlight/detail?id=1186334150","media":"Barron's","summary":"U.S. lawmakers appear to be on the cusp of passing a massive and long-awaitedinfrastructure-investme","content":"<p>U.S. lawmakers appear to be on the cusp of passing a massive and long-awaitedinfrastructure-investment bill, totaling some $1 trillion.</p>\n<p>The legislation should be a boost to businesses like<a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/VMC\">Vulcan Materials</a>(ticker: VMC) and<a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/MLM\">Martin Marietta Materials</a>(MLM), which make concrete and asphalt;<a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/CAT\">Caterpillar</a>(CAT) and<a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/TEX\">Terex</a>(TEX), which make construction equipment; and<a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/URI\">United Rentals</a>(URI), which rents the machinery. Most of their stocks have already jumped on theprospect of infrastructure spending.</p>\n<p>But <a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/AONE.U\">one</a> infrastructure play has been overlooked:<a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/AFH\">Atlas</a> Technical Consultants(ATCX) provides engineering and design services, inspection and certification of buildings and public works, and other construction-related services. More construction means more plans and designs for Atlas to review. These eventually become finished projects that need annual inspections, paying dividends for years.</p>\n<p>And yet Atlas shares have stalled. At a recent $9, the stock trades for just eight times enterprise value to estimated 2022 earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization, or Ebitda. That multiple is a significant discount to companies in related inspection businesses, such asMontrose Environmental Group(MEG) andTetra Tech(TTEK), which trade for more than 22 times EV/2022 Ebitda.</p>\n<p><img src=\"https://static.tigerbbs.com/19ad62f427fb70a25aa96068bc5d1756\" tg-width=\"442\" tg-height=\"364\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer\">“Right now, part of the valuation discount is due to the debt, but I would say there are companies like Atlas where the debt is appropriate,” says Kevin Silverman, chief investment officer and portfolio manager at small-cap–focused <a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/STL\">Sterling</a> Partners <a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/EQR\">Equity</a> Advisors, which owns more than $2 million worth of Atlas stock, accounting for about 2% of its assets under management. “The debt helps equity holders if you have steady profit margins and can use it for growth.”</p>\n<p>And Atlas has substantial opportunities for growth. Beyond the infrastructure-bill boost, Atlas has a long-term strategy of consolidating the fragmented U.S. inspection-services market while reducing its debt levels. Both should increase its appeal to investors and earn it a higher valuation multiple.</p>\n<p>The Austin, Texas–headquartered company went public inearly 2020via a merger with a special-purpose acquisition company, or SPAC. The deal saddled the company with a convoluted capital structure, including multiple share classes, outstanding warrants, and other complications. That complexity has probably kept some investors away, as has Atlas’ relatively high debt load, which comes to 5.5 times net debt to 2021 Ebitda.</p>\n<p><img src=\"https://static.tigerbbs.com/99bb73a7c212bfed6d0890b8b14fbc15\" tg-width=\"607\" tg-height=\"396\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer\"></p>\n<p>Atlas has reduced that complexity—redeeming its preferred equity, buying out warrants, and increasing the stock’s publicly traded float—and is focused on bringing its net debt below three times Ebitda.</p>\n<p>Atlas is forecast to grow sales 13% this year, to $530 million, with Ebitda up 21%, to $76 million.</p>\n<p>Its customers include state departments of transportation, private building owners, electric and water utilities, airports, schools, hospitals, and more. Its national presence and leading scale helps win and retain marquee projects and big clients, including the U.S. Postal <a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/SCI\">Service</a>, the Environmental Protection Agency, the <a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/NWY\">New York</a> <a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/CHCO\">City</a> Housing Authority, Stanford University,Walmart(WMT), and<a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/AAPL\">Apple</a>(AAPL).</p>\n<p>Atlas earned $64 million in adjusted Ebitda over the past four reported quarters, while it had a net loss of $18 million. As of the end of the first quarter, the company had a backlog of $689 million, or more than 140% of its last 12 months’ revenue of $482 million. “I’ve been in this business for 30 years, and it’s by far the highest I’ve seen,” Atlas CEO Joe Boyer tells<i>Barron’s</i>.</p>\n<p>About 70% of the company’s revenue comes from work on existing buildings, pipes, roads, and bridges. Those jobs are nondiscretionary: As we’ve tragically learned at times, infrastructure needs to be inspected and brought up to code at regular intervals, no matter what the economic or pandemic situation is.</p>\n<p>The remaining 30% of Atlas’ sales are tied to new construction, which dipped during the pandemic but is nearly back to pre-Covid-19 levels, according to Boyer.</p>\n<p>A long-term trend toward outsourcing services by cities and states, stricter environmental standards, and aging infrastructure in the U.S. have been drivers of Atlas’ organic growth in recent years.</p>\n<p>That trend has been responsible for about half of Atlas’ 20% compound annual growth in sales since 2016, when it was owned by private-equity firm Bernhard Capital Partners. The other avenue for growth has been Atlas’ acquisition strategy.</p>\n<p>“The idea is to find a company in a geography or a service that we don’t dominate in, bring it onto our platform, and cross-sell across our network,” Boyer says.</p>\n<p>Atlas’ sweet spot for acquisition targets is about $5 million to $20 million in Ebitda, The company typically pays four to six times Ebitda in a mix of cash and stock. That makes each deal immediately accretive to earnings.</p>\n<p>As a small and relatively young public company, Atlas gets minimal coverage from Wall Street, but the three analysts who cover the firm are bullish. “We think the company is in end markets that are strong or recovering; they’ve been winning large contracts, and its backlog has been growing,” says <a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/SF\">Stifel</a> analyst Noelle Dilts. “So, we feel good about the fundamental revenue outlook.”</p>\n<p>She rates Atlas a Buy, with a $14.50 price target, or 11 times her estimate of 2022 Ebitda, which doesn’t include any upside from a potential infrastructure bill. Using a 15 times Ebitda multiple, Sterling’s Silverman sees shares going to $43 three years from now, as debt paydown continues and earnings rise.</p>\n<p>Atlas’ balance sheet remains a fixer-upper, but the company has the right foundation.</p>\n<p></p>","source":"lsy1610680873436","collect":0,"html":"<!DOCTYPE html>\n<html>\n<head>\n<meta http-equiv=\"Content-Type\" content=\"text/html; charset=utf-8\" />\n<meta name=\"viewport\" content=\"width=device-width,initial-scale=1.0,minimum-scale=1.0,maximum-scale=1.0,user-scalable=no\"/>\n<meta name=\"format-detection\" content=\"telephone=no,email=no,address=no\" />\n<title>Infrastructure Spending Is on Its Way. Here’s a Cheap Way to Play It</title>\n<style type=\"text/css\">\na,abbr,acronym,address,applet,article,aside,audio,b,big,blockquote,body,canvas,caption,center,cite,code,dd,del,details,dfn,div,dl,dt,\nem,embed,fieldset,figcaption,figure,footer,form,h1,h2,h3,h4,h5,h6,header,hgroup,html,i,iframe,img,ins,kbd,label,legend,li,mark,menu,nav,\nobject,ol,output,p,pre,q,ruby,s,samp,section,small,span,strike,strong,sub,summary,sup,table,tbody,td,tfoot,th,thead,time,tr,tt,u,ul,var,video{ font:inherit;margin:0;padding:0;vertical-align:baseline;border:0 }\nbody{ font-size:16px; line-height:1.5; color:#999; background:transparent; }\n.wrapper{ overflow:hidden;word-break:break-all;padding:10px; }\nh1,h2{ font-weight:normal; line-height:1.35; margin-bottom:.6em; }\nh3,h4,h5,h6{ line-height:1.35; margin-bottom:1em; }\nh1{ font-size:24px; }\nh2{ font-size:20px; }\nh3{ font-size:18px; }\nh4{ font-size:16px; }\nh5{ font-size:14px; }\nh6{ font-size:12px; }\np,ul,ol,blockquote,dl,table{ margin:1.2em 0; }\nul,ol{ margin-left:2em; }\nul{ list-style:disc; }\nol{ list-style:decimal; }\nli,li p{ margin:10px 0;}\nimg{ max-width:100%;display:block;margin:0 auto 1em; }\nblockquote{ color:#B5B2B1; border-left:3px solid #aaa; padding:1em; }\nstrong,b{font-weight:bold;}\nem,i{font-style:italic;}\ntable{ width:100%;border-collapse:collapse;border-spacing:1px;margin:1em 0;font-size:.9em; }\nth,td{ padding:5px;text-align:left;border:1px solid #aaa; }\nth{ font-weight:bold;background:#5d5d5d; }\n.symbol-link{font-weight:bold;}\n/* header{ border-bottom:1px solid #494756; } */\n.title{ margin:0 0 8px;line-height:1.3;color:#ddd; }\n.meta {color:#5e5c6d;font-size:13px;margin:0 0 .5em; }\na{text-decoration:none; color:#2a4b87;}\n.meta .head { display: inline-block; overflow: hidden}\n.head .h-thumb { width: 30px; height: 30px; margin: 0; padding: 0; border-radius: 50%; float: left;}\n.head .h-content { margin: 0; padding: 0 0 0 9px; float: left;}\n.head .h-name {font-size: 13px; color: #eee; margin: 0;}\n.head .h-time {font-size: 11px; color: #7E829C; margin: 0;line-height: 11px;}\n.small {font-size: 12.5px; display: inline-block; transform: scale(0.9); -webkit-transform: scale(0.9); transform-origin: left; -webkit-transform-origin: left;}\n.smaller {font-size: 12.5px; display: inline-block; transform: scale(0.8); -webkit-transform: scale(0.8); transform-origin: left; -webkit-transform-origin: left;}\n.bt-text {font-size: 12px;margin: 1.5em 0 0 0}\n.bt-text p {margin: 0}\n</style>\n</head>\n<body>\n<div class=\"wrapper\">\n<header>\n<h2 class=\"title\">\nInfrastructure Spending Is on Its Way. Here’s a Cheap Way to Play It\n</h2>\n\n<h4 class=\"meta\">\n\n\n2021-07-31 14:44 GMT+8&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href=https://www.barrons.com/articles/infrastructure-buy-atlas-technical-consultants-stock-51627684191?mod=hp_LEAD_2><strong>Barron's</strong></a>\n\n\n</h4>\n\n</header>\n<article>\n<div>\n<p>U.S. lawmakers appear to be on the cusp of passing a massive and long-awaitedinfrastructure-investment bill, totaling some $1 trillion.\nThe legislation should be a boost to businesses likeVulcan ...</p>\n\n<a href=\"https://www.barrons.com/articles/infrastructure-buy-atlas-technical-consultants-stock-51627684191?mod=hp_LEAD_2\">Web Link</a>\n\n</div>\n\n\n</article>\n</div>\n</body>\n</html>\n","type":0,"thumbnail":"","relate_stocks":{},"source_url":"https://www.barrons.com/articles/infrastructure-buy-atlas-technical-consultants-stock-51627684191?mod=hp_LEAD_2","is_english":true,"share_image_url":"https://static.laohu8.com/e9f99090a1c2ed51c021029395664489","article_id":"1186334150","content_text":"U.S. lawmakers appear to be on the cusp of passing a massive and long-awaitedinfrastructure-investment bill, totaling some $1 trillion.\nThe legislation should be a boost to businesses likeVulcan Materials(ticker: VMC) andMartin Marietta Materials(MLM), which make concrete and asphalt;Caterpillar(CAT) andTerex(TEX), which make construction equipment; andUnited Rentals(URI), which rents the machinery. Most of their stocks have already jumped on theprospect of infrastructure spending.\nBut one infrastructure play has been overlooked:Atlas Technical Consultants(ATCX) provides engineering and design services, inspection and certification of buildings and public works, and other construction-related services. More construction means more plans and designs for Atlas to review. These eventually become finished projects that need annual inspections, paying dividends for years.\nAnd yet Atlas shares have stalled. At a recent $9, the stock trades for just eight times enterprise value to estimated 2022 earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization, or Ebitda. That multiple is a significant discount to companies in related inspection businesses, such asMontrose Environmental Group(MEG) andTetra Tech(TTEK), which trade for more than 22 times EV/2022 Ebitda.\n“Right now, part of the valuation discount is due to the debt, but I would say there are companies like Atlas where the debt is appropriate,” says Kevin Silverman, chief investment officer and portfolio manager at small-cap–focused Sterling Partners Equity Advisors, which owns more than $2 million worth of Atlas stock, accounting for about 2% of its assets under management. “The debt helps equity holders if you have steady profit margins and can use it for growth.”\nAnd Atlas has substantial opportunities for growth. Beyond the infrastructure-bill boost, Atlas has a long-term strategy of consolidating the fragmented U.S. inspection-services market while reducing its debt levels. Both should increase its appeal to investors and earn it a higher valuation multiple.\nThe Austin, Texas–headquartered company went public inearly 2020via a merger with a special-purpose acquisition company, or SPAC. The deal saddled the company with a convoluted capital structure, including multiple share classes, outstanding warrants, and other complications. That complexity has probably kept some investors away, as has Atlas’ relatively high debt load, which comes to 5.5 times net debt to 2021 Ebitda.\n\nAtlas has reduced that complexity—redeeming its preferred equity, buying out warrants, and increasing the stock’s publicly traded float—and is focused on bringing its net debt below three times Ebitda.\nAtlas is forecast to grow sales 13% this year, to $530 million, with Ebitda up 21%, to $76 million.\nIts customers include state departments of transportation, private building owners, electric and water utilities, airports, schools, hospitals, and more. Its national presence and leading scale helps win and retain marquee projects and big clients, including the U.S. Postal Service, the Environmental Protection Agency, the New York City Housing Authority, Stanford University,Walmart(WMT), andApple(AAPL).\nAtlas earned $64 million in adjusted Ebitda over the past four reported quarters, while it had a net loss of $18 million. As of the end of the first quarter, the company had a backlog of $689 million, or more than 140% of its last 12 months’ revenue of $482 million. “I’ve been in this business for 30 years, and it’s by far the highest I’ve seen,” Atlas CEO Joe Boyer tellsBarron’s.\nAbout 70% of the company’s revenue comes from work on existing buildings, pipes, roads, and bridges. Those jobs are nondiscretionary: As we’ve tragically learned at times, infrastructure needs to be inspected and brought up to code at regular intervals, no matter what the economic or pandemic situation is.\nThe remaining 30% of Atlas’ sales are tied to new construction, which dipped during the pandemic but is nearly back to pre-Covid-19 levels, according to Boyer.\nA long-term trend toward outsourcing services by cities and states, stricter environmental standards, and aging infrastructure in the U.S. have been drivers of Atlas’ organic growth in recent years.\nThat trend has been responsible for about half of Atlas’ 20% compound annual growth in sales since 2016, when it was owned by private-equity firm Bernhard Capital Partners. The other avenue for growth has been Atlas’ acquisition strategy.\n“The idea is to find a company in a geography or a service that we don’t dominate in, bring it onto our platform, and cross-sell across our network,” Boyer says.\nAtlas’ sweet spot for acquisition targets is about $5 million to $20 million in Ebitda, The company typically pays four to six times Ebitda in a mix of cash and stock. That makes each deal immediately accretive to earnings.\nAs a small and relatively young public company, Atlas gets minimal coverage from Wall Street, but the three analysts who cover the firm are bullish. “We think the company is in end markets that are strong or recovering; they’ve been winning large contracts, and its backlog has been growing,” says Stifel analyst Noelle Dilts. “So, we feel good about the fundamental revenue outlook.”\nShe rates Atlas a Buy, with a $14.50 price target, or 11 times her estimate of 2022 Ebitda, which doesn’t include any upside from a potential infrastructure bill. Using a 15 times Ebitda multiple, Sterling’s Silverman sees shares going to $43 three years from now, as debt paydown continues and earnings rise.\nAtlas’ balance sheet remains a fixer-upper, but the company has the right foundation.","news_type":1},"isVote":1,"likeStatus":false,"favoriteStatus":false,"reportStatus":false,"tweetType":1,"langContent":"EN"},{"id":802646054,"gmtCreate":1627779290678,"gmtModify":1703495660020,"author":{"id":"3581626101307210","authorId":"3581626101307210","name":"monokey","avatar":"https://static.tigerbbs.com/514ee6a47d84758c4210358fba517b36","vip":1,"crmLevel":2,"crmLevelSwitch":0,"authorIdStr":"3581626101307210","idStr":"3581626101307210"},"htmlText":"Hi","listText":"Hi","text":"Hi","images":[],"top":1,"highlighted":1,"essential":1,"paper":1,"likeSize":3,"commentSize":1,"repostSize":0,"link":"https://ttm.financial/post/802646054","repostId":1186334150,"repostType":4,"repost":{"id":"1186334150","pubTimestamp":1627713845,"share":"https://ttm.financial/m/news/1186334150?lang=&edition=fundamental","pubTime":"2021-07-31 14:44","market":"us","language":"en","title":"Infrastructure Spending Is on Its Way. Here’s a Cheap Way to Play It","url":"https://stock-news.laohu8.com/highlight/detail?id=1186334150","media":"Barron's","summary":"U.S. lawmakers appear to be on the cusp of passing a massive and long-awaitedinfrastructure-investme","content":"<p>U.S. lawmakers appear to be on the cusp of passing a massive and long-awaitedinfrastructure-investment bill, totaling some $1 trillion.</p>\n<p>The legislation should be a boost to businesses like<a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/VMC\">Vulcan Materials</a>(ticker: VMC) and<a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/MLM\">Martin Marietta Materials</a>(MLM), which make concrete and asphalt;<a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/CAT\">Caterpillar</a>(CAT) and<a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/TEX\">Terex</a>(TEX), which make construction equipment; and<a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/URI\">United Rentals</a>(URI), which rents the machinery. Most of their stocks have already jumped on theprospect of infrastructure spending.</p>\n<p>But <a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/AONE.U\">one</a> infrastructure play has been overlooked:<a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/AFH\">Atlas</a> Technical Consultants(ATCX) provides engineering and design services, inspection and certification of buildings and public works, and other construction-related services. More construction means more plans and designs for Atlas to review. These eventually become finished projects that need annual inspections, paying dividends for years.</p>\n<p>And yet Atlas shares have stalled. At a recent $9, the stock trades for just eight times enterprise value to estimated 2022 earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization, or Ebitda. That multiple is a significant discount to companies in related inspection businesses, such asMontrose Environmental Group(MEG) andTetra Tech(TTEK), which trade for more than 22 times EV/2022 Ebitda.</p>\n<p><img src=\"https://static.tigerbbs.com/19ad62f427fb70a25aa96068bc5d1756\" tg-width=\"442\" tg-height=\"364\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer\">“Right now, part of the valuation discount is due to the debt, but I would say there are companies like Atlas where the debt is appropriate,” says Kevin Silverman, chief investment officer and portfolio manager at small-cap–focused <a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/STL\">Sterling</a> Partners <a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/EQR\">Equity</a> Advisors, which owns more than $2 million worth of Atlas stock, accounting for about 2% of its assets under management. “The debt helps equity holders if you have steady profit margins and can use it for growth.”</p>\n<p>And Atlas has substantial opportunities for growth. Beyond the infrastructure-bill boost, Atlas has a long-term strategy of consolidating the fragmented U.S. inspection-services market while reducing its debt levels. Both should increase its appeal to investors and earn it a higher valuation multiple.</p>\n<p>The Austin, Texas–headquartered company went public inearly 2020via a merger with a special-purpose acquisition company, or SPAC. The deal saddled the company with a convoluted capital structure, including multiple share classes, outstanding warrants, and other complications. That complexity has probably kept some investors away, as has Atlas’ relatively high debt load, which comes to 5.5 times net debt to 2021 Ebitda.</p>\n<p><img src=\"https://static.tigerbbs.com/99bb73a7c212bfed6d0890b8b14fbc15\" tg-width=\"607\" tg-height=\"396\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer\"></p>\n<p>Atlas has reduced that complexity—redeeming its preferred equity, buying out warrants, and increasing the stock’s publicly traded float—and is focused on bringing its net debt below three times Ebitda.</p>\n<p>Atlas is forecast to grow sales 13% this year, to $530 million, with Ebitda up 21%, to $76 million.</p>\n<p>Its customers include state departments of transportation, private building owners, electric and water utilities, airports, schools, hospitals, and more. Its national presence and leading scale helps win and retain marquee projects and big clients, including the U.S. Postal <a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/SCI\">Service</a>, the Environmental Protection Agency, the <a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/NWY\">New York</a> <a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/CHCO\">City</a> Housing Authority, Stanford University,Walmart(WMT), and<a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/AAPL\">Apple</a>(AAPL).</p>\n<p>Atlas earned $64 million in adjusted Ebitda over the past four reported quarters, while it had a net loss of $18 million. As of the end of the first quarter, the company had a backlog of $689 million, or more than 140% of its last 12 months’ revenue of $482 million. “I’ve been in this business for 30 years, and it’s by far the highest I’ve seen,” Atlas CEO Joe Boyer tells<i>Barron’s</i>.</p>\n<p>About 70% of the company’s revenue comes from work on existing buildings, pipes, roads, and bridges. Those jobs are nondiscretionary: As we’ve tragically learned at times, infrastructure needs to be inspected and brought up to code at regular intervals, no matter what the economic or pandemic situation is.</p>\n<p>The remaining 30% of Atlas’ sales are tied to new construction, which dipped during the pandemic but is nearly back to pre-Covid-19 levels, according to Boyer.</p>\n<p>A long-term trend toward outsourcing services by cities and states, stricter environmental standards, and aging infrastructure in the U.S. have been drivers of Atlas’ organic growth in recent years.</p>\n<p>That trend has been responsible for about half of Atlas’ 20% compound annual growth in sales since 2016, when it was owned by private-equity firm Bernhard Capital Partners. The other avenue for growth has been Atlas’ acquisition strategy.</p>\n<p>“The idea is to find a company in a geography or a service that we don’t dominate in, bring it onto our platform, and cross-sell across our network,” Boyer says.</p>\n<p>Atlas’ sweet spot for acquisition targets is about $5 million to $20 million in Ebitda, The company typically pays four to six times Ebitda in a mix of cash and stock. That makes each deal immediately accretive to earnings.</p>\n<p>As a small and relatively young public company, Atlas gets minimal coverage from Wall Street, but the three analysts who cover the firm are bullish. “We think the company is in end markets that are strong or recovering; they’ve been winning large contracts, and its backlog has been growing,” says <a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/SF\">Stifel</a> analyst Noelle Dilts. “So, we feel good about the fundamental revenue outlook.”</p>\n<p>She rates Atlas a Buy, with a $14.50 price target, or 11 times her estimate of 2022 Ebitda, which doesn’t include any upside from a potential infrastructure bill. Using a 15 times Ebitda multiple, Sterling’s Silverman sees shares going to $43 three years from now, as debt paydown continues and earnings rise.</p>\n<p>Atlas’ balance sheet remains a fixer-upper, but the company has the right foundation.</p>\n<p></p>","source":"lsy1610680873436","collect":0,"html":"<!DOCTYPE html>\n<html>\n<head>\n<meta http-equiv=\"Content-Type\" content=\"text/html; charset=utf-8\" />\n<meta name=\"viewport\" content=\"width=device-width,initial-scale=1.0,minimum-scale=1.0,maximum-scale=1.0,user-scalable=no\"/>\n<meta name=\"format-detection\" content=\"telephone=no,email=no,address=no\" />\n<title>Infrastructure Spending Is on Its Way. Here’s a Cheap Way to Play It</title>\n<style type=\"text/css\">\na,abbr,acronym,address,applet,article,aside,audio,b,big,blockquote,body,canvas,caption,center,cite,code,dd,del,details,dfn,div,dl,dt,\nem,embed,fieldset,figcaption,figure,footer,form,h1,h2,h3,h4,h5,h6,header,hgroup,html,i,iframe,img,ins,kbd,label,legend,li,mark,menu,nav,\nobject,ol,output,p,pre,q,ruby,s,samp,section,small,span,strike,strong,sub,summary,sup,table,tbody,td,tfoot,th,thead,time,tr,tt,u,ul,var,video{ font:inherit;margin:0;padding:0;vertical-align:baseline;border:0 }\nbody{ font-size:16px; line-height:1.5; color:#999; background:transparent; }\n.wrapper{ overflow:hidden;word-break:break-all;padding:10px; }\nh1,h2{ font-weight:normal; line-height:1.35; margin-bottom:.6em; }\nh3,h4,h5,h6{ line-height:1.35; margin-bottom:1em; }\nh1{ font-size:24px; }\nh2{ font-size:20px; }\nh3{ font-size:18px; }\nh4{ font-size:16px; }\nh5{ font-size:14px; }\nh6{ font-size:12px; }\np,ul,ol,blockquote,dl,table{ margin:1.2em 0; }\nul,ol{ margin-left:2em; }\nul{ list-style:disc; }\nol{ list-style:decimal; }\nli,li p{ margin:10px 0;}\nimg{ max-width:100%;display:block;margin:0 auto 1em; }\nblockquote{ color:#B5B2B1; border-left:3px solid #aaa; padding:1em; }\nstrong,b{font-weight:bold;}\nem,i{font-style:italic;}\ntable{ width:100%;border-collapse:collapse;border-spacing:1px;margin:1em 0;font-size:.9em; }\nth,td{ padding:5px;text-align:left;border:1px solid #aaa; }\nth{ font-weight:bold;background:#5d5d5d; }\n.symbol-link{font-weight:bold;}\n/* header{ border-bottom:1px solid #494756; } */\n.title{ margin:0 0 8px;line-height:1.3;color:#ddd; }\n.meta {color:#5e5c6d;font-size:13px;margin:0 0 .5em; }\na{text-decoration:none; color:#2a4b87;}\n.meta .head { display: inline-block; overflow: hidden}\n.head .h-thumb { width: 30px; height: 30px; margin: 0; padding: 0; border-radius: 50%; float: left;}\n.head .h-content { margin: 0; padding: 0 0 0 9px; float: left;}\n.head .h-name {font-size: 13px; color: #eee; margin: 0;}\n.head .h-time {font-size: 11px; color: #7E829C; margin: 0;line-height: 11px;}\n.small {font-size: 12.5px; display: inline-block; transform: scale(0.9); -webkit-transform: scale(0.9); transform-origin: left; -webkit-transform-origin: left;}\n.smaller {font-size: 12.5px; display: inline-block; transform: scale(0.8); -webkit-transform: scale(0.8); transform-origin: left; -webkit-transform-origin: left;}\n.bt-text {font-size: 12px;margin: 1.5em 0 0 0}\n.bt-text p {margin: 0}\n</style>\n</head>\n<body>\n<div class=\"wrapper\">\n<header>\n<h2 class=\"title\">\nInfrastructure Spending Is on Its Way. Here’s a Cheap Way to Play It\n</h2>\n\n<h4 class=\"meta\">\n\n\n2021-07-31 14:44 GMT+8&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href=https://www.barrons.com/articles/infrastructure-buy-atlas-technical-consultants-stock-51627684191?mod=hp_LEAD_2><strong>Barron's</strong></a>\n\n\n</h4>\n\n</header>\n<article>\n<div>\n<p>U.S. lawmakers appear to be on the cusp of passing a massive and long-awaitedinfrastructure-investment bill, totaling some $1 trillion.\nThe legislation should be a boost to businesses likeVulcan ...</p>\n\n<a href=\"https://www.barrons.com/articles/infrastructure-buy-atlas-technical-consultants-stock-51627684191?mod=hp_LEAD_2\">Web Link</a>\n\n</div>\n\n\n</article>\n</div>\n</body>\n</html>\n","type":0,"thumbnail":"","relate_stocks":{},"source_url":"https://www.barrons.com/articles/infrastructure-buy-atlas-technical-consultants-stock-51627684191?mod=hp_LEAD_2","is_english":true,"share_image_url":"https://static.laohu8.com/e9f99090a1c2ed51c021029395664489","article_id":"1186334150","content_text":"U.S. lawmakers appear to be on the cusp of passing a massive and long-awaitedinfrastructure-investment bill, totaling some $1 trillion.\nThe legislation should be a boost to businesses likeVulcan Materials(ticker: VMC) andMartin Marietta Materials(MLM), which make concrete and asphalt;Caterpillar(CAT) andTerex(TEX), which make construction equipment; andUnited Rentals(URI), which rents the machinery. Most of their stocks have already jumped on theprospect of infrastructure spending.\nBut one infrastructure play has been overlooked:Atlas Technical Consultants(ATCX) provides engineering and design services, inspection and certification of buildings and public works, and other construction-related services. More construction means more plans and designs for Atlas to review. These eventually become finished projects that need annual inspections, paying dividends for years.\nAnd yet Atlas shares have stalled. At a recent $9, the stock trades for just eight times enterprise value to estimated 2022 earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization, or Ebitda. That multiple is a significant discount to companies in related inspection businesses, such asMontrose Environmental Group(MEG) andTetra Tech(TTEK), which trade for more than 22 times EV/2022 Ebitda.\n“Right now, part of the valuation discount is due to the debt, but I would say there are companies like Atlas where the debt is appropriate,” says Kevin Silverman, chief investment officer and portfolio manager at small-cap–focused Sterling Partners Equity Advisors, which owns more than $2 million worth of Atlas stock, accounting for about 2% of its assets under management. “The debt helps equity holders if you have steady profit margins and can use it for growth.”\nAnd Atlas has substantial opportunities for growth. Beyond the infrastructure-bill boost, Atlas has a long-term strategy of consolidating the fragmented U.S. inspection-services market while reducing its debt levels. Both should increase its appeal to investors and earn it a higher valuation multiple.\nThe Austin, Texas–headquartered company went public inearly 2020via a merger with a special-purpose acquisition company, or SPAC. The deal saddled the company with a convoluted capital structure, including multiple share classes, outstanding warrants, and other complications. That complexity has probably kept some investors away, as has Atlas’ relatively high debt load, which comes to 5.5 times net debt to 2021 Ebitda.\n\nAtlas has reduced that complexity—redeeming its preferred equity, buying out warrants, and increasing the stock’s publicly traded float—and is focused on bringing its net debt below three times Ebitda.\nAtlas is forecast to grow sales 13% this year, to $530 million, with Ebitda up 21%, to $76 million.\nIts customers include state departments of transportation, private building owners, electric and water utilities, airports, schools, hospitals, and more. Its national presence and leading scale helps win and retain marquee projects and big clients, including the U.S. Postal Service, the Environmental Protection Agency, the New York City Housing Authority, Stanford University,Walmart(WMT), andApple(AAPL).\nAtlas earned $64 million in adjusted Ebitda over the past four reported quarters, while it had a net loss of $18 million. As of the end of the first quarter, the company had a backlog of $689 million, or more than 140% of its last 12 months’ revenue of $482 million. “I’ve been in this business for 30 years, and it’s by far the highest I’ve seen,” Atlas CEO Joe Boyer tellsBarron’s.\nAbout 70% of the company’s revenue comes from work on existing buildings, pipes, roads, and bridges. Those jobs are nondiscretionary: As we’ve tragically learned at times, infrastructure needs to be inspected and brought up to code at regular intervals, no matter what the economic or pandemic situation is.\nThe remaining 30% of Atlas’ sales are tied to new construction, which dipped during the pandemic but is nearly back to pre-Covid-19 levels, according to Boyer.\nA long-term trend toward outsourcing services by cities and states, stricter environmental standards, and aging infrastructure in the U.S. have been drivers of Atlas’ organic growth in recent years.\nThat trend has been responsible for about half of Atlas’ 20% compound annual growth in sales since 2016, when it was owned by private-equity firm Bernhard Capital Partners. The other avenue for growth has been Atlas’ acquisition strategy.\n“The idea is to find a company in a geography or a service that we don’t dominate in, bring it onto our platform, and cross-sell across our network,” Boyer says.\nAtlas’ sweet spot for acquisition targets is about $5 million to $20 million in Ebitda, The company typically pays four to six times Ebitda in a mix of cash and stock. That makes each deal immediately accretive to earnings.\nAs a small and relatively young public company, Atlas gets minimal coverage from Wall Street, but the three analysts who cover the firm are bullish. “We think the company is in end markets that are strong or recovering; they’ve been winning large contracts, and its backlog has been growing,” says Stifel analyst Noelle Dilts. “So, we feel good about the fundamental revenue outlook.”\nShe rates Atlas a Buy, with a $14.50 price target, or 11 times her estimate of 2022 Ebitda, which doesn’t include any upside from a potential infrastructure bill. Using a 15 times Ebitda multiple, Sterling’s Silverman sees shares going to $43 three years from now, as debt paydown continues and earnings rise.\nAtlas’ balance sheet remains a fixer-upper, but the company has the right foundation.","news_type":1},"isVote":1,"likeStatus":false,"favoriteStatus":false,"reportStatus":false,"tweetType":1,"comments":[{"id":5390875,"gmtCreate":1627779337517,"gmtModify":1663231769138,"authorId":3582025117705198,"author":{"id":3582025117705198,"idStr":"3582025117705198","authorId":3582025117705198,"name":"Wanlin927","avatar":"https://static.tigerbbs.com/8dcfce5bedd37636dfe4d9ca052f0f47","vip":1,"crmLevel":2,"crmLevelSwitch":0,"individualDisplayBadges":[]},"repliedAuthorId":0,"objectId":802646054,"type":1,"supId":0,"prevId":0,"content":"Ho","text":"Ho","html":"Ho"}],"langContent":"EN"},{"id":802641314,"gmtCreate":1627779139338,"gmtModify":1703495658569,"author":{"id":"3582841400641553","authorId":"3582841400641553","name":"KSLeck","avatar":"https://static.tigerbbs.com/2f80510e9b792a699f6e5ff59c38b90b","vip":1,"hat":"https://static.tigerbbs.com/b073a07f77dbe6b3bec6b12311fde6bd","crmLevel":2,"crmLevelSwitch":1,"authorIdStr":"3582841400641553","idStr":"3582841400641553"},"htmlText":"Good info","listText":"Good info","text":"Good info","images":[],"top":1,"highlighted":1,"essential":1,"paper":1,"likeSize":2,"commentSize":1,"repostSize":0,"link":"https://ttm.financial/post/802641314","repostId":1186334150,"repostType":4,"repost":{"id":"1186334150","pubTimestamp":1627713845,"share":"https://ttm.financial/m/news/1186334150?lang=&edition=fundamental","pubTime":"2021-07-31 14:44","market":"us","language":"en","title":"Infrastructure Spending Is on Its Way. Here’s a Cheap Way to Play It","url":"https://stock-news.laohu8.com/highlight/detail?id=1186334150","media":"Barron's","summary":"U.S. lawmakers appear to be on the cusp of passing a massive and long-awaitedinfrastructure-investme","content":"<p>U.S. lawmakers appear to be on the cusp of passing a massive and long-awaitedinfrastructure-investment bill, totaling some $1 trillion.</p>\n<p>The legislation should be a boost to businesses like<a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/VMC\">Vulcan Materials</a>(ticker: VMC) and<a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/MLM\">Martin Marietta Materials</a>(MLM), which make concrete and asphalt;<a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/CAT\">Caterpillar</a>(CAT) and<a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/TEX\">Terex</a>(TEX), which make construction equipment; and<a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/URI\">United Rentals</a>(URI), which rents the machinery. Most of their stocks have already jumped on theprospect of infrastructure spending.</p>\n<p>But <a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/AONE.U\">one</a> infrastructure play has been overlooked:<a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/AFH\">Atlas</a> Technical Consultants(ATCX) provides engineering and design services, inspection and certification of buildings and public works, and other construction-related services. More construction means more plans and designs for Atlas to review. These eventually become finished projects that need annual inspections, paying dividends for years.</p>\n<p>And yet Atlas shares have stalled. At a recent $9, the stock trades for just eight times enterprise value to estimated 2022 earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization, or Ebitda. That multiple is a significant discount to companies in related inspection businesses, such asMontrose Environmental Group(MEG) andTetra Tech(TTEK), which trade for more than 22 times EV/2022 Ebitda.</p>\n<p><img src=\"https://static.tigerbbs.com/19ad62f427fb70a25aa96068bc5d1756\" tg-width=\"442\" tg-height=\"364\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer\">“Right now, part of the valuation discount is due to the debt, but I would say there are companies like Atlas where the debt is appropriate,” says Kevin Silverman, chief investment officer and portfolio manager at small-cap–focused <a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/STL\">Sterling</a> Partners <a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/EQR\">Equity</a> Advisors, which owns more than $2 million worth of Atlas stock, accounting for about 2% of its assets under management. “The debt helps equity holders if you have steady profit margins and can use it for growth.”</p>\n<p>And Atlas has substantial opportunities for growth. Beyond the infrastructure-bill boost, Atlas has a long-term strategy of consolidating the fragmented U.S. inspection-services market while reducing its debt levels. Both should increase its appeal to investors and earn it a higher valuation multiple.</p>\n<p>The Austin, Texas–headquartered company went public inearly 2020via a merger with a special-purpose acquisition company, or SPAC. The deal saddled the company with a convoluted capital structure, including multiple share classes, outstanding warrants, and other complications. That complexity has probably kept some investors away, as has Atlas’ relatively high debt load, which comes to 5.5 times net debt to 2021 Ebitda.</p>\n<p><img src=\"https://static.tigerbbs.com/99bb73a7c212bfed6d0890b8b14fbc15\" tg-width=\"607\" tg-height=\"396\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer\"></p>\n<p>Atlas has reduced that complexity—redeeming its preferred equity, buying out warrants, and increasing the stock’s publicly traded float—and is focused on bringing its net debt below three times Ebitda.</p>\n<p>Atlas is forecast to grow sales 13% this year, to $530 million, with Ebitda up 21%, to $76 million.</p>\n<p>Its customers include state departments of transportation, private building owners, electric and water utilities, airports, schools, hospitals, and more. Its national presence and leading scale helps win and retain marquee projects and big clients, including the U.S. Postal <a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/SCI\">Service</a>, the Environmental Protection Agency, the <a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/NWY\">New York</a> <a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/CHCO\">City</a> Housing Authority, Stanford University,Walmart(WMT), and<a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/AAPL\">Apple</a>(AAPL).</p>\n<p>Atlas earned $64 million in adjusted Ebitda over the past four reported quarters, while it had a net loss of $18 million. As of the end of the first quarter, the company had a backlog of $689 million, or more than 140% of its last 12 months’ revenue of $482 million. “I’ve been in this business for 30 years, and it’s by far the highest I’ve seen,” Atlas CEO Joe Boyer tells<i>Barron’s</i>.</p>\n<p>About 70% of the company’s revenue comes from work on existing buildings, pipes, roads, and bridges. Those jobs are nondiscretionary: As we’ve tragically learned at times, infrastructure needs to be inspected and brought up to code at regular intervals, no matter what the economic or pandemic situation is.</p>\n<p>The remaining 30% of Atlas’ sales are tied to new construction, which dipped during the pandemic but is nearly back to pre-Covid-19 levels, according to Boyer.</p>\n<p>A long-term trend toward outsourcing services by cities and states, stricter environmental standards, and aging infrastructure in the U.S. have been drivers of Atlas’ organic growth in recent years.</p>\n<p>That trend has been responsible for about half of Atlas’ 20% compound annual growth in sales since 2016, when it was owned by private-equity firm Bernhard Capital Partners. The other avenue for growth has been Atlas’ acquisition strategy.</p>\n<p>“The idea is to find a company in a geography or a service that we don’t dominate in, bring it onto our platform, and cross-sell across our network,” Boyer says.</p>\n<p>Atlas’ sweet spot for acquisition targets is about $5 million to $20 million in Ebitda, The company typically pays four to six times Ebitda in a mix of cash and stock. That makes each deal immediately accretive to earnings.</p>\n<p>As a small and relatively young public company, Atlas gets minimal coverage from Wall Street, but the three analysts who cover the firm are bullish. “We think the company is in end markets that are strong or recovering; they’ve been winning large contracts, and its backlog has been growing,” says <a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/SF\">Stifel</a> analyst Noelle Dilts. “So, we feel good about the fundamental revenue outlook.”</p>\n<p>She rates Atlas a Buy, with a $14.50 price target, or 11 times her estimate of 2022 Ebitda, which doesn’t include any upside from a potential infrastructure bill. Using a 15 times Ebitda multiple, Sterling’s Silverman sees shares going to $43 three years from now, as debt paydown continues and earnings rise.</p>\n<p>Atlas’ balance sheet remains a fixer-upper, but the company has the right foundation.</p>\n<p></p>","source":"lsy1610680873436","collect":0,"html":"<!DOCTYPE html>\n<html>\n<head>\n<meta http-equiv=\"Content-Type\" content=\"text/html; charset=utf-8\" />\n<meta name=\"viewport\" content=\"width=device-width,initial-scale=1.0,minimum-scale=1.0,maximum-scale=1.0,user-scalable=no\"/>\n<meta name=\"format-detection\" content=\"telephone=no,email=no,address=no\" />\n<title>Infrastructure Spending Is on Its Way. Here’s a Cheap Way to Play It</title>\n<style type=\"text/css\">\na,abbr,acronym,address,applet,article,aside,audio,b,big,blockquote,body,canvas,caption,center,cite,code,dd,del,details,dfn,div,dl,dt,\nem,embed,fieldset,figcaption,figure,footer,form,h1,h2,h3,h4,h5,h6,header,hgroup,html,i,iframe,img,ins,kbd,label,legend,li,mark,menu,nav,\nobject,ol,output,p,pre,q,ruby,s,samp,section,small,span,strike,strong,sub,summary,sup,table,tbody,td,tfoot,th,thead,time,tr,tt,u,ul,var,video{ font:inherit;margin:0;padding:0;vertical-align:baseline;border:0 }\nbody{ font-size:16px; line-height:1.5; color:#999; background:transparent; }\n.wrapper{ overflow:hidden;word-break:break-all;padding:10px; }\nh1,h2{ font-weight:normal; line-height:1.35; margin-bottom:.6em; }\nh3,h4,h5,h6{ line-height:1.35; margin-bottom:1em; }\nh1{ font-size:24px; }\nh2{ font-size:20px; }\nh3{ font-size:18px; }\nh4{ font-size:16px; }\nh5{ font-size:14px; }\nh6{ font-size:12px; }\np,ul,ol,blockquote,dl,table{ margin:1.2em 0; }\nul,ol{ margin-left:2em; }\nul{ list-style:disc; }\nol{ list-style:decimal; }\nli,li p{ margin:10px 0;}\nimg{ max-width:100%;display:block;margin:0 auto 1em; }\nblockquote{ color:#B5B2B1; border-left:3px solid #aaa; padding:1em; }\nstrong,b{font-weight:bold;}\nem,i{font-style:italic;}\ntable{ width:100%;border-collapse:collapse;border-spacing:1px;margin:1em 0;font-size:.9em; }\nth,td{ padding:5px;text-align:left;border:1px solid #aaa; }\nth{ font-weight:bold;background:#5d5d5d; }\n.symbol-link{font-weight:bold;}\n/* header{ border-bottom:1px solid #494756; } */\n.title{ margin:0 0 8px;line-height:1.3;color:#ddd; }\n.meta {color:#5e5c6d;font-size:13px;margin:0 0 .5em; }\na{text-decoration:none; color:#2a4b87;}\n.meta .head { display: inline-block; overflow: hidden}\n.head .h-thumb { width: 30px; height: 30px; margin: 0; padding: 0; border-radius: 50%; float: left;}\n.head .h-content { margin: 0; padding: 0 0 0 9px; float: left;}\n.head .h-name {font-size: 13px; color: #eee; margin: 0;}\n.head .h-time {font-size: 11px; color: #7E829C; margin: 0;line-height: 11px;}\n.small {font-size: 12.5px; display: inline-block; transform: scale(0.9); -webkit-transform: scale(0.9); transform-origin: left; -webkit-transform-origin: left;}\n.smaller {font-size: 12.5px; display: inline-block; transform: scale(0.8); -webkit-transform: scale(0.8); transform-origin: left; -webkit-transform-origin: left;}\n.bt-text {font-size: 12px;margin: 1.5em 0 0 0}\n.bt-text p {margin: 0}\n</style>\n</head>\n<body>\n<div class=\"wrapper\">\n<header>\n<h2 class=\"title\">\nInfrastructure Spending Is on Its Way. Here’s a Cheap Way to Play It\n</h2>\n\n<h4 class=\"meta\">\n\n\n2021-07-31 14:44 GMT+8&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href=https://www.barrons.com/articles/infrastructure-buy-atlas-technical-consultants-stock-51627684191?mod=hp_LEAD_2><strong>Barron's</strong></a>\n\n\n</h4>\n\n</header>\n<article>\n<div>\n<p>U.S. lawmakers appear to be on the cusp of passing a massive and long-awaitedinfrastructure-investment bill, totaling some $1 trillion.\nThe legislation should be a boost to businesses likeVulcan ...</p>\n\n<a href=\"https://www.barrons.com/articles/infrastructure-buy-atlas-technical-consultants-stock-51627684191?mod=hp_LEAD_2\">Web Link</a>\n\n</div>\n\n\n</article>\n</div>\n</body>\n</html>\n","type":0,"thumbnail":"","relate_stocks":{},"source_url":"https://www.barrons.com/articles/infrastructure-buy-atlas-technical-consultants-stock-51627684191?mod=hp_LEAD_2","is_english":true,"share_image_url":"https://static.laohu8.com/e9f99090a1c2ed51c021029395664489","article_id":"1186334150","content_text":"U.S. lawmakers appear to be on the cusp of passing a massive and long-awaitedinfrastructure-investment bill, totaling some $1 trillion.\nThe legislation should be a boost to businesses likeVulcan Materials(ticker: VMC) andMartin Marietta Materials(MLM), which make concrete and asphalt;Caterpillar(CAT) andTerex(TEX), which make construction equipment; andUnited Rentals(URI), which rents the machinery. Most of their stocks have already jumped on theprospect of infrastructure spending.\nBut one infrastructure play has been overlooked:Atlas Technical Consultants(ATCX) provides engineering and design services, inspection and certification of buildings and public works, and other construction-related services. More construction means more plans and designs for Atlas to review. These eventually become finished projects that need annual inspections, paying dividends for years.\nAnd yet Atlas shares have stalled. At a recent $9, the stock trades for just eight times enterprise value to estimated 2022 earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization, or Ebitda. That multiple is a significant discount to companies in related inspection businesses, such asMontrose Environmental Group(MEG) andTetra Tech(TTEK), which trade for more than 22 times EV/2022 Ebitda.\n“Right now, part of the valuation discount is due to the debt, but I would say there are companies like Atlas where the debt is appropriate,” says Kevin Silverman, chief investment officer and portfolio manager at small-cap–focused Sterling Partners Equity Advisors, which owns more than $2 million worth of Atlas stock, accounting for about 2% of its assets under management. “The debt helps equity holders if you have steady profit margins and can use it for growth.”\nAnd Atlas has substantial opportunities for growth. Beyond the infrastructure-bill boost, Atlas has a long-term strategy of consolidating the fragmented U.S. inspection-services market while reducing its debt levels. Both should increase its appeal to investors and earn it a higher valuation multiple.\nThe Austin, Texas–headquartered company went public inearly 2020via a merger with a special-purpose acquisition company, or SPAC. The deal saddled the company with a convoluted capital structure, including multiple share classes, outstanding warrants, and other complications. That complexity has probably kept some investors away, as has Atlas’ relatively high debt load, which comes to 5.5 times net debt to 2021 Ebitda.\n\nAtlas has reduced that complexity—redeeming its preferred equity, buying out warrants, and increasing the stock’s publicly traded float—and is focused on bringing its net debt below three times Ebitda.\nAtlas is forecast to grow sales 13% this year, to $530 million, with Ebitda up 21%, to $76 million.\nIts customers include state departments of transportation, private building owners, electric and water utilities, airports, schools, hospitals, and more. Its national presence and leading scale helps win and retain marquee projects and big clients, including the U.S. Postal Service, the Environmental Protection Agency, the New York City Housing Authority, Stanford University,Walmart(WMT), andApple(AAPL).\nAtlas earned $64 million in adjusted Ebitda over the past four reported quarters, while it had a net loss of $18 million. As of the end of the first quarter, the company had a backlog of $689 million, or more than 140% of its last 12 months’ revenue of $482 million. “I’ve been in this business for 30 years, and it’s by far the highest I’ve seen,” Atlas CEO Joe Boyer tellsBarron’s.\nAbout 70% of the company’s revenue comes from work on existing buildings, pipes, roads, and bridges. Those jobs are nondiscretionary: As we’ve tragically learned at times, infrastructure needs to be inspected and brought up to code at regular intervals, no matter what the economic or pandemic situation is.\nThe remaining 30% of Atlas’ sales are tied to new construction, which dipped during the pandemic but is nearly back to pre-Covid-19 levels, according to Boyer.\nA long-term trend toward outsourcing services by cities and states, stricter environmental standards, and aging infrastructure in the U.S. have been drivers of Atlas’ organic growth in recent years.\nThat trend has been responsible for about half of Atlas’ 20% compound annual growth in sales since 2016, when it was owned by private-equity firm Bernhard Capital Partners. The other avenue for growth has been Atlas’ acquisition strategy.\n“The idea is to find a company in a geography or a service that we don’t dominate in, bring it onto our platform, and cross-sell across our network,” Boyer says.\nAtlas’ sweet spot for acquisition targets is about $5 million to $20 million in Ebitda, The company typically pays four to six times Ebitda in a mix of cash and stock. That makes each deal immediately accretive to earnings.\nAs a small and relatively young public company, Atlas gets minimal coverage from Wall Street, but the three analysts who cover the firm are bullish. “We think the company is in end markets that are strong or recovering; they’ve been winning large contracts, and its backlog has been growing,” says Stifel analyst Noelle Dilts. “So, we feel good about the fundamental revenue outlook.”\nShe rates Atlas a Buy, with a $14.50 price target, or 11 times her estimate of 2022 Ebitda, which doesn’t include any upside from a potential infrastructure bill. Using a 15 times Ebitda multiple, Sterling’s Silverman sees shares going to $43 three years from now, as debt paydown continues and earnings rise.\nAtlas’ balance sheet remains a fixer-upper, but the company has the right foundation.","news_type":1},"isVote":1,"likeStatus":false,"favoriteStatus":false,"reportStatus":false,"tweetType":1,"comments":[{"id":5390872,"gmtCreate":1627779318216,"gmtModify":1631891592213,"authorId":3585477991561030,"author":{"id":3585477991561030,"idStr":"3585477991561030","authorId":3585477991561030,"name":"Chloess","avatar":"https://static.tigerbbs.com/dc1bba40382f0d1a7bb35fc7a06beba7","vip":1,"crmLevel":2,"crmLevelSwitch":1,"individualDisplayBadges":[]},"repliedAuthorId":0,"objectId":802641314,"type":1,"supId":0,"prevId":0,"content":"<u>ok</u>","text":"<u>ok</u>","html":"<u>ok</u>"}],"langContent":"EN"},{"id":802640188,"gmtCreate":1627778927644,"gmtModify":1703495652593,"author":{"id":"3584786668414972","authorId":"3584786668414972","name":"Lim888","avatar":"https://static.tigerbbs.com/1e6c0b29781df97f0215fc9daa1e5e31","vip":1,"crmLevel":2,"crmLevelSwitch":0,"authorIdStr":"3584786668414972","idStr":"3584786668414972"},"htmlText":"Like","listText":"Like","text":"Like","images":[],"top":1,"highlighted":1,"essential":1,"paper":1,"likeSize":0,"commentSize":0,"repostSize":0,"link":"https://ttm.financial/post/802640188","repostId":1186334150,"repostType":4,"repost":{"id":"1186334150","pubTimestamp":1627713845,"share":"https://ttm.financial/m/news/1186334150?lang=&edition=fundamental","pubTime":"2021-07-31 14:44","market":"us","language":"en","title":"Infrastructure Spending Is on Its Way. Here’s a Cheap Way to Play It","url":"https://stock-news.laohu8.com/highlight/detail?id=1186334150","media":"Barron's","summary":"U.S. lawmakers appear to be on the cusp of passing a massive and long-awaitedinfrastructure-investme","content":"<p>U.S. lawmakers appear to be on the cusp of passing a massive and long-awaitedinfrastructure-investment bill, totaling some $1 trillion.</p>\n<p>The legislation should be a boost to businesses like<a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/VMC\">Vulcan Materials</a>(ticker: VMC) and<a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/MLM\">Martin Marietta Materials</a>(MLM), which make concrete and asphalt;<a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/CAT\">Caterpillar</a>(CAT) and<a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/TEX\">Terex</a>(TEX), which make construction equipment; and<a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/URI\">United Rentals</a>(URI), which rents the machinery. Most of their stocks have already jumped on theprospect of infrastructure spending.</p>\n<p>But <a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/AONE.U\">one</a> infrastructure play has been overlooked:<a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/AFH\">Atlas</a> Technical Consultants(ATCX) provides engineering and design services, inspection and certification of buildings and public works, and other construction-related services. More construction means more plans and designs for Atlas to review. These eventually become finished projects that need annual inspections, paying dividends for years.</p>\n<p>And yet Atlas shares have stalled. At a recent $9, the stock trades for just eight times enterprise value to estimated 2022 earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization, or Ebitda. That multiple is a significant discount to companies in related inspection businesses, such asMontrose Environmental Group(MEG) andTetra Tech(TTEK), which trade for more than 22 times EV/2022 Ebitda.</p>\n<p><img src=\"https://static.tigerbbs.com/19ad62f427fb70a25aa96068bc5d1756\" tg-width=\"442\" tg-height=\"364\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer\">“Right now, part of the valuation discount is due to the debt, but I would say there are companies like Atlas where the debt is appropriate,” says Kevin Silverman, chief investment officer and portfolio manager at small-cap–focused <a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/STL\">Sterling</a> Partners <a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/EQR\">Equity</a> Advisors, which owns more than $2 million worth of Atlas stock, accounting for about 2% of its assets under management. “The debt helps equity holders if you have steady profit margins and can use it for growth.”</p>\n<p>And Atlas has substantial opportunities for growth. Beyond the infrastructure-bill boost, Atlas has a long-term strategy of consolidating the fragmented U.S. inspection-services market while reducing its debt levels. Both should increase its appeal to investors and earn it a higher valuation multiple.</p>\n<p>The Austin, Texas–headquartered company went public inearly 2020via a merger with a special-purpose acquisition company, or SPAC. The deal saddled the company with a convoluted capital structure, including multiple share classes, outstanding warrants, and other complications. That complexity has probably kept some investors away, as has Atlas’ relatively high debt load, which comes to 5.5 times net debt to 2021 Ebitda.</p>\n<p><img src=\"https://static.tigerbbs.com/99bb73a7c212bfed6d0890b8b14fbc15\" tg-width=\"607\" tg-height=\"396\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer\"></p>\n<p>Atlas has reduced that complexity—redeeming its preferred equity, buying out warrants, and increasing the stock’s publicly traded float—and is focused on bringing its net debt below three times Ebitda.</p>\n<p>Atlas is forecast to grow sales 13% this year, to $530 million, with Ebitda up 21%, to $76 million.</p>\n<p>Its customers include state departments of transportation, private building owners, electric and water utilities, airports, schools, hospitals, and more. Its national presence and leading scale helps win and retain marquee projects and big clients, including the U.S. Postal <a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/SCI\">Service</a>, the Environmental Protection Agency, the <a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/NWY\">New York</a> <a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/CHCO\">City</a> Housing Authority, Stanford University,Walmart(WMT), and<a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/AAPL\">Apple</a>(AAPL).</p>\n<p>Atlas earned $64 million in adjusted Ebitda over the past four reported quarters, while it had a net loss of $18 million. As of the end of the first quarter, the company had a backlog of $689 million, or more than 140% of its last 12 months’ revenue of $482 million. “I’ve been in this business for 30 years, and it’s by far the highest I’ve seen,” Atlas CEO Joe Boyer tells<i>Barron’s</i>.</p>\n<p>About 70% of the company’s revenue comes from work on existing buildings, pipes, roads, and bridges. Those jobs are nondiscretionary: As we’ve tragically learned at times, infrastructure needs to be inspected and brought up to code at regular intervals, no matter what the economic or pandemic situation is.</p>\n<p>The remaining 30% of Atlas’ sales are tied to new construction, which dipped during the pandemic but is nearly back to pre-Covid-19 levels, according to Boyer.</p>\n<p>A long-term trend toward outsourcing services by cities and states, stricter environmental standards, and aging infrastructure in the U.S. have been drivers of Atlas’ organic growth in recent years.</p>\n<p>That trend has been responsible for about half of Atlas’ 20% compound annual growth in sales since 2016, when it was owned by private-equity firm Bernhard Capital Partners. The other avenue for growth has been Atlas’ acquisition strategy.</p>\n<p>“The idea is to find a company in a geography or a service that we don’t dominate in, bring it onto our platform, and cross-sell across our network,” Boyer says.</p>\n<p>Atlas’ sweet spot for acquisition targets is about $5 million to $20 million in Ebitda, The company typically pays four to six times Ebitda in a mix of cash and stock. That makes each deal immediately accretive to earnings.</p>\n<p>As a small and relatively young public company, Atlas gets minimal coverage from Wall Street, but the three analysts who cover the firm are bullish. “We think the company is in end markets that are strong or recovering; they’ve been winning large contracts, and its backlog has been growing,” says <a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/SF\">Stifel</a> analyst Noelle Dilts. “So, we feel good about the fundamental revenue outlook.”</p>\n<p>She rates Atlas a Buy, with a $14.50 price target, or 11 times her estimate of 2022 Ebitda, which doesn’t include any upside from a potential infrastructure bill. Using a 15 times Ebitda multiple, Sterling’s Silverman sees shares going to $43 three years from now, as debt paydown continues and earnings rise.</p>\n<p>Atlas’ balance sheet remains a fixer-upper, but the company has the right foundation.</p>\n<p></p>","source":"lsy1610680873436","collect":0,"html":"<!DOCTYPE html>\n<html>\n<head>\n<meta http-equiv=\"Content-Type\" content=\"text/html; charset=utf-8\" />\n<meta name=\"viewport\" content=\"width=device-width,initial-scale=1.0,minimum-scale=1.0,maximum-scale=1.0,user-scalable=no\"/>\n<meta name=\"format-detection\" content=\"telephone=no,email=no,address=no\" />\n<title>Infrastructure Spending Is on Its Way. Here’s a Cheap Way to Play It</title>\n<style type=\"text/css\">\na,abbr,acronym,address,applet,article,aside,audio,b,big,blockquote,body,canvas,caption,center,cite,code,dd,del,details,dfn,div,dl,dt,\nem,embed,fieldset,figcaption,figure,footer,form,h1,h2,h3,h4,h5,h6,header,hgroup,html,i,iframe,img,ins,kbd,label,legend,li,mark,menu,nav,\nobject,ol,output,p,pre,q,ruby,s,samp,section,small,span,strike,strong,sub,summary,sup,table,tbody,td,tfoot,th,thead,time,tr,tt,u,ul,var,video{ font:inherit;margin:0;padding:0;vertical-align:baseline;border:0 }\nbody{ font-size:16px; line-height:1.5; color:#999; background:transparent; }\n.wrapper{ overflow:hidden;word-break:break-all;padding:10px; }\nh1,h2{ font-weight:normal; line-height:1.35; margin-bottom:.6em; }\nh3,h4,h5,h6{ line-height:1.35; margin-bottom:1em; }\nh1{ font-size:24px; }\nh2{ font-size:20px; }\nh3{ font-size:18px; }\nh4{ font-size:16px; }\nh5{ font-size:14px; }\nh6{ font-size:12px; }\np,ul,ol,blockquote,dl,table{ margin:1.2em 0; }\nul,ol{ margin-left:2em; }\nul{ list-style:disc; }\nol{ list-style:decimal; }\nli,li p{ margin:10px 0;}\nimg{ max-width:100%;display:block;margin:0 auto 1em; }\nblockquote{ color:#B5B2B1; border-left:3px solid #aaa; padding:1em; }\nstrong,b{font-weight:bold;}\nem,i{font-style:italic;}\ntable{ width:100%;border-collapse:collapse;border-spacing:1px;margin:1em 0;font-size:.9em; }\nth,td{ padding:5px;text-align:left;border:1px solid #aaa; }\nth{ font-weight:bold;background:#5d5d5d; }\n.symbol-link{font-weight:bold;}\n/* header{ border-bottom:1px solid #494756; } */\n.title{ margin:0 0 8px;line-height:1.3;color:#ddd; }\n.meta {color:#5e5c6d;font-size:13px;margin:0 0 .5em; }\na{text-decoration:none; color:#2a4b87;}\n.meta .head { display: inline-block; overflow: hidden}\n.head .h-thumb { width: 30px; height: 30px; margin: 0; padding: 0; border-radius: 50%; float: left;}\n.head .h-content { margin: 0; padding: 0 0 0 9px; float: left;}\n.head .h-name {font-size: 13px; color: #eee; margin: 0;}\n.head .h-time {font-size: 11px; color: #7E829C; margin: 0;line-height: 11px;}\n.small {font-size: 12.5px; display: inline-block; transform: scale(0.9); -webkit-transform: scale(0.9); transform-origin: left; -webkit-transform-origin: left;}\n.smaller {font-size: 12.5px; display: inline-block; transform: scale(0.8); -webkit-transform: scale(0.8); transform-origin: left; -webkit-transform-origin: left;}\n.bt-text {font-size: 12px;margin: 1.5em 0 0 0}\n.bt-text p {margin: 0}\n</style>\n</head>\n<body>\n<div class=\"wrapper\">\n<header>\n<h2 class=\"title\">\nInfrastructure Spending Is on Its Way. Here’s a Cheap Way to Play It\n</h2>\n\n<h4 class=\"meta\">\n\n\n2021-07-31 14:44 GMT+8&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href=https://www.barrons.com/articles/infrastructure-buy-atlas-technical-consultants-stock-51627684191?mod=hp_LEAD_2><strong>Barron's</strong></a>\n\n\n</h4>\n\n</header>\n<article>\n<div>\n<p>U.S. lawmakers appear to be on the cusp of passing a massive and long-awaitedinfrastructure-investment bill, totaling some $1 trillion.\nThe legislation should be a boost to businesses likeVulcan ...</p>\n\n<a href=\"https://www.barrons.com/articles/infrastructure-buy-atlas-technical-consultants-stock-51627684191?mod=hp_LEAD_2\">Web Link</a>\n\n</div>\n\n\n</article>\n</div>\n</body>\n</html>\n","type":0,"thumbnail":"","relate_stocks":{},"source_url":"https://www.barrons.com/articles/infrastructure-buy-atlas-technical-consultants-stock-51627684191?mod=hp_LEAD_2","is_english":true,"share_image_url":"https://static.laohu8.com/e9f99090a1c2ed51c021029395664489","article_id":"1186334150","content_text":"U.S. lawmakers appear to be on the cusp of passing a massive and long-awaitedinfrastructure-investment bill, totaling some $1 trillion.\nThe legislation should be a boost to businesses likeVulcan Materials(ticker: VMC) andMartin Marietta Materials(MLM), which make concrete and asphalt;Caterpillar(CAT) andTerex(TEX), which make construction equipment; andUnited Rentals(URI), which rents the machinery. Most of their stocks have already jumped on theprospect of infrastructure spending.\nBut one infrastructure play has been overlooked:Atlas Technical Consultants(ATCX) provides engineering and design services, inspection and certification of buildings and public works, and other construction-related services. More construction means more plans and designs for Atlas to review. These eventually become finished projects that need annual inspections, paying dividends for years.\nAnd yet Atlas shares have stalled. At a recent $9, the stock trades for just eight times enterprise value to estimated 2022 earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization, or Ebitda. That multiple is a significant discount to companies in related inspection businesses, such asMontrose Environmental Group(MEG) andTetra Tech(TTEK), which trade for more than 22 times EV/2022 Ebitda.\n“Right now, part of the valuation discount is due to the debt, but I would say there are companies like Atlas where the debt is appropriate,” says Kevin Silverman, chief investment officer and portfolio manager at small-cap–focused Sterling Partners Equity Advisors, which owns more than $2 million worth of Atlas stock, accounting for about 2% of its assets under management. “The debt helps equity holders if you have steady profit margins and can use it for growth.”\nAnd Atlas has substantial opportunities for growth. Beyond the infrastructure-bill boost, Atlas has a long-term strategy of consolidating the fragmented U.S. inspection-services market while reducing its debt levels. Both should increase its appeal to investors and earn it a higher valuation multiple.\nThe Austin, Texas–headquartered company went public inearly 2020via a merger with a special-purpose acquisition company, or SPAC. The deal saddled the company with a convoluted capital structure, including multiple share classes, outstanding warrants, and other complications. That complexity has probably kept some investors away, as has Atlas’ relatively high debt load, which comes to 5.5 times net debt to 2021 Ebitda.\n\nAtlas has reduced that complexity—redeeming its preferred equity, buying out warrants, and increasing the stock’s publicly traded float—and is focused on bringing its net debt below three times Ebitda.\nAtlas is forecast to grow sales 13% this year, to $530 million, with Ebitda up 21%, to $76 million.\nIts customers include state departments of transportation, private building owners, electric and water utilities, airports, schools, hospitals, and more. Its national presence and leading scale helps win and retain marquee projects and big clients, including the U.S. Postal Service, the Environmental Protection Agency, the New York City Housing Authority, Stanford University,Walmart(WMT), andApple(AAPL).\nAtlas earned $64 million in adjusted Ebitda over the past four reported quarters, while it had a net loss of $18 million. As of the end of the first quarter, the company had a backlog of $689 million, or more than 140% of its last 12 months’ revenue of $482 million. “I’ve been in this business for 30 years, and it’s by far the highest I’ve seen,” Atlas CEO Joe Boyer tellsBarron’s.\nAbout 70% of the company’s revenue comes from work on existing buildings, pipes, roads, and bridges. Those jobs are nondiscretionary: As we’ve tragically learned at times, infrastructure needs to be inspected and brought up to code at regular intervals, no matter what the economic or pandemic situation is.\nThe remaining 30% of Atlas’ sales are tied to new construction, which dipped during the pandemic but is nearly back to pre-Covid-19 levels, according to Boyer.\nA long-term trend toward outsourcing services by cities and states, stricter environmental standards, and aging infrastructure in the U.S. have been drivers of Atlas’ organic growth in recent years.\nThat trend has been responsible for about half of Atlas’ 20% compound annual growth in sales since 2016, when it was owned by private-equity firm Bernhard Capital Partners. The other avenue for growth has been Atlas’ acquisition strategy.\n“The idea is to find a company in a geography or a service that we don’t dominate in, bring it onto our platform, and cross-sell across our network,” Boyer says.\nAtlas’ sweet spot for acquisition targets is about $5 million to $20 million in Ebitda, The company typically pays four to six times Ebitda in a mix of cash and stock. That makes each deal immediately accretive to earnings.\nAs a small and relatively young public company, Atlas gets minimal coverage from Wall Street, but the three analysts who cover the firm are bullish. “We think the company is in end markets that are strong or recovering; they’ve been winning large contracts, and its backlog has been growing,” says Stifel analyst Noelle Dilts. “So, we feel good about the fundamental revenue outlook.”\nShe rates Atlas a Buy, with a $14.50 price target, or 11 times her estimate of 2022 Ebitda, which doesn’t include any upside from a potential infrastructure bill. Using a 15 times Ebitda multiple, Sterling’s Silverman sees shares going to $43 three years from now, as debt paydown continues and earnings rise.\nAtlas’ balance sheet remains a fixer-upper, but the company has the right foundation.","news_type":1},"isVote":1,"likeStatus":false,"favoriteStatus":false,"reportStatus":false,"tweetType":1,"langContent":"EN"},{"id":802652433,"gmtCreate":1627778748522,"gmtModify":1703495648388,"author":{"id":"3581841381174598","authorId":"3581841381174598","name":"JonC1997","avatar":"https://static.tigerbbs.com/3b36205562e7be603067005666045365","vip":1,"crmLevel":3,"crmLevelSwitch":0,"authorIdStr":"3581841381174598","idStr":"3581841381174598"},"htmlText":"Hi&nbsp;","listText":"Hi&nbsp;","text":"Hi","images":[],"top":1,"highlighted":1,"essential":1,"paper":1,"likeSize":1,"commentSize":0,"repostSize":0,"link":"https://ttm.financial/post/802652433","repostId":1186334150,"repostType":4,"repost":{"id":"1186334150","pubTimestamp":1627713845,"share":"https://ttm.financial/m/news/1186334150?lang=&edition=fundamental","pubTime":"2021-07-31 14:44","market":"us","language":"en","title":"Infrastructure Spending Is on Its Way. Here’s a Cheap Way to Play It","url":"https://stock-news.laohu8.com/highlight/detail?id=1186334150","media":"Barron's","summary":"U.S. lawmakers appear to be on the cusp of passing a massive and long-awaitedinfrastructure-investme","content":"<p>U.S. lawmakers appear to be on the cusp of passing a massive and long-awaitedinfrastructure-investment bill, totaling some $1 trillion.</p>\n<p>The legislation should be a boost to businesses like<a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/VMC\">Vulcan Materials</a>(ticker: VMC) and<a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/MLM\">Martin Marietta Materials</a>(MLM), which make concrete and asphalt;<a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/CAT\">Caterpillar</a>(CAT) and<a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/TEX\">Terex</a>(TEX), which make construction equipment; and<a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/URI\">United Rentals</a>(URI), which rents the machinery. Most of their stocks have already jumped on theprospect of infrastructure spending.</p>\n<p>But <a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/AONE.U\">one</a> infrastructure play has been overlooked:<a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/AFH\">Atlas</a> Technical Consultants(ATCX) provides engineering and design services, inspection and certification of buildings and public works, and other construction-related services. More construction means more plans and designs for Atlas to review. These eventually become finished projects that need annual inspections, paying dividends for years.</p>\n<p>And yet Atlas shares have stalled. At a recent $9, the stock trades for just eight times enterprise value to estimated 2022 earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization, or Ebitda. That multiple is a significant discount to companies in related inspection businesses, such asMontrose Environmental Group(MEG) andTetra Tech(TTEK), which trade for more than 22 times EV/2022 Ebitda.</p>\n<p><img src=\"https://static.tigerbbs.com/19ad62f427fb70a25aa96068bc5d1756\" tg-width=\"442\" tg-height=\"364\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer\">“Right now, part of the valuation discount is due to the debt, but I would say there are companies like Atlas where the debt is appropriate,” says Kevin Silverman, chief investment officer and portfolio manager at small-cap–focused <a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/STL\">Sterling</a> Partners <a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/EQR\">Equity</a> Advisors, which owns more than $2 million worth of Atlas stock, accounting for about 2% of its assets under management. “The debt helps equity holders if you have steady profit margins and can use it for growth.”</p>\n<p>And Atlas has substantial opportunities for growth. Beyond the infrastructure-bill boost, Atlas has a long-term strategy of consolidating the fragmented U.S. inspection-services market while reducing its debt levels. Both should increase its appeal to investors and earn it a higher valuation multiple.</p>\n<p>The Austin, Texas–headquartered company went public inearly 2020via a merger with a special-purpose acquisition company, or SPAC. The deal saddled the company with a convoluted capital structure, including multiple share classes, outstanding warrants, and other complications. That complexity has probably kept some investors away, as has Atlas’ relatively high debt load, which comes to 5.5 times net debt to 2021 Ebitda.</p>\n<p><img src=\"https://static.tigerbbs.com/99bb73a7c212bfed6d0890b8b14fbc15\" tg-width=\"607\" tg-height=\"396\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer\"></p>\n<p>Atlas has reduced that complexity—redeeming its preferred equity, buying out warrants, and increasing the stock’s publicly traded float—and is focused on bringing its net debt below three times Ebitda.</p>\n<p>Atlas is forecast to grow sales 13% this year, to $530 million, with Ebitda up 21%, to $76 million.</p>\n<p>Its customers include state departments of transportation, private building owners, electric and water utilities, airports, schools, hospitals, and more. Its national presence and leading scale helps win and retain marquee projects and big clients, including the U.S. Postal <a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/SCI\">Service</a>, the Environmental Protection Agency, the <a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/NWY\">New York</a> <a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/CHCO\">City</a> Housing Authority, Stanford University,Walmart(WMT), and<a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/AAPL\">Apple</a>(AAPL).</p>\n<p>Atlas earned $64 million in adjusted Ebitda over the past four reported quarters, while it had a net loss of $18 million. As of the end of the first quarter, the company had a backlog of $689 million, or more than 140% of its last 12 months’ revenue of $482 million. “I’ve been in this business for 30 years, and it’s by far the highest I’ve seen,” Atlas CEO Joe Boyer tells<i>Barron’s</i>.</p>\n<p>About 70% of the company’s revenue comes from work on existing buildings, pipes, roads, and bridges. Those jobs are nondiscretionary: As we’ve tragically learned at times, infrastructure needs to be inspected and brought up to code at regular intervals, no matter what the economic or pandemic situation is.</p>\n<p>The remaining 30% of Atlas’ sales are tied to new construction, which dipped during the pandemic but is nearly back to pre-Covid-19 levels, according to Boyer.</p>\n<p>A long-term trend toward outsourcing services by cities and states, stricter environmental standards, and aging infrastructure in the U.S. have been drivers of Atlas’ organic growth in recent years.</p>\n<p>That trend has been responsible for about half of Atlas’ 20% compound annual growth in sales since 2016, when it was owned by private-equity firm Bernhard Capital Partners. The other avenue for growth has been Atlas’ acquisition strategy.</p>\n<p>“The idea is to find a company in a geography or a service that we don’t dominate in, bring it onto our platform, and cross-sell across our network,” Boyer says.</p>\n<p>Atlas’ sweet spot for acquisition targets is about $5 million to $20 million in Ebitda, The company typically pays four to six times Ebitda in a mix of cash and stock. That makes each deal immediately accretive to earnings.</p>\n<p>As a small and relatively young public company, Atlas gets minimal coverage from Wall Street, but the three analysts who cover the firm are bullish. “We think the company is in end markets that are strong or recovering; they’ve been winning large contracts, and its backlog has been growing,” says <a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/SF\">Stifel</a> analyst Noelle Dilts. “So, we feel good about the fundamental revenue outlook.”</p>\n<p>She rates Atlas a Buy, with a $14.50 price target, or 11 times her estimate of 2022 Ebitda, which doesn’t include any upside from a potential infrastructure bill. Using a 15 times Ebitda multiple, Sterling’s Silverman sees shares going to $43 three years from now, as debt paydown continues and earnings rise.</p>\n<p>Atlas’ balance sheet remains a fixer-upper, but the company has the right foundation.</p>\n<p></p>","source":"lsy1610680873436","collect":0,"html":"<!DOCTYPE html>\n<html>\n<head>\n<meta http-equiv=\"Content-Type\" content=\"text/html; charset=utf-8\" />\n<meta name=\"viewport\" content=\"width=device-width,initial-scale=1.0,minimum-scale=1.0,maximum-scale=1.0,user-scalable=no\"/>\n<meta name=\"format-detection\" content=\"telephone=no,email=no,address=no\" />\n<title>Infrastructure Spending Is on Its Way. Here’s a Cheap Way to Play It</title>\n<style type=\"text/css\">\na,abbr,acronym,address,applet,article,aside,audio,b,big,blockquote,body,canvas,caption,center,cite,code,dd,del,details,dfn,div,dl,dt,\nem,embed,fieldset,figcaption,figure,footer,form,h1,h2,h3,h4,h5,h6,header,hgroup,html,i,iframe,img,ins,kbd,label,legend,li,mark,menu,nav,\nobject,ol,output,p,pre,q,ruby,s,samp,section,small,span,strike,strong,sub,summary,sup,table,tbody,td,tfoot,th,thead,time,tr,tt,u,ul,var,video{ font:inherit;margin:0;padding:0;vertical-align:baseline;border:0 }\nbody{ font-size:16px; line-height:1.5; color:#999; background:transparent; }\n.wrapper{ overflow:hidden;word-break:break-all;padding:10px; }\nh1,h2{ font-weight:normal; line-height:1.35; margin-bottom:.6em; }\nh3,h4,h5,h6{ line-height:1.35; margin-bottom:1em; }\nh1{ font-size:24px; }\nh2{ font-size:20px; }\nh3{ font-size:18px; }\nh4{ font-size:16px; }\nh5{ font-size:14px; }\nh6{ font-size:12px; }\np,ul,ol,blockquote,dl,table{ margin:1.2em 0; }\nul,ol{ margin-left:2em; }\nul{ list-style:disc; }\nol{ list-style:decimal; }\nli,li p{ margin:10px 0;}\nimg{ max-width:100%;display:block;margin:0 auto 1em; }\nblockquote{ color:#B5B2B1; border-left:3px solid #aaa; padding:1em; }\nstrong,b{font-weight:bold;}\nem,i{font-style:italic;}\ntable{ width:100%;border-collapse:collapse;border-spacing:1px;margin:1em 0;font-size:.9em; }\nth,td{ padding:5px;text-align:left;border:1px solid #aaa; }\nth{ font-weight:bold;background:#5d5d5d; }\n.symbol-link{font-weight:bold;}\n/* header{ border-bottom:1px solid #494756; } */\n.title{ margin:0 0 8px;line-height:1.3;color:#ddd; }\n.meta {color:#5e5c6d;font-size:13px;margin:0 0 .5em; }\na{text-decoration:none; color:#2a4b87;}\n.meta .head { display: inline-block; overflow: hidden}\n.head .h-thumb { width: 30px; height: 30px; margin: 0; padding: 0; border-radius: 50%; float: left;}\n.head .h-content { margin: 0; padding: 0 0 0 9px; float: left;}\n.head .h-name {font-size: 13px; color: #eee; margin: 0;}\n.head .h-time {font-size: 11px; color: #7E829C; margin: 0;line-height: 11px;}\n.small {font-size: 12.5px; display: inline-block; transform: scale(0.9); -webkit-transform: scale(0.9); transform-origin: left; -webkit-transform-origin: left;}\n.smaller {font-size: 12.5px; display: inline-block; transform: scale(0.8); -webkit-transform: scale(0.8); transform-origin: left; -webkit-transform-origin: left;}\n.bt-text {font-size: 12px;margin: 1.5em 0 0 0}\n.bt-text p {margin: 0}\n</style>\n</head>\n<body>\n<div class=\"wrapper\">\n<header>\n<h2 class=\"title\">\nInfrastructure Spending Is on Its Way. Here’s a Cheap Way to Play It\n</h2>\n\n<h4 class=\"meta\">\n\n\n2021-07-31 14:44 GMT+8&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href=https://www.barrons.com/articles/infrastructure-buy-atlas-technical-consultants-stock-51627684191?mod=hp_LEAD_2><strong>Barron's</strong></a>\n\n\n</h4>\n\n</header>\n<article>\n<div>\n<p>U.S. lawmakers appear to be on the cusp of passing a massive and long-awaitedinfrastructure-investment bill, totaling some $1 trillion.\nThe legislation should be a boost to businesses likeVulcan ...</p>\n\n<a href=\"https://www.barrons.com/articles/infrastructure-buy-atlas-technical-consultants-stock-51627684191?mod=hp_LEAD_2\">Web Link</a>\n\n</div>\n\n\n</article>\n</div>\n</body>\n</html>\n","type":0,"thumbnail":"","relate_stocks":{},"source_url":"https://www.barrons.com/articles/infrastructure-buy-atlas-technical-consultants-stock-51627684191?mod=hp_LEAD_2","is_english":true,"share_image_url":"https://static.laohu8.com/e9f99090a1c2ed51c021029395664489","article_id":"1186334150","content_text":"U.S. lawmakers appear to be on the cusp of passing a massive and long-awaitedinfrastructure-investment bill, totaling some $1 trillion.\nThe legislation should be a boost to businesses likeVulcan Materials(ticker: VMC) andMartin Marietta Materials(MLM), which make concrete and asphalt;Caterpillar(CAT) andTerex(TEX), which make construction equipment; andUnited Rentals(URI), which rents the machinery. Most of their stocks have already jumped on theprospect of infrastructure spending.\nBut one infrastructure play has been overlooked:Atlas Technical Consultants(ATCX) provides engineering and design services, inspection and certification of buildings and public works, and other construction-related services. More construction means more plans and designs for Atlas to review. These eventually become finished projects that need annual inspections, paying dividends for years.\nAnd yet Atlas shares have stalled. At a recent $9, the stock trades for just eight times enterprise value to estimated 2022 earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization, or Ebitda. That multiple is a significant discount to companies in related inspection businesses, such asMontrose Environmental Group(MEG) andTetra Tech(TTEK), which trade for more than 22 times EV/2022 Ebitda.\n“Right now, part of the valuation discount is due to the debt, but I would say there are companies like Atlas where the debt is appropriate,” says Kevin Silverman, chief investment officer and portfolio manager at small-cap–focused Sterling Partners Equity Advisors, which owns more than $2 million worth of Atlas stock, accounting for about 2% of its assets under management. “The debt helps equity holders if you have steady profit margins and can use it for growth.”\nAnd Atlas has substantial opportunities for growth. Beyond the infrastructure-bill boost, Atlas has a long-term strategy of consolidating the fragmented U.S. inspection-services market while reducing its debt levels. Both should increase its appeal to investors and earn it a higher valuation multiple.\nThe Austin, Texas–headquartered company went public inearly 2020via a merger with a special-purpose acquisition company, or SPAC. The deal saddled the company with a convoluted capital structure, including multiple share classes, outstanding warrants, and other complications. That complexity has probably kept some investors away, as has Atlas’ relatively high debt load, which comes to 5.5 times net debt to 2021 Ebitda.\n\nAtlas has reduced that complexity—redeeming its preferred equity, buying out warrants, and increasing the stock’s publicly traded float—and is focused on bringing its net debt below three times Ebitda.\nAtlas is forecast to grow sales 13% this year, to $530 million, with Ebitda up 21%, to $76 million.\nIts customers include state departments of transportation, private building owners, electric and water utilities, airports, schools, hospitals, and more. Its national presence and leading scale helps win and retain marquee projects and big clients, including the U.S. Postal Service, the Environmental Protection Agency, the New York City Housing Authority, Stanford University,Walmart(WMT), andApple(AAPL).\nAtlas earned $64 million in adjusted Ebitda over the past four reported quarters, while it had a net loss of $18 million. As of the end of the first quarter, the company had a backlog of $689 million, or more than 140% of its last 12 months’ revenue of $482 million. “I’ve been in this business for 30 years, and it’s by far the highest I’ve seen,” Atlas CEO Joe Boyer tellsBarron’s.\nAbout 70% of the company’s revenue comes from work on existing buildings, pipes, roads, and bridges. Those jobs are nondiscretionary: As we’ve tragically learned at times, infrastructure needs to be inspected and brought up to code at regular intervals, no matter what the economic or pandemic situation is.\nThe remaining 30% of Atlas’ sales are tied to new construction, which dipped during the pandemic but is nearly back to pre-Covid-19 levels, according to Boyer.\nA long-term trend toward outsourcing services by cities and states, stricter environmental standards, and aging infrastructure in the U.S. have been drivers of Atlas’ organic growth in recent years.\nThat trend has been responsible for about half of Atlas’ 20% compound annual growth in sales since 2016, when it was owned by private-equity firm Bernhard Capital Partners. The other avenue for growth has been Atlas’ acquisition strategy.\n“The idea is to find a company in a geography or a service that we don’t dominate in, bring it onto our platform, and cross-sell across our network,” Boyer says.\nAtlas’ sweet spot for acquisition targets is about $5 million to $20 million in Ebitda, The company typically pays four to six times Ebitda in a mix of cash and stock. That makes each deal immediately accretive to earnings.\nAs a small and relatively young public company, Atlas gets minimal coverage from Wall Street, but the three analysts who cover the firm are bullish. “We think the company is in end markets that are strong or recovering; they’ve been winning large contracts, and its backlog has been growing,” says Stifel analyst Noelle Dilts. “So, we feel good about the fundamental revenue outlook.”\nShe rates Atlas a Buy, with a $14.50 price target, or 11 times her estimate of 2022 Ebitda, which doesn’t include any upside from a potential infrastructure bill. Using a 15 times Ebitda multiple, Sterling’s Silverman sees shares going to $43 three years from now, as debt paydown continues and earnings rise.\nAtlas’ balance sheet remains a fixer-upper, but the company has the right foundation.","news_type":1},"isVote":1,"likeStatus":false,"favoriteStatus":false,"reportStatus":false,"tweetType":1,"langContent":"EN"},{"id":802659606,"gmtCreate":1627778527805,"gmtModify":1703495640296,"author":{"id":"3581937910767045","authorId":"3581937910767045","name":"Pluto891","avatar":"https://static.tigerbbs.com/c9963f2ef3d3ad2aff28340461d3d6d0","vip":1,"crmLevel":2,"crmLevelSwitch":1,"authorIdStr":"3581937910767045","idStr":"3581937910767045"},"htmlText":"is the bill confirmed? even if confirmed when will the spending take place and when will profits be recognized?","listText":"is the bill confirmed? even if confirmed when will the spending take place and when will profits be recognized?","text":"is the bill confirmed? even if confirmed when will the spending take place and when will profits be recognized?","images":[],"top":1,"highlighted":1,"essential":1,"paper":1,"likeSize":0,"commentSize":1,"repostSize":0,"link":"https://ttm.financial/post/802659606","repostId":1186334150,"repostType":4,"repost":{"id":"1186334150","pubTimestamp":1627713845,"share":"https://ttm.financial/m/news/1186334150?lang=&edition=fundamental","pubTime":"2021-07-31 14:44","market":"us","language":"en","title":"Infrastructure Spending Is on Its Way. Here’s a Cheap Way to Play It","url":"https://stock-news.laohu8.com/highlight/detail?id=1186334150","media":"Barron's","summary":"U.S. lawmakers appear to be on the cusp of passing a massive and long-awaitedinfrastructure-investme","content":"<p>U.S. lawmakers appear to be on the cusp of passing a massive and long-awaitedinfrastructure-investment bill, totaling some $1 trillion.</p>\n<p>The legislation should be a boost to businesses like<a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/VMC\">Vulcan Materials</a>(ticker: VMC) and<a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/MLM\">Martin Marietta Materials</a>(MLM), which make concrete and asphalt;<a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/CAT\">Caterpillar</a>(CAT) and<a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/TEX\">Terex</a>(TEX), which make construction equipment; and<a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/URI\">United Rentals</a>(URI), which rents the machinery. Most of their stocks have already jumped on theprospect of infrastructure spending.</p>\n<p>But <a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/AONE.U\">one</a> infrastructure play has been overlooked:<a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/AFH\">Atlas</a> Technical Consultants(ATCX) provides engineering and design services, inspection and certification of buildings and public works, and other construction-related services. More construction means more plans and designs for Atlas to review. These eventually become finished projects that need annual inspections, paying dividends for years.</p>\n<p>And yet Atlas shares have stalled. At a recent $9, the stock trades for just eight times enterprise value to estimated 2022 earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization, or Ebitda. That multiple is a significant discount to companies in related inspection businesses, such asMontrose Environmental Group(MEG) andTetra Tech(TTEK), which trade for more than 22 times EV/2022 Ebitda.</p>\n<p><img src=\"https://static.tigerbbs.com/19ad62f427fb70a25aa96068bc5d1756\" tg-width=\"442\" tg-height=\"364\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer\">“Right now, part of the valuation discount is due to the debt, but I would say there are companies like Atlas where the debt is appropriate,” says Kevin Silverman, chief investment officer and portfolio manager at small-cap–focused <a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/STL\">Sterling</a> Partners <a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/EQR\">Equity</a> Advisors, which owns more than $2 million worth of Atlas stock, accounting for about 2% of its assets under management. “The debt helps equity holders if you have steady profit margins and can use it for growth.”</p>\n<p>And Atlas has substantial opportunities for growth. Beyond the infrastructure-bill boost, Atlas has a long-term strategy of consolidating the fragmented U.S. inspection-services market while reducing its debt levels. Both should increase its appeal to investors and earn it a higher valuation multiple.</p>\n<p>The Austin, Texas–headquartered company went public inearly 2020via a merger with a special-purpose acquisition company, or SPAC. The deal saddled the company with a convoluted capital structure, including multiple share classes, outstanding warrants, and other complications. That complexity has probably kept some investors away, as has Atlas’ relatively high debt load, which comes to 5.5 times net debt to 2021 Ebitda.</p>\n<p><img src=\"https://static.tigerbbs.com/99bb73a7c212bfed6d0890b8b14fbc15\" tg-width=\"607\" tg-height=\"396\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer\"></p>\n<p>Atlas has reduced that complexity—redeeming its preferred equity, buying out warrants, and increasing the stock’s publicly traded float—and is focused on bringing its net debt below three times Ebitda.</p>\n<p>Atlas is forecast to grow sales 13% this year, to $530 million, with Ebitda up 21%, to $76 million.</p>\n<p>Its customers include state departments of transportation, private building owners, electric and water utilities, airports, schools, hospitals, and more. Its national presence and leading scale helps win and retain marquee projects and big clients, including the U.S. Postal <a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/SCI\">Service</a>, the Environmental Protection Agency, the <a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/NWY\">New York</a> <a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/CHCO\">City</a> Housing Authority, Stanford University,Walmart(WMT), and<a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/AAPL\">Apple</a>(AAPL).</p>\n<p>Atlas earned $64 million in adjusted Ebitda over the past four reported quarters, while it had a net loss of $18 million. As of the end of the first quarter, the company had a backlog of $689 million, or more than 140% of its last 12 months’ revenue of $482 million. “I’ve been in this business for 30 years, and it’s by far the highest I’ve seen,” Atlas CEO Joe Boyer tells<i>Barron’s</i>.</p>\n<p>About 70% of the company’s revenue comes from work on existing buildings, pipes, roads, and bridges. Those jobs are nondiscretionary: As we’ve tragically learned at times, infrastructure needs to be inspected and brought up to code at regular intervals, no matter what the economic or pandemic situation is.</p>\n<p>The remaining 30% of Atlas’ sales are tied to new construction, which dipped during the pandemic but is nearly back to pre-Covid-19 levels, according to Boyer.</p>\n<p>A long-term trend toward outsourcing services by cities and states, stricter environmental standards, and aging infrastructure in the U.S. have been drivers of Atlas’ organic growth in recent years.</p>\n<p>That trend has been responsible for about half of Atlas’ 20% compound annual growth in sales since 2016, when it was owned by private-equity firm Bernhard Capital Partners. The other avenue for growth has been Atlas’ acquisition strategy.</p>\n<p>“The idea is to find a company in a geography or a service that we don’t dominate in, bring it onto our platform, and cross-sell across our network,” Boyer says.</p>\n<p>Atlas’ sweet spot for acquisition targets is about $5 million to $20 million in Ebitda, The company typically pays four to six times Ebitda in a mix of cash and stock. That makes each deal immediately accretive to earnings.</p>\n<p>As a small and relatively young public company, Atlas gets minimal coverage from Wall Street, but the three analysts who cover the firm are bullish. “We think the company is in end markets that are strong or recovering; they’ve been winning large contracts, and its backlog has been growing,” says <a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/SF\">Stifel</a> analyst Noelle Dilts. “So, we feel good about the fundamental revenue outlook.”</p>\n<p>She rates Atlas a Buy, with a $14.50 price target, or 11 times her estimate of 2022 Ebitda, which doesn’t include any upside from a potential infrastructure bill. Using a 15 times Ebitda multiple, Sterling’s Silverman sees shares going to $43 three years from now, as debt paydown continues and earnings rise.</p>\n<p>Atlas’ balance sheet remains a fixer-upper, but the company has the right foundation.</p>\n<p></p>","source":"lsy1610680873436","collect":0,"html":"<!DOCTYPE html>\n<html>\n<head>\n<meta http-equiv=\"Content-Type\" content=\"text/html; charset=utf-8\" />\n<meta name=\"viewport\" content=\"width=device-width,initial-scale=1.0,minimum-scale=1.0,maximum-scale=1.0,user-scalable=no\"/>\n<meta name=\"format-detection\" content=\"telephone=no,email=no,address=no\" />\n<title>Infrastructure Spending Is on Its Way. Here’s a Cheap Way to Play It</title>\n<style type=\"text/css\">\na,abbr,acronym,address,applet,article,aside,audio,b,big,blockquote,body,canvas,caption,center,cite,code,dd,del,details,dfn,div,dl,dt,\nem,embed,fieldset,figcaption,figure,footer,form,h1,h2,h3,h4,h5,h6,header,hgroup,html,i,iframe,img,ins,kbd,label,legend,li,mark,menu,nav,\nobject,ol,output,p,pre,q,ruby,s,samp,section,small,span,strike,strong,sub,summary,sup,table,tbody,td,tfoot,th,thead,time,tr,tt,u,ul,var,video{ font:inherit;margin:0;padding:0;vertical-align:baseline;border:0 }\nbody{ font-size:16px; line-height:1.5; color:#999; background:transparent; }\n.wrapper{ overflow:hidden;word-break:break-all;padding:10px; }\nh1,h2{ font-weight:normal; line-height:1.35; margin-bottom:.6em; }\nh3,h4,h5,h6{ line-height:1.35; margin-bottom:1em; }\nh1{ font-size:24px; }\nh2{ font-size:20px; }\nh3{ font-size:18px; }\nh4{ font-size:16px; }\nh5{ font-size:14px; }\nh6{ font-size:12px; }\np,ul,ol,blockquote,dl,table{ margin:1.2em 0; }\nul,ol{ margin-left:2em; }\nul{ list-style:disc; }\nol{ list-style:decimal; }\nli,li p{ margin:10px 0;}\nimg{ max-width:100%;display:block;margin:0 auto 1em; }\nblockquote{ color:#B5B2B1; border-left:3px solid #aaa; padding:1em; }\nstrong,b{font-weight:bold;}\nem,i{font-style:italic;}\ntable{ width:100%;border-collapse:collapse;border-spacing:1px;margin:1em 0;font-size:.9em; }\nth,td{ padding:5px;text-align:left;border:1px solid #aaa; }\nth{ font-weight:bold;background:#5d5d5d; }\n.symbol-link{font-weight:bold;}\n/* header{ border-bottom:1px solid #494756; } */\n.title{ margin:0 0 8px;line-height:1.3;color:#ddd; }\n.meta {color:#5e5c6d;font-size:13px;margin:0 0 .5em; }\na{text-decoration:none; color:#2a4b87;}\n.meta .head { display: inline-block; overflow: hidden}\n.head .h-thumb { width: 30px; height: 30px; margin: 0; padding: 0; border-radius: 50%; float: left;}\n.head .h-content { margin: 0; padding: 0 0 0 9px; float: left;}\n.head .h-name {font-size: 13px; color: #eee; margin: 0;}\n.head .h-time {font-size: 11px; color: #7E829C; margin: 0;line-height: 11px;}\n.small {font-size: 12.5px; display: inline-block; transform: scale(0.9); -webkit-transform: scale(0.9); transform-origin: left; -webkit-transform-origin: left;}\n.smaller {font-size: 12.5px; display: inline-block; transform: scale(0.8); -webkit-transform: scale(0.8); transform-origin: left; -webkit-transform-origin: left;}\n.bt-text {font-size: 12px;margin: 1.5em 0 0 0}\n.bt-text p {margin: 0}\n</style>\n</head>\n<body>\n<div class=\"wrapper\">\n<header>\n<h2 class=\"title\">\nInfrastructure Spending Is on Its Way. Here’s a Cheap Way to Play It\n</h2>\n\n<h4 class=\"meta\">\n\n\n2021-07-31 14:44 GMT+8&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href=https://www.barrons.com/articles/infrastructure-buy-atlas-technical-consultants-stock-51627684191?mod=hp_LEAD_2><strong>Barron's</strong></a>\n\n\n</h4>\n\n</header>\n<article>\n<div>\n<p>U.S. lawmakers appear to be on the cusp of passing a massive and long-awaitedinfrastructure-investment bill, totaling some $1 trillion.\nThe legislation should be a boost to businesses likeVulcan ...</p>\n\n<a href=\"https://www.barrons.com/articles/infrastructure-buy-atlas-technical-consultants-stock-51627684191?mod=hp_LEAD_2\">Web Link</a>\n\n</div>\n\n\n</article>\n</div>\n</body>\n</html>\n","type":0,"thumbnail":"","relate_stocks":{},"source_url":"https://www.barrons.com/articles/infrastructure-buy-atlas-technical-consultants-stock-51627684191?mod=hp_LEAD_2","is_english":true,"share_image_url":"https://static.laohu8.com/e9f99090a1c2ed51c021029395664489","article_id":"1186334150","content_text":"U.S. lawmakers appear to be on the cusp of passing a massive and long-awaitedinfrastructure-investment bill, totaling some $1 trillion.\nThe legislation should be a boost to businesses likeVulcan Materials(ticker: VMC) andMartin Marietta Materials(MLM), which make concrete and asphalt;Caterpillar(CAT) andTerex(TEX), which make construction equipment; andUnited Rentals(URI), which rents the machinery. Most of their stocks have already jumped on theprospect of infrastructure spending.\nBut one infrastructure play has been overlooked:Atlas Technical Consultants(ATCX) provides engineering and design services, inspection and certification of buildings and public works, and other construction-related services. More construction means more plans and designs for Atlas to review. These eventually become finished projects that need annual inspections, paying dividends for years.\nAnd yet Atlas shares have stalled. At a recent $9, the stock trades for just eight times enterprise value to estimated 2022 earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization, or Ebitda. That multiple is a significant discount to companies in related inspection businesses, such asMontrose Environmental Group(MEG) andTetra Tech(TTEK), which trade for more than 22 times EV/2022 Ebitda.\n“Right now, part of the valuation discount is due to the debt, but I would say there are companies like Atlas where the debt is appropriate,” says Kevin Silverman, chief investment officer and portfolio manager at small-cap–focused Sterling Partners Equity Advisors, which owns more than $2 million worth of Atlas stock, accounting for about 2% of its assets under management. “The debt helps equity holders if you have steady profit margins and can use it for growth.”\nAnd Atlas has substantial opportunities for growth. Beyond the infrastructure-bill boost, Atlas has a long-term strategy of consolidating the fragmented U.S. inspection-services market while reducing its debt levels. Both should increase its appeal to investors and earn it a higher valuation multiple.\nThe Austin, Texas–headquartered company went public inearly 2020via a merger with a special-purpose acquisition company, or SPAC. The deal saddled the company with a convoluted capital structure, including multiple share classes, outstanding warrants, and other complications. That complexity has probably kept some investors away, as has Atlas’ relatively high debt load, which comes to 5.5 times net debt to 2021 Ebitda.\n\nAtlas has reduced that complexity—redeeming its preferred equity, buying out warrants, and increasing the stock’s publicly traded float—and is focused on bringing its net debt below three times Ebitda.\nAtlas is forecast to grow sales 13% this year, to $530 million, with Ebitda up 21%, to $76 million.\nIts customers include state departments of transportation, private building owners, electric and water utilities, airports, schools, hospitals, and more. Its national presence and leading scale helps win and retain marquee projects and big clients, including the U.S. Postal Service, the Environmental Protection Agency, the New York City Housing Authority, Stanford University,Walmart(WMT), andApple(AAPL).\nAtlas earned $64 million in adjusted Ebitda over the past four reported quarters, while it had a net loss of $18 million. As of the end of the first quarter, the company had a backlog of $689 million, or more than 140% of its last 12 months’ revenue of $482 million. “I’ve been in this business for 30 years, and it’s by far the highest I’ve seen,” Atlas CEO Joe Boyer tellsBarron’s.\nAbout 70% of the company’s revenue comes from work on existing buildings, pipes, roads, and bridges. Those jobs are nondiscretionary: As we’ve tragically learned at times, infrastructure needs to be inspected and brought up to code at regular intervals, no matter what the economic or pandemic situation is.\nThe remaining 30% of Atlas’ sales are tied to new construction, which dipped during the pandemic but is nearly back to pre-Covid-19 levels, according to Boyer.\nA long-term trend toward outsourcing services by cities and states, stricter environmental standards, and aging infrastructure in the U.S. have been drivers of Atlas’ organic growth in recent years.\nThat trend has been responsible for about half of Atlas’ 20% compound annual growth in sales since 2016, when it was owned by private-equity firm Bernhard Capital Partners. The other avenue for growth has been Atlas’ acquisition strategy.\n“The idea is to find a company in a geography or a service that we don’t dominate in, bring it onto our platform, and cross-sell across our network,” Boyer says.\nAtlas’ sweet spot for acquisition targets is about $5 million to $20 million in Ebitda, The company typically pays four to six times Ebitda in a mix of cash and stock. That makes each deal immediately accretive to earnings.\nAs a small and relatively young public company, Atlas gets minimal coverage from Wall Street, but the three analysts who cover the firm are bullish. “We think the company is in end markets that are strong or recovering; they’ve been winning large contracts, and its backlog has been growing,” says Stifel analyst Noelle Dilts. “So, we feel good about the fundamental revenue outlook.”\nShe rates Atlas a Buy, with a $14.50 price target, or 11 times her estimate of 2022 Ebitda, which doesn’t include any upside from a potential infrastructure bill. Using a 15 times Ebitda multiple, Sterling’s Silverman sees shares going to $43 three years from now, as debt paydown continues and earnings rise.\nAtlas’ balance sheet remains a fixer-upper, but the company has the right foundation.","news_type":1},"isVote":1,"likeStatus":false,"favoriteStatus":false,"reportStatus":false,"tweetType":1,"comments":[{"id":5390792,"gmtCreate":1627778759568,"gmtModify":1663231767737,"authorId":3581841381174598,"author":{"id":3581841381174598,"idStr":"3581841381174598","authorId":3581841381174598,"name":"JonC1997","avatar":"https://static.tigerbbs.com/3b36205562e7be603067005666045365","vip":1,"crmLevel":3,"crmLevelSwitch":0,"individualDisplayBadges":[]},"repliedAuthorId":0,"objectId":802659606,"type":1,"supId":0,"prevId":0,"content":"Hi","text":"Hi","html":"Hi"}],"langContent":"EN"},{"id":802667671,"gmtCreate":1627777748293,"gmtModify":1703495624394,"author":{"id":"3576990637797737","authorId":"3576990637797737","name":"1Man2Stonks","avatar":"https://static.tigerbbs.com/2c93182b4ac6670e37860fa9cbdfd2d4","vip":1,"crmLevel":3,"crmLevelSwitch":0,"authorIdStr":"3576990637797737","idStr":"3576990637797737"},"htmlText":"Ok buy them all","listText":"Ok buy them all","text":"Ok buy them all","images":[],"top":1,"highlighted":1,"essential":1,"paper":1,"likeSize":2,"commentSize":0,"repostSize":0,"link":"https://ttm.financial/post/802667671","repostId":1186334150,"repostType":4,"repost":{"id":"1186334150","pubTimestamp":1627713845,"share":"https://ttm.financial/m/news/1186334150?lang=&edition=fundamental","pubTime":"2021-07-31 14:44","market":"us","language":"en","title":"Infrastructure Spending Is on Its Way. Here’s a Cheap Way to Play It","url":"https://stock-news.laohu8.com/highlight/detail?id=1186334150","media":"Barron's","summary":"U.S. lawmakers appear to be on the cusp of passing a massive and long-awaitedinfrastructure-investme","content":"<p>U.S. lawmakers appear to be on the cusp of passing a massive and long-awaitedinfrastructure-investment bill, totaling some $1 trillion.</p>\n<p>The legislation should be a boost to businesses like<a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/VMC\">Vulcan Materials</a>(ticker: VMC) and<a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/MLM\">Martin Marietta Materials</a>(MLM), which make concrete and asphalt;<a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/CAT\">Caterpillar</a>(CAT) and<a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/TEX\">Terex</a>(TEX), which make construction equipment; and<a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/URI\">United Rentals</a>(URI), which rents the machinery. Most of their stocks have already jumped on theprospect of infrastructure spending.</p>\n<p>But <a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/AONE.U\">one</a> infrastructure play has been overlooked:<a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/AFH\">Atlas</a> Technical Consultants(ATCX) provides engineering and design services, inspection and certification of buildings and public works, and other construction-related services. More construction means more plans and designs for Atlas to review. These eventually become finished projects that need annual inspections, paying dividends for years.</p>\n<p>And yet Atlas shares have stalled. At a recent $9, the stock trades for just eight times enterprise value to estimated 2022 earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization, or Ebitda. That multiple is a significant discount to companies in related inspection businesses, such asMontrose Environmental Group(MEG) andTetra Tech(TTEK), which trade for more than 22 times EV/2022 Ebitda.</p>\n<p><img src=\"https://static.tigerbbs.com/19ad62f427fb70a25aa96068bc5d1756\" tg-width=\"442\" tg-height=\"364\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer\">“Right now, part of the valuation discount is due to the debt, but I would say there are companies like Atlas where the debt is appropriate,” says Kevin Silverman, chief investment officer and portfolio manager at small-cap–focused <a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/STL\">Sterling</a> Partners <a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/EQR\">Equity</a> Advisors, which owns more than $2 million worth of Atlas stock, accounting for about 2% of its assets under management. “The debt helps equity holders if you have steady profit margins and can use it for growth.”</p>\n<p>And Atlas has substantial opportunities for growth. Beyond the infrastructure-bill boost, Atlas has a long-term strategy of consolidating the fragmented U.S. inspection-services market while reducing its debt levels. Both should increase its appeal to investors and earn it a higher valuation multiple.</p>\n<p>The Austin, Texas–headquartered company went public inearly 2020via a merger with a special-purpose acquisition company, or SPAC. The deal saddled the company with a convoluted capital structure, including multiple share classes, outstanding warrants, and other complications. That complexity has probably kept some investors away, as has Atlas’ relatively high debt load, which comes to 5.5 times net debt to 2021 Ebitda.</p>\n<p><img src=\"https://static.tigerbbs.com/99bb73a7c212bfed6d0890b8b14fbc15\" tg-width=\"607\" tg-height=\"396\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer\"></p>\n<p>Atlas has reduced that complexity—redeeming its preferred equity, buying out warrants, and increasing the stock’s publicly traded float—and is focused on bringing its net debt below three times Ebitda.</p>\n<p>Atlas is forecast to grow sales 13% this year, to $530 million, with Ebitda up 21%, to $76 million.</p>\n<p>Its customers include state departments of transportation, private building owners, electric and water utilities, airports, schools, hospitals, and more. Its national presence and leading scale helps win and retain marquee projects and big clients, including the U.S. Postal <a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/SCI\">Service</a>, the Environmental Protection Agency, the <a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/NWY\">New York</a> <a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/CHCO\">City</a> Housing Authority, Stanford University,Walmart(WMT), and<a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/AAPL\">Apple</a>(AAPL).</p>\n<p>Atlas earned $64 million in adjusted Ebitda over the past four reported quarters, while it had a net loss of $18 million. As of the end of the first quarter, the company had a backlog of $689 million, or more than 140% of its last 12 months’ revenue of $482 million. “I’ve been in this business for 30 years, and it’s by far the highest I’ve seen,” Atlas CEO Joe Boyer tells<i>Barron’s</i>.</p>\n<p>About 70% of the company’s revenue comes from work on existing buildings, pipes, roads, and bridges. Those jobs are nondiscretionary: As we’ve tragically learned at times, infrastructure needs to be inspected and brought up to code at regular intervals, no matter what the economic or pandemic situation is.</p>\n<p>The remaining 30% of Atlas’ sales are tied to new construction, which dipped during the pandemic but is nearly back to pre-Covid-19 levels, according to Boyer.</p>\n<p>A long-term trend toward outsourcing services by cities and states, stricter environmental standards, and aging infrastructure in the U.S. have been drivers of Atlas’ organic growth in recent years.</p>\n<p>That trend has been responsible for about half of Atlas’ 20% compound annual growth in sales since 2016, when it was owned by private-equity firm Bernhard Capital Partners. The other avenue for growth has been Atlas’ acquisition strategy.</p>\n<p>“The idea is to find a company in a geography or a service that we don’t dominate in, bring it onto our platform, and cross-sell across our network,” Boyer says.</p>\n<p>Atlas’ sweet spot for acquisition targets is about $5 million to $20 million in Ebitda, The company typically pays four to six times Ebitda in a mix of cash and stock. That makes each deal immediately accretive to earnings.</p>\n<p>As a small and relatively young public company, Atlas gets minimal coverage from Wall Street, but the three analysts who cover the firm are bullish. “We think the company is in end markets that are strong or recovering; they’ve been winning large contracts, and its backlog has been growing,” says <a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/SF\">Stifel</a> analyst Noelle Dilts. “So, we feel good about the fundamental revenue outlook.”</p>\n<p>She rates Atlas a Buy, with a $14.50 price target, or 11 times her estimate of 2022 Ebitda, which doesn’t include any upside from a potential infrastructure bill. Using a 15 times Ebitda multiple, Sterling’s Silverman sees shares going to $43 three years from now, as debt paydown continues and earnings rise.</p>\n<p>Atlas’ balance sheet remains a fixer-upper, but the company has the right foundation.</p>\n<p></p>","source":"lsy1610680873436","collect":0,"html":"<!DOCTYPE html>\n<html>\n<head>\n<meta http-equiv=\"Content-Type\" content=\"text/html; charset=utf-8\" />\n<meta name=\"viewport\" content=\"width=device-width,initial-scale=1.0,minimum-scale=1.0,maximum-scale=1.0,user-scalable=no\"/>\n<meta name=\"format-detection\" content=\"telephone=no,email=no,address=no\" />\n<title>Infrastructure Spending Is on Its Way. Here’s a Cheap Way to Play It</title>\n<style type=\"text/css\">\na,abbr,acronym,address,applet,article,aside,audio,b,big,blockquote,body,canvas,caption,center,cite,code,dd,del,details,dfn,div,dl,dt,\nem,embed,fieldset,figcaption,figure,footer,form,h1,h2,h3,h4,h5,h6,header,hgroup,html,i,iframe,img,ins,kbd,label,legend,li,mark,menu,nav,\nobject,ol,output,p,pre,q,ruby,s,samp,section,small,span,strike,strong,sub,summary,sup,table,tbody,td,tfoot,th,thead,time,tr,tt,u,ul,var,video{ font:inherit;margin:0;padding:0;vertical-align:baseline;border:0 }\nbody{ font-size:16px; line-height:1.5; color:#999; background:transparent; }\n.wrapper{ overflow:hidden;word-break:break-all;padding:10px; }\nh1,h2{ font-weight:normal; line-height:1.35; margin-bottom:.6em; }\nh3,h4,h5,h6{ line-height:1.35; margin-bottom:1em; }\nh1{ font-size:24px; }\nh2{ font-size:20px; }\nh3{ font-size:18px; }\nh4{ font-size:16px; }\nh5{ font-size:14px; }\nh6{ font-size:12px; }\np,ul,ol,blockquote,dl,table{ margin:1.2em 0; }\nul,ol{ margin-left:2em; }\nul{ list-style:disc; }\nol{ list-style:decimal; }\nli,li p{ margin:10px 0;}\nimg{ max-width:100%;display:block;margin:0 auto 1em; }\nblockquote{ color:#B5B2B1; border-left:3px solid #aaa; padding:1em; }\nstrong,b{font-weight:bold;}\nem,i{font-style:italic;}\ntable{ width:100%;border-collapse:collapse;border-spacing:1px;margin:1em 0;font-size:.9em; }\nth,td{ padding:5px;text-align:left;border:1px solid #aaa; }\nth{ font-weight:bold;background:#5d5d5d; }\n.symbol-link{font-weight:bold;}\n/* header{ border-bottom:1px solid #494756; } */\n.title{ margin:0 0 8px;line-height:1.3;color:#ddd; }\n.meta {color:#5e5c6d;font-size:13px;margin:0 0 .5em; }\na{text-decoration:none; color:#2a4b87;}\n.meta .head { display: inline-block; overflow: hidden}\n.head .h-thumb { width: 30px; height: 30px; margin: 0; padding: 0; border-radius: 50%; float: left;}\n.head .h-content { margin: 0; padding: 0 0 0 9px; float: left;}\n.head .h-name {font-size: 13px; color: #eee; margin: 0;}\n.head .h-time {font-size: 11px; color: #7E829C; margin: 0;line-height: 11px;}\n.small {font-size: 12.5px; display: inline-block; transform: scale(0.9); -webkit-transform: scale(0.9); transform-origin: left; -webkit-transform-origin: left;}\n.smaller {font-size: 12.5px; display: inline-block; transform: scale(0.8); -webkit-transform: scale(0.8); transform-origin: left; -webkit-transform-origin: left;}\n.bt-text {font-size: 12px;margin: 1.5em 0 0 0}\n.bt-text p {margin: 0}\n</style>\n</head>\n<body>\n<div class=\"wrapper\">\n<header>\n<h2 class=\"title\">\nInfrastructure Spending Is on Its Way. Here’s a Cheap Way to Play It\n</h2>\n\n<h4 class=\"meta\">\n\n\n2021-07-31 14:44 GMT+8&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href=https://www.barrons.com/articles/infrastructure-buy-atlas-technical-consultants-stock-51627684191?mod=hp_LEAD_2><strong>Barron's</strong></a>\n\n\n</h4>\n\n</header>\n<article>\n<div>\n<p>U.S. lawmakers appear to be on the cusp of passing a massive and long-awaitedinfrastructure-investment bill, totaling some $1 trillion.\nThe legislation should be a boost to businesses likeVulcan ...</p>\n\n<a href=\"https://www.barrons.com/articles/infrastructure-buy-atlas-technical-consultants-stock-51627684191?mod=hp_LEAD_2\">Web Link</a>\n\n</div>\n\n\n</article>\n</div>\n</body>\n</html>\n","type":0,"thumbnail":"","relate_stocks":{},"source_url":"https://www.barrons.com/articles/infrastructure-buy-atlas-technical-consultants-stock-51627684191?mod=hp_LEAD_2","is_english":true,"share_image_url":"https://static.laohu8.com/e9f99090a1c2ed51c021029395664489","article_id":"1186334150","content_text":"U.S. lawmakers appear to be on the cusp of passing a massive and long-awaitedinfrastructure-investment bill, totaling some $1 trillion.\nThe legislation should be a boost to businesses likeVulcan Materials(ticker: VMC) andMartin Marietta Materials(MLM), which make concrete and asphalt;Caterpillar(CAT) andTerex(TEX), which make construction equipment; andUnited Rentals(URI), which rents the machinery. Most of their stocks have already jumped on theprospect of infrastructure spending.\nBut one infrastructure play has been overlooked:Atlas Technical Consultants(ATCX) provides engineering and design services, inspection and certification of buildings and public works, and other construction-related services. More construction means more plans and designs for Atlas to review. These eventually become finished projects that need annual inspections, paying dividends for years.\nAnd yet Atlas shares have stalled. At a recent $9, the stock trades for just eight times enterprise value to estimated 2022 earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization, or Ebitda. That multiple is a significant discount to companies in related inspection businesses, such asMontrose Environmental Group(MEG) andTetra Tech(TTEK), which trade for more than 22 times EV/2022 Ebitda.\n“Right now, part of the valuation discount is due to the debt, but I would say there are companies like Atlas where the debt is appropriate,” says Kevin Silverman, chief investment officer and portfolio manager at small-cap–focused Sterling Partners Equity Advisors, which owns more than $2 million worth of Atlas stock, accounting for about 2% of its assets under management. “The debt helps equity holders if you have steady profit margins and can use it for growth.”\nAnd Atlas has substantial opportunities for growth. Beyond the infrastructure-bill boost, Atlas has a long-term strategy of consolidating the fragmented U.S. inspection-services market while reducing its debt levels. Both should increase its appeal to investors and earn it a higher valuation multiple.\nThe Austin, Texas–headquartered company went public inearly 2020via a merger with a special-purpose acquisition company, or SPAC. The deal saddled the company with a convoluted capital structure, including multiple share classes, outstanding warrants, and other complications. That complexity has probably kept some investors away, as has Atlas’ relatively high debt load, which comes to 5.5 times net debt to 2021 Ebitda.\n\nAtlas has reduced that complexity—redeeming its preferred equity, buying out warrants, and increasing the stock’s publicly traded float—and is focused on bringing its net debt below three times Ebitda.\nAtlas is forecast to grow sales 13% this year, to $530 million, with Ebitda up 21%, to $76 million.\nIts customers include state departments of transportation, private building owners, electric and water utilities, airports, schools, hospitals, and more. Its national presence and leading scale helps win and retain marquee projects and big clients, including the U.S. Postal Service, the Environmental Protection Agency, the New York City Housing Authority, Stanford University,Walmart(WMT), andApple(AAPL).\nAtlas earned $64 million in adjusted Ebitda over the past four reported quarters, while it had a net loss of $18 million. As of the end of the first quarter, the company had a backlog of $689 million, or more than 140% of its last 12 months’ revenue of $482 million. “I’ve been in this business for 30 years, and it’s by far the highest I’ve seen,” Atlas CEO Joe Boyer tellsBarron’s.\nAbout 70% of the company’s revenue comes from work on existing buildings, pipes, roads, and bridges. Those jobs are nondiscretionary: As we’ve tragically learned at times, infrastructure needs to be inspected and brought up to code at regular intervals, no matter what the economic or pandemic situation is.\nThe remaining 30% of Atlas’ sales are tied to new construction, which dipped during the pandemic but is nearly back to pre-Covid-19 levels, according to Boyer.\nA long-term trend toward outsourcing services by cities and states, stricter environmental standards, and aging infrastructure in the U.S. have been drivers of Atlas’ organic growth in recent years.\nThat trend has been responsible for about half of Atlas’ 20% compound annual growth in sales since 2016, when it was owned by private-equity firm Bernhard Capital Partners. The other avenue for growth has been Atlas’ acquisition strategy.\n“The idea is to find a company in a geography or a service that we don’t dominate in, bring it onto our platform, and cross-sell across our network,” Boyer says.\nAtlas’ sweet spot for acquisition targets is about $5 million to $20 million in Ebitda, The company typically pays four to six times Ebitda in a mix of cash and stock. That makes each deal immediately accretive to earnings.\nAs a small and relatively young public company, Atlas gets minimal coverage from Wall Street, but the three analysts who cover the firm are bullish. “We think the company is in end markets that are strong or recovering; they’ve been winning large contracts, and its backlog has been growing,” says Stifel analyst Noelle Dilts. “So, we feel good about the fundamental revenue outlook.”\nShe rates Atlas a Buy, with a $14.50 price target, or 11 times her estimate of 2022 Ebitda, which doesn’t include any upside from a potential infrastructure bill. Using a 15 times Ebitda multiple, Sterling’s Silverman sees shares going to $43 three years from now, as debt paydown continues and earnings rise.\nAtlas’ balance sheet remains a fixer-upper, but the company has the right foundation.","news_type":1},"isVote":1,"likeStatus":false,"favoriteStatus":false,"reportStatus":false,"tweetType":1,"langContent":"EN"},{"id":802666899,"gmtCreate":1627777491211,"gmtModify":1703495619058,"author":{"id":"3555199737903833","authorId":"3555199737903833","name":"Rocketupup","avatar":"https://static.tigerbbs.com/feac8c57fda8c223f1c0a55775d10484","vip":1,"crmLevel":6,"crmLevelSwitch":0,"authorIdStr":"3555199737903833","idStr":"3555199737903833"},"htmlText":"Pls like","listText":"Pls like","text":"Pls like","images":[],"top":1,"highlighted":1,"essential":1,"paper":1,"likeSize":3,"commentSize":1,"repostSize":0,"link":"https://ttm.financial/post/802666899","repostId":1186334150,"repostType":4,"repost":{"id":"1186334150","pubTimestamp":1627713845,"share":"https://ttm.financial/m/news/1186334150?lang=&edition=fundamental","pubTime":"2021-07-31 14:44","market":"us","language":"en","title":"Infrastructure Spending Is on Its Way. Here’s a Cheap Way to Play It","url":"https://stock-news.laohu8.com/highlight/detail?id=1186334150","media":"Barron's","summary":"U.S. lawmakers appear to be on the cusp of passing a massive and long-awaitedinfrastructure-investme","content":"<p>U.S. lawmakers appear to be on the cusp of passing a massive and long-awaitedinfrastructure-investment bill, totaling some $1 trillion.</p>\n<p>The legislation should be a boost to businesses like<a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/VMC\">Vulcan Materials</a>(ticker: VMC) and<a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/MLM\">Martin Marietta Materials</a>(MLM), which make concrete and asphalt;<a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/CAT\">Caterpillar</a>(CAT) and<a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/TEX\">Terex</a>(TEX), which make construction equipment; and<a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/URI\">United Rentals</a>(URI), which rents the machinery. Most of their stocks have already jumped on theprospect of infrastructure spending.</p>\n<p>But <a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/AONE.U\">one</a> infrastructure play has been overlooked:<a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/AFH\">Atlas</a> Technical Consultants(ATCX) provides engineering and design services, inspection and certification of buildings and public works, and other construction-related services. More construction means more plans and designs for Atlas to review. These eventually become finished projects that need annual inspections, paying dividends for years.</p>\n<p>And yet Atlas shares have stalled. At a recent $9, the stock trades for just eight times enterprise value to estimated 2022 earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization, or Ebitda. That multiple is a significant discount to companies in related inspection businesses, such asMontrose Environmental Group(MEG) andTetra Tech(TTEK), which trade for more than 22 times EV/2022 Ebitda.</p>\n<p><img src=\"https://static.tigerbbs.com/19ad62f427fb70a25aa96068bc5d1756\" tg-width=\"442\" tg-height=\"364\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer\">“Right now, part of the valuation discount is due to the debt, but I would say there are companies like Atlas where the debt is appropriate,” says Kevin Silverman, chief investment officer and portfolio manager at small-cap–focused <a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/STL\">Sterling</a> Partners <a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/EQR\">Equity</a> Advisors, which owns more than $2 million worth of Atlas stock, accounting for about 2% of its assets under management. “The debt helps equity holders if you have steady profit margins and can use it for growth.”</p>\n<p>And Atlas has substantial opportunities for growth. Beyond the infrastructure-bill boost, Atlas has a long-term strategy of consolidating the fragmented U.S. inspection-services market while reducing its debt levels. Both should increase its appeal to investors and earn it a higher valuation multiple.</p>\n<p>The Austin, Texas–headquartered company went public inearly 2020via a merger with a special-purpose acquisition company, or SPAC. The deal saddled the company with a convoluted capital structure, including multiple share classes, outstanding warrants, and other complications. That complexity has probably kept some investors away, as has Atlas’ relatively high debt load, which comes to 5.5 times net debt to 2021 Ebitda.</p>\n<p><img src=\"https://static.tigerbbs.com/99bb73a7c212bfed6d0890b8b14fbc15\" tg-width=\"607\" tg-height=\"396\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer\"></p>\n<p>Atlas has reduced that complexity—redeeming its preferred equity, buying out warrants, and increasing the stock’s publicly traded float—and is focused on bringing its net debt below three times Ebitda.</p>\n<p>Atlas is forecast to grow sales 13% this year, to $530 million, with Ebitda up 21%, to $76 million.</p>\n<p>Its customers include state departments of transportation, private building owners, electric and water utilities, airports, schools, hospitals, and more. Its national presence and leading scale helps win and retain marquee projects and big clients, including the U.S. Postal <a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/SCI\">Service</a>, the Environmental Protection Agency, the <a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/NWY\">New York</a> <a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/CHCO\">City</a> Housing Authority, Stanford University,Walmart(WMT), and<a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/AAPL\">Apple</a>(AAPL).</p>\n<p>Atlas earned $64 million in adjusted Ebitda over the past four reported quarters, while it had a net loss of $18 million. As of the end of the first quarter, the company had a backlog of $689 million, or more than 140% of its last 12 months’ revenue of $482 million. “I’ve been in this business for 30 years, and it’s by far the highest I’ve seen,” Atlas CEO Joe Boyer tells<i>Barron’s</i>.</p>\n<p>About 70% of the company’s revenue comes from work on existing buildings, pipes, roads, and bridges. Those jobs are nondiscretionary: As we’ve tragically learned at times, infrastructure needs to be inspected and brought up to code at regular intervals, no matter what the economic or pandemic situation is.</p>\n<p>The remaining 30% of Atlas’ sales are tied to new construction, which dipped during the pandemic but is nearly back to pre-Covid-19 levels, according to Boyer.</p>\n<p>A long-term trend toward outsourcing services by cities and states, stricter environmental standards, and aging infrastructure in the U.S. have been drivers of Atlas’ organic growth in recent years.</p>\n<p>That trend has been responsible for about half of Atlas’ 20% compound annual growth in sales since 2016, when it was owned by private-equity firm Bernhard Capital Partners. The other avenue for growth has been Atlas’ acquisition strategy.</p>\n<p>“The idea is to find a company in a geography or a service that we don’t dominate in, bring it onto our platform, and cross-sell across our network,” Boyer says.</p>\n<p>Atlas’ sweet spot for acquisition targets is about $5 million to $20 million in Ebitda, The company typically pays four to six times Ebitda in a mix of cash and stock. That makes each deal immediately accretive to earnings.</p>\n<p>As a small and relatively young public company, Atlas gets minimal coverage from Wall Street, but the three analysts who cover the firm are bullish. “We think the company is in end markets that are strong or recovering; they’ve been winning large contracts, and its backlog has been growing,” says <a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/SF\">Stifel</a> analyst Noelle Dilts. “So, we feel good about the fundamental revenue outlook.”</p>\n<p>She rates Atlas a Buy, with a $14.50 price target, or 11 times her estimate of 2022 Ebitda, which doesn’t include any upside from a potential infrastructure bill. Using a 15 times Ebitda multiple, Sterling’s Silverman sees shares going to $43 three years from now, as debt paydown continues and earnings rise.</p>\n<p>Atlas’ balance sheet remains a fixer-upper, but the company has the right foundation.</p>\n<p></p>","source":"lsy1610680873436","collect":0,"html":"<!DOCTYPE html>\n<html>\n<head>\n<meta http-equiv=\"Content-Type\" content=\"text/html; charset=utf-8\" />\n<meta name=\"viewport\" content=\"width=device-width,initial-scale=1.0,minimum-scale=1.0,maximum-scale=1.0,user-scalable=no\"/>\n<meta name=\"format-detection\" content=\"telephone=no,email=no,address=no\" />\n<title>Infrastructure Spending Is on Its Way. Here’s a Cheap Way to Play It</title>\n<style type=\"text/css\">\na,abbr,acronym,address,applet,article,aside,audio,b,big,blockquote,body,canvas,caption,center,cite,code,dd,del,details,dfn,div,dl,dt,\nem,embed,fieldset,figcaption,figure,footer,form,h1,h2,h3,h4,h5,h6,header,hgroup,html,i,iframe,img,ins,kbd,label,legend,li,mark,menu,nav,\nobject,ol,output,p,pre,q,ruby,s,samp,section,small,span,strike,strong,sub,summary,sup,table,tbody,td,tfoot,th,thead,time,tr,tt,u,ul,var,video{ font:inherit;margin:0;padding:0;vertical-align:baseline;border:0 }\nbody{ font-size:16px; line-height:1.5; color:#999; background:transparent; }\n.wrapper{ overflow:hidden;word-break:break-all;padding:10px; }\nh1,h2{ font-weight:normal; line-height:1.35; margin-bottom:.6em; }\nh3,h4,h5,h6{ line-height:1.35; margin-bottom:1em; }\nh1{ font-size:24px; }\nh2{ font-size:20px; }\nh3{ font-size:18px; }\nh4{ font-size:16px; }\nh5{ font-size:14px; }\nh6{ font-size:12px; }\np,ul,ol,blockquote,dl,table{ margin:1.2em 0; }\nul,ol{ margin-left:2em; }\nul{ list-style:disc; }\nol{ list-style:decimal; }\nli,li p{ margin:10px 0;}\nimg{ max-width:100%;display:block;margin:0 auto 1em; }\nblockquote{ color:#B5B2B1; border-left:3px solid #aaa; padding:1em; }\nstrong,b{font-weight:bold;}\nem,i{font-style:italic;}\ntable{ width:100%;border-collapse:collapse;border-spacing:1px;margin:1em 0;font-size:.9em; }\nth,td{ padding:5px;text-align:left;border:1px solid #aaa; }\nth{ font-weight:bold;background:#5d5d5d; }\n.symbol-link{font-weight:bold;}\n/* header{ border-bottom:1px solid #494756; } */\n.title{ margin:0 0 8px;line-height:1.3;color:#ddd; }\n.meta {color:#5e5c6d;font-size:13px;margin:0 0 .5em; }\na{text-decoration:none; color:#2a4b87;}\n.meta .head { display: inline-block; overflow: hidden}\n.head .h-thumb { width: 30px; height: 30px; margin: 0; padding: 0; border-radius: 50%; float: left;}\n.head .h-content { margin: 0; padding: 0 0 0 9px; float: left;}\n.head .h-name {font-size: 13px; color: #eee; margin: 0;}\n.head .h-time {font-size: 11px; color: #7E829C; margin: 0;line-height: 11px;}\n.small {font-size: 12.5px; display: inline-block; transform: scale(0.9); -webkit-transform: scale(0.9); transform-origin: left; -webkit-transform-origin: left;}\n.smaller {font-size: 12.5px; display: inline-block; transform: scale(0.8); -webkit-transform: scale(0.8); transform-origin: left; -webkit-transform-origin: left;}\n.bt-text {font-size: 12px;margin: 1.5em 0 0 0}\n.bt-text p {margin: 0}\n</style>\n</head>\n<body>\n<div class=\"wrapper\">\n<header>\n<h2 class=\"title\">\nInfrastructure Spending Is on Its Way. Here’s a Cheap Way to Play It\n</h2>\n\n<h4 class=\"meta\">\n\n\n2021-07-31 14:44 GMT+8&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href=https://www.barrons.com/articles/infrastructure-buy-atlas-technical-consultants-stock-51627684191?mod=hp_LEAD_2><strong>Barron's</strong></a>\n\n\n</h4>\n\n</header>\n<article>\n<div>\n<p>U.S. lawmakers appear to be on the cusp of passing a massive and long-awaitedinfrastructure-investment bill, totaling some $1 trillion.\nThe legislation should be a boost to businesses likeVulcan ...</p>\n\n<a href=\"https://www.barrons.com/articles/infrastructure-buy-atlas-technical-consultants-stock-51627684191?mod=hp_LEAD_2\">Web Link</a>\n\n</div>\n\n\n</article>\n</div>\n</body>\n</html>\n","type":0,"thumbnail":"","relate_stocks":{},"source_url":"https://www.barrons.com/articles/infrastructure-buy-atlas-technical-consultants-stock-51627684191?mod=hp_LEAD_2","is_english":true,"share_image_url":"https://static.laohu8.com/e9f99090a1c2ed51c021029395664489","article_id":"1186334150","content_text":"U.S. lawmakers appear to be on the cusp of passing a massive and long-awaitedinfrastructure-investment bill, totaling some $1 trillion.\nThe legislation should be a boost to businesses likeVulcan Materials(ticker: VMC) andMartin Marietta Materials(MLM), which make concrete and asphalt;Caterpillar(CAT) andTerex(TEX), which make construction equipment; andUnited Rentals(URI), which rents the machinery. Most of their stocks have already jumped on theprospect of infrastructure spending.\nBut one infrastructure play has been overlooked:Atlas Technical Consultants(ATCX) provides engineering and design services, inspection and certification of buildings and public works, and other construction-related services. More construction means more plans and designs for Atlas to review. These eventually become finished projects that need annual inspections, paying dividends for years.\nAnd yet Atlas shares have stalled. At a recent $9, the stock trades for just eight times enterprise value to estimated 2022 earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization, or Ebitda. That multiple is a significant discount to companies in related inspection businesses, such asMontrose Environmental Group(MEG) andTetra Tech(TTEK), which trade for more than 22 times EV/2022 Ebitda.\n“Right now, part of the valuation discount is due to the debt, but I would say there are companies like Atlas where the debt is appropriate,” says Kevin Silverman, chief investment officer and portfolio manager at small-cap–focused Sterling Partners Equity Advisors, which owns more than $2 million worth of Atlas stock, accounting for about 2% of its assets under management. “The debt helps equity holders if you have steady profit margins and can use it for growth.”\nAnd Atlas has substantial opportunities for growth. Beyond the infrastructure-bill boost, Atlas has a long-term strategy of consolidating the fragmented U.S. inspection-services market while reducing its debt levels. Both should increase its appeal to investors and earn it a higher valuation multiple.\nThe Austin, Texas–headquartered company went public inearly 2020via a merger with a special-purpose acquisition company, or SPAC. The deal saddled the company with a convoluted capital structure, including multiple share classes, outstanding warrants, and other complications. That complexity has probably kept some investors away, as has Atlas’ relatively high debt load, which comes to 5.5 times net debt to 2021 Ebitda.\n\nAtlas has reduced that complexity—redeeming its preferred equity, buying out warrants, and increasing the stock’s publicly traded float—and is focused on bringing its net debt below three times Ebitda.\nAtlas is forecast to grow sales 13% this year, to $530 million, with Ebitda up 21%, to $76 million.\nIts customers include state departments of transportation, private building owners, electric and water utilities, airports, schools, hospitals, and more. Its national presence and leading scale helps win and retain marquee projects and big clients, including the U.S. Postal Service, the Environmental Protection Agency, the New York City Housing Authority, Stanford University,Walmart(WMT), andApple(AAPL).\nAtlas earned $64 million in adjusted Ebitda over the past four reported quarters, while it had a net loss of $18 million. As of the end of the first quarter, the company had a backlog of $689 million, or more than 140% of its last 12 months’ revenue of $482 million. “I’ve been in this business for 30 years, and it’s by far the highest I’ve seen,” Atlas CEO Joe Boyer tellsBarron’s.\nAbout 70% of the company’s revenue comes from work on existing buildings, pipes, roads, and bridges. Those jobs are nondiscretionary: As we’ve tragically learned at times, infrastructure needs to be inspected and brought up to code at regular intervals, no matter what the economic or pandemic situation is.\nThe remaining 30% of Atlas’ sales are tied to new construction, which dipped during the pandemic but is nearly back to pre-Covid-19 levels, according to Boyer.\nA long-term trend toward outsourcing services by cities and states, stricter environmental standards, and aging infrastructure in the U.S. have been drivers of Atlas’ organic growth in recent years.\nThat trend has been responsible for about half of Atlas’ 20% compound annual growth in sales since 2016, when it was owned by private-equity firm Bernhard Capital Partners. The other avenue for growth has been Atlas’ acquisition strategy.\n“The idea is to find a company in a geography or a service that we don’t dominate in, bring it onto our platform, and cross-sell across our network,” Boyer says.\nAtlas’ sweet spot for acquisition targets is about $5 million to $20 million in Ebitda, The company typically pays four to six times Ebitda in a mix of cash and stock. That makes each deal immediately accretive to earnings.\nAs a small and relatively young public company, Atlas gets minimal coverage from Wall Street, but the three analysts who cover the firm are bullish. “We think the company is in end markets that are strong or recovering; they’ve been winning large contracts, and its backlog has been growing,” says Stifel analyst Noelle Dilts. “So, we feel good about the fundamental revenue outlook.”\nShe rates Atlas a Buy, with a $14.50 price target, or 11 times her estimate of 2022 Ebitda, which doesn’t include any upside from a potential infrastructure bill. Using a 15 times Ebitda multiple, Sterling’s Silverman sees shares going to $43 three years from now, as debt paydown continues and earnings rise.\nAtlas’ balance sheet remains a fixer-upper, but the company has the right foundation.","news_type":1},"isVote":1,"likeStatus":false,"favoriteStatus":false,"reportStatus":false,"tweetType":1,"comments":[{"id":5390686,"gmtCreate":1627778065740,"gmtModify":1663231764738,"authorId":3572428109068921,"author":{"id":3572428109068921,"idStr":"3572428109068921","authorId":3572428109068921,"name":"DKim","avatar":"https://static.tigerbbs.com/2bcfaaf6da9577d8a6da421538592a0e","vip":1,"currentWearingBadge":{"badgeId":"9427a906234c4b18a82ec3d7730b7fa8-1","templateUuid":"9427a906234c4b18a82ec3d7730b7fa8","name":"Star Contributor","description":"Have published 3 or more picked posts, and have published at least one picked post and participated in comments within 30 days","bigImgUrl":"https://community-static.tradeup.com/news/1866dcf97a73be1c330f85862546aedc","smallImgUrl":"https://community-static.tradeup.com/news/4f5c5fa8e2c7683bb5a7fce8753ee456","redirectLinkEnabled":1,"redirectLink":"https://ttm.financial/activity/market/2023/star-contributors/","hasAllocated":1,"isWearing":1,"stampPosition":0,"hasStamp":0,"allocationCount":1,"allocatedDate":"2024.10.31","individualDisplayEnabled":1,"backgroundColor":{"dark":"#675a37","tint":"#f9ebc2"},"fontColor":{"dark":"#ffffff","tint":"#ab7a0e"},"individualDisplaySort":0,"categoryType":2007},"crmLevel":7,"crmLevelSwitch":1,"individualDisplayBadges":[{"badgeId":"9427a906234c4b18a82ec3d7730b7fa8-1","templateUuid":"9427a906234c4b18a82ec3d7730b7fa8","name":"Star Contributor","description":"Have published 3 or more picked posts, and have published at least one picked post and participated in comments within 30 days","bigImgUrl":"https://community-static.tradeup.com/news/1866dcf97a73be1c330f85862546aedc","smallImgUrl":"https://community-static.tradeup.com/news/4f5c5fa8e2c7683bb5a7fce8753ee456","redirectLinkEnabled":1,"redirectLink":"https://ttm.financial/activity/market/2023/star-contributors/","hasAllocated":1,"isWearing":1,"stampPosition":0,"hasStamp":0,"allocationCount":1,"allocatedDate":"2024.11.02","individualDisplayEnabled":1,"backgroundColor":{"dark":"#675a37","tint":"#f9ebc2"},"fontColor":{"dark":"#ffffff","tint":"#ab7a0e"},"individualDisplaySort":0,"categoryType":2007}]},"repliedAuthorId":0,"objectId":802666899,"type":1,"supId":0,"prevId":0,"content":"Ok","text":"Ok","html":"Ok"}],"langContent":"EN"},{"id":802661399,"gmtCreate":1627777364511,"gmtModify":1703495613514,"author":{"id":"3581727570212837","authorId":"3581727570212837","name":"charlito","avatar":"https://static.tigerbbs.com/187f09a2c9b9e341d7b9423366682194","vip":1,"crmLevel":5,"crmLevelSwitch":0,"authorIdStr":"3581727570212837","idStr":"3581727570212837"},"htmlText":"Lets go go go","listText":"Lets go go go","text":"Lets go go go","images":[],"top":1,"highlighted":1,"essential":1,"paper":1,"likeSize":3,"commentSize":0,"repostSize":0,"link":"https://ttm.financial/post/802661399","repostId":1186334150,"repostType":4,"repost":{"id":"1186334150","pubTimestamp":1627713845,"share":"https://ttm.financial/m/news/1186334150?lang=&edition=fundamental","pubTime":"2021-07-31 14:44","market":"us","language":"en","title":"Infrastructure Spending Is on Its Way. Here’s a Cheap Way to Play It","url":"https://stock-news.laohu8.com/highlight/detail?id=1186334150","media":"Barron's","summary":"U.S. lawmakers appear to be on the cusp of passing a massive and long-awaitedinfrastructure-investme","content":"<p>U.S. lawmakers appear to be on the cusp of passing a massive and long-awaitedinfrastructure-investment bill, totaling some $1 trillion.</p>\n<p>The legislation should be a boost to businesses like<a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/VMC\">Vulcan Materials</a>(ticker: VMC) and<a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/MLM\">Martin Marietta Materials</a>(MLM), which make concrete and asphalt;<a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/CAT\">Caterpillar</a>(CAT) and<a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/TEX\">Terex</a>(TEX), which make construction equipment; and<a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/URI\">United Rentals</a>(URI), which rents the machinery. Most of their stocks have already jumped on theprospect of infrastructure spending.</p>\n<p>But <a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/AONE.U\">one</a> infrastructure play has been overlooked:<a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/AFH\">Atlas</a> Technical Consultants(ATCX) provides engineering and design services, inspection and certification of buildings and public works, and other construction-related services. More construction means more plans and designs for Atlas to review. These eventually become finished projects that need annual inspections, paying dividends for years.</p>\n<p>And yet Atlas shares have stalled. At a recent $9, the stock trades for just eight times enterprise value to estimated 2022 earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization, or Ebitda. That multiple is a significant discount to companies in related inspection businesses, such asMontrose Environmental Group(MEG) andTetra Tech(TTEK), which trade for more than 22 times EV/2022 Ebitda.</p>\n<p><img src=\"https://static.tigerbbs.com/19ad62f427fb70a25aa96068bc5d1756\" tg-width=\"442\" tg-height=\"364\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer\">“Right now, part of the valuation discount is due to the debt, but I would say there are companies like Atlas where the debt is appropriate,” says Kevin Silverman, chief investment officer and portfolio manager at small-cap–focused <a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/STL\">Sterling</a> Partners <a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/EQR\">Equity</a> Advisors, which owns more than $2 million worth of Atlas stock, accounting for about 2% of its assets under management. “The debt helps equity holders if you have steady profit margins and can use it for growth.”</p>\n<p>And Atlas has substantial opportunities for growth. Beyond the infrastructure-bill boost, Atlas has a long-term strategy of consolidating the fragmented U.S. inspection-services market while reducing its debt levels. Both should increase its appeal to investors and earn it a higher valuation multiple.</p>\n<p>The Austin, Texas–headquartered company went public inearly 2020via a merger with a special-purpose acquisition company, or SPAC. The deal saddled the company with a convoluted capital structure, including multiple share classes, outstanding warrants, and other complications. That complexity has probably kept some investors away, as has Atlas’ relatively high debt load, which comes to 5.5 times net debt to 2021 Ebitda.</p>\n<p><img src=\"https://static.tigerbbs.com/99bb73a7c212bfed6d0890b8b14fbc15\" tg-width=\"607\" tg-height=\"396\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer\"></p>\n<p>Atlas has reduced that complexity—redeeming its preferred equity, buying out warrants, and increasing the stock’s publicly traded float—and is focused on bringing its net debt below three times Ebitda.</p>\n<p>Atlas is forecast to grow sales 13% this year, to $530 million, with Ebitda up 21%, to $76 million.</p>\n<p>Its customers include state departments of transportation, private building owners, electric and water utilities, airports, schools, hospitals, and more. Its national presence and leading scale helps win and retain marquee projects and big clients, including the U.S. Postal <a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/SCI\">Service</a>, the Environmental Protection Agency, the <a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/NWY\">New York</a> <a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/CHCO\">City</a> Housing Authority, Stanford University,Walmart(WMT), and<a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/AAPL\">Apple</a>(AAPL).</p>\n<p>Atlas earned $64 million in adjusted Ebitda over the past four reported quarters, while it had a net loss of $18 million. As of the end of the first quarter, the company had a backlog of $689 million, or more than 140% of its last 12 months’ revenue of $482 million. “I’ve been in this business for 30 years, and it’s by far the highest I’ve seen,” Atlas CEO Joe Boyer tells<i>Barron’s</i>.</p>\n<p>About 70% of the company’s revenue comes from work on existing buildings, pipes, roads, and bridges. Those jobs are nondiscretionary: As we’ve tragically learned at times, infrastructure needs to be inspected and brought up to code at regular intervals, no matter what the economic or pandemic situation is.</p>\n<p>The remaining 30% of Atlas’ sales are tied to new construction, which dipped during the pandemic but is nearly back to pre-Covid-19 levels, according to Boyer.</p>\n<p>A long-term trend toward outsourcing services by cities and states, stricter environmental standards, and aging infrastructure in the U.S. have been drivers of Atlas’ organic growth in recent years.</p>\n<p>That trend has been responsible for about half of Atlas’ 20% compound annual growth in sales since 2016, when it was owned by private-equity firm Bernhard Capital Partners. The other avenue for growth has been Atlas’ acquisition strategy.</p>\n<p>“The idea is to find a company in a geography or a service that we don’t dominate in, bring it onto our platform, and cross-sell across our network,” Boyer says.</p>\n<p>Atlas’ sweet spot for acquisition targets is about $5 million to $20 million in Ebitda, The company typically pays four to six times Ebitda in a mix of cash and stock. That makes each deal immediately accretive to earnings.</p>\n<p>As a small and relatively young public company, Atlas gets minimal coverage from Wall Street, but the three analysts who cover the firm are bullish. “We think the company is in end markets that are strong or recovering; they’ve been winning large contracts, and its backlog has been growing,” says <a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/SF\">Stifel</a> analyst Noelle Dilts. “So, we feel good about the fundamental revenue outlook.”</p>\n<p>She rates Atlas a Buy, with a $14.50 price target, or 11 times her estimate of 2022 Ebitda, which doesn’t include any upside from a potential infrastructure bill. Using a 15 times Ebitda multiple, Sterling’s Silverman sees shares going to $43 three years from now, as debt paydown continues and earnings rise.</p>\n<p>Atlas’ balance sheet remains a fixer-upper, but the company has the right foundation.</p>\n<p></p>","source":"lsy1610680873436","collect":0,"html":"<!DOCTYPE html>\n<html>\n<head>\n<meta http-equiv=\"Content-Type\" content=\"text/html; charset=utf-8\" />\n<meta name=\"viewport\" content=\"width=device-width,initial-scale=1.0,minimum-scale=1.0,maximum-scale=1.0,user-scalable=no\"/>\n<meta name=\"format-detection\" content=\"telephone=no,email=no,address=no\" />\n<title>Infrastructure Spending Is on Its Way. Here’s a Cheap Way to Play It</title>\n<style type=\"text/css\">\na,abbr,acronym,address,applet,article,aside,audio,b,big,blockquote,body,canvas,caption,center,cite,code,dd,del,details,dfn,div,dl,dt,\nem,embed,fieldset,figcaption,figure,footer,form,h1,h2,h3,h4,h5,h6,header,hgroup,html,i,iframe,img,ins,kbd,label,legend,li,mark,menu,nav,\nobject,ol,output,p,pre,q,ruby,s,samp,section,small,span,strike,strong,sub,summary,sup,table,tbody,td,tfoot,th,thead,time,tr,tt,u,ul,var,video{ font:inherit;margin:0;padding:0;vertical-align:baseline;border:0 }\nbody{ font-size:16px; line-height:1.5; color:#999; background:transparent; }\n.wrapper{ overflow:hidden;word-break:break-all;padding:10px; }\nh1,h2{ font-weight:normal; line-height:1.35; margin-bottom:.6em; }\nh3,h4,h5,h6{ line-height:1.35; margin-bottom:1em; }\nh1{ font-size:24px; }\nh2{ font-size:20px; }\nh3{ font-size:18px; }\nh4{ font-size:16px; }\nh5{ font-size:14px; }\nh6{ font-size:12px; }\np,ul,ol,blockquote,dl,table{ margin:1.2em 0; }\nul,ol{ margin-left:2em; }\nul{ list-style:disc; }\nol{ list-style:decimal; }\nli,li p{ margin:10px 0;}\nimg{ max-width:100%;display:block;margin:0 auto 1em; }\nblockquote{ color:#B5B2B1; border-left:3px solid #aaa; padding:1em; }\nstrong,b{font-weight:bold;}\nem,i{font-style:italic;}\ntable{ width:100%;border-collapse:collapse;border-spacing:1px;margin:1em 0;font-size:.9em; }\nth,td{ padding:5px;text-align:left;border:1px solid #aaa; }\nth{ font-weight:bold;background:#5d5d5d; }\n.symbol-link{font-weight:bold;}\n/* header{ border-bottom:1px solid #494756; } */\n.title{ margin:0 0 8px;line-height:1.3;color:#ddd; }\n.meta {color:#5e5c6d;font-size:13px;margin:0 0 .5em; }\na{text-decoration:none; color:#2a4b87;}\n.meta .head { display: inline-block; overflow: hidden}\n.head .h-thumb { width: 30px; height: 30px; margin: 0; padding: 0; border-radius: 50%; float: left;}\n.head .h-content { margin: 0; padding: 0 0 0 9px; float: left;}\n.head .h-name {font-size: 13px; color: #eee; margin: 0;}\n.head .h-time {font-size: 11px; color: #7E829C; margin: 0;line-height: 11px;}\n.small {font-size: 12.5px; display: inline-block; transform: scale(0.9); -webkit-transform: scale(0.9); transform-origin: left; -webkit-transform-origin: left;}\n.smaller {font-size: 12.5px; display: inline-block; transform: scale(0.8); -webkit-transform: scale(0.8); transform-origin: left; -webkit-transform-origin: left;}\n.bt-text {font-size: 12px;margin: 1.5em 0 0 0}\n.bt-text p {margin: 0}\n</style>\n</head>\n<body>\n<div class=\"wrapper\">\n<header>\n<h2 class=\"title\">\nInfrastructure Spending Is on Its Way. Here’s a Cheap Way to Play It\n</h2>\n\n<h4 class=\"meta\">\n\n\n2021-07-31 14:44 GMT+8&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href=https://www.barrons.com/articles/infrastructure-buy-atlas-technical-consultants-stock-51627684191?mod=hp_LEAD_2><strong>Barron's</strong></a>\n\n\n</h4>\n\n</header>\n<article>\n<div>\n<p>U.S. lawmakers appear to be on the cusp of passing a massive and long-awaitedinfrastructure-investment bill, totaling some $1 trillion.\nThe legislation should be a boost to businesses likeVulcan ...</p>\n\n<a href=\"https://www.barrons.com/articles/infrastructure-buy-atlas-technical-consultants-stock-51627684191?mod=hp_LEAD_2\">Web Link</a>\n\n</div>\n\n\n</article>\n</div>\n</body>\n</html>\n","type":0,"thumbnail":"","relate_stocks":{},"source_url":"https://www.barrons.com/articles/infrastructure-buy-atlas-technical-consultants-stock-51627684191?mod=hp_LEAD_2","is_english":true,"share_image_url":"https://static.laohu8.com/e9f99090a1c2ed51c021029395664489","article_id":"1186334150","content_text":"U.S. lawmakers appear to be on the cusp of passing a massive and long-awaitedinfrastructure-investment bill, totaling some $1 trillion.\nThe legislation should be a boost to businesses likeVulcan Materials(ticker: VMC) andMartin Marietta Materials(MLM), which make concrete and asphalt;Caterpillar(CAT) andTerex(TEX), which make construction equipment; andUnited Rentals(URI), which rents the machinery. Most of their stocks have already jumped on theprospect of infrastructure spending.\nBut one infrastructure play has been overlooked:Atlas Technical Consultants(ATCX) provides engineering and design services, inspection and certification of buildings and public works, and other construction-related services. More construction means more plans and designs for Atlas to review. These eventually become finished projects that need annual inspections, paying dividends for years.\nAnd yet Atlas shares have stalled. At a recent $9, the stock trades for just eight times enterprise value to estimated 2022 earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization, or Ebitda. That multiple is a significant discount to companies in related inspection businesses, such asMontrose Environmental Group(MEG) andTetra Tech(TTEK), which trade for more than 22 times EV/2022 Ebitda.\n“Right now, part of the valuation discount is due to the debt, but I would say there are companies like Atlas where the debt is appropriate,” says Kevin Silverman, chief investment officer and portfolio manager at small-cap–focused Sterling Partners Equity Advisors, which owns more than $2 million worth of Atlas stock, accounting for about 2% of its assets under management. “The debt helps equity holders if you have steady profit margins and can use it for growth.”\nAnd Atlas has substantial opportunities for growth. Beyond the infrastructure-bill boost, Atlas has a long-term strategy of consolidating the fragmented U.S. inspection-services market while reducing its debt levels. Both should increase its appeal to investors and earn it a higher valuation multiple.\nThe Austin, Texas–headquartered company went public inearly 2020via a merger with a special-purpose acquisition company, or SPAC. The deal saddled the company with a convoluted capital structure, including multiple share classes, outstanding warrants, and other complications. That complexity has probably kept some investors away, as has Atlas’ relatively high debt load, which comes to 5.5 times net debt to 2021 Ebitda.\n\nAtlas has reduced that complexity—redeeming its preferred equity, buying out warrants, and increasing the stock’s publicly traded float—and is focused on bringing its net debt below three times Ebitda.\nAtlas is forecast to grow sales 13% this year, to $530 million, with Ebitda up 21%, to $76 million.\nIts customers include state departments of transportation, private building owners, electric and water utilities, airports, schools, hospitals, and more. Its national presence and leading scale helps win and retain marquee projects and big clients, including the U.S. Postal Service, the Environmental Protection Agency, the New York City Housing Authority, Stanford University,Walmart(WMT), andApple(AAPL).\nAtlas earned $64 million in adjusted Ebitda over the past four reported quarters, while it had a net loss of $18 million. As of the end of the first quarter, the company had a backlog of $689 million, or more than 140% of its last 12 months’ revenue of $482 million. “I’ve been in this business for 30 years, and it’s by far the highest I’ve seen,” Atlas CEO Joe Boyer tellsBarron’s.\nAbout 70% of the company’s revenue comes from work on existing buildings, pipes, roads, and bridges. Those jobs are nondiscretionary: As we’ve tragically learned at times, infrastructure needs to be inspected and brought up to code at regular intervals, no matter what the economic or pandemic situation is.\nThe remaining 30% of Atlas’ sales are tied to new construction, which dipped during the pandemic but is nearly back to pre-Covid-19 levels, according to Boyer.\nA long-term trend toward outsourcing services by cities and states, stricter environmental standards, and aging infrastructure in the U.S. have been drivers of Atlas’ organic growth in recent years.\nThat trend has been responsible for about half of Atlas’ 20% compound annual growth in sales since 2016, when it was owned by private-equity firm Bernhard Capital Partners. The other avenue for growth has been Atlas’ acquisition strategy.\n“The idea is to find a company in a geography or a service that we don’t dominate in, bring it onto our platform, and cross-sell across our network,” Boyer says.\nAtlas’ sweet spot for acquisition targets is about $5 million to $20 million in Ebitda, The company typically pays four to six times Ebitda in a mix of cash and stock. That makes each deal immediately accretive to earnings.\nAs a small and relatively young public company, Atlas gets minimal coverage from Wall Street, but the three analysts who cover the firm are bullish. “We think the company is in end markets that are strong or recovering; they’ve been winning large contracts, and its backlog has been growing,” says Stifel analyst Noelle Dilts. “So, we feel good about the fundamental revenue outlook.”\nShe rates Atlas a Buy, with a $14.50 price target, or 11 times her estimate of 2022 Ebitda, which doesn’t include any upside from a potential infrastructure bill. Using a 15 times Ebitda multiple, Sterling’s Silverman sees shares going to $43 three years from now, as debt paydown continues and earnings rise.\nAtlas’ balance sheet remains a fixer-upper, but the company has the right foundation.","news_type":1},"isVote":1,"likeStatus":false,"favoriteStatus":false,"reportStatus":false,"tweetType":1,"langContent":"EN"},{"id":802685987,"gmtCreate":1627777007049,"gmtModify":1703495604792,"author":{"id":"3586941861951066","authorId":"3586941861951066","name":"EHG","avatar":"https://static.tigerbbs.com/28e4734e50f795c3218330cbb6c3e9a0","vip":1,"crmLevel":2,"crmLevelSwitch":0,"authorIdStr":"3586941861951066","idStr":"3586941861951066"},"htmlText":"Like&nbsp;","listText":"Like&nbsp;","text":"Like","images":[],"top":1,"highlighted":1,"essential":1,"paper":1,"likeSize":3,"commentSize":2,"repostSize":0,"link":"https://ttm.financial/post/802685987","repostId":1186334150,"repostType":4,"repost":{"id":"1186334150","pubTimestamp":1627713845,"share":"https://ttm.financial/m/news/1186334150?lang=&edition=fundamental","pubTime":"2021-07-31 14:44","market":"us","language":"en","title":"Infrastructure Spending Is on Its Way. Here’s a Cheap Way to Play It","url":"https://stock-news.laohu8.com/highlight/detail?id=1186334150","media":"Barron's","summary":"U.S. lawmakers appear to be on the cusp of passing a massive and long-awaitedinfrastructure-investme","content":"<p>U.S. lawmakers appear to be on the cusp of passing a massive and long-awaitedinfrastructure-investment bill, totaling some $1 trillion.</p>\n<p>The legislation should be a boost to businesses like<a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/VMC\">Vulcan Materials</a>(ticker: VMC) and<a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/MLM\">Martin Marietta Materials</a>(MLM), which make concrete and asphalt;<a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/CAT\">Caterpillar</a>(CAT) and<a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/TEX\">Terex</a>(TEX), which make construction equipment; and<a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/URI\">United Rentals</a>(URI), which rents the machinery. Most of their stocks have already jumped on theprospect of infrastructure spending.</p>\n<p>But <a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/AONE.U\">one</a> infrastructure play has been overlooked:<a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/AFH\">Atlas</a> Technical Consultants(ATCX) provides engineering and design services, inspection and certification of buildings and public works, and other construction-related services. More construction means more plans and designs for Atlas to review. These eventually become finished projects that need annual inspections, paying dividends for years.</p>\n<p>And yet Atlas shares have stalled. At a recent $9, the stock trades for just eight times enterprise value to estimated 2022 earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization, or Ebitda. That multiple is a significant discount to companies in related inspection businesses, such asMontrose Environmental Group(MEG) andTetra Tech(TTEK), which trade for more than 22 times EV/2022 Ebitda.</p>\n<p><img src=\"https://static.tigerbbs.com/19ad62f427fb70a25aa96068bc5d1756\" tg-width=\"442\" tg-height=\"364\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer\">“Right now, part of the valuation discount is due to the debt, but I would say there are companies like Atlas where the debt is appropriate,” says Kevin Silverman, chief investment officer and portfolio manager at small-cap–focused <a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/STL\">Sterling</a> Partners <a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/EQR\">Equity</a> Advisors, which owns more than $2 million worth of Atlas stock, accounting for about 2% of its assets under management. “The debt helps equity holders if you have steady profit margins and can use it for growth.”</p>\n<p>And Atlas has substantial opportunities for growth. Beyond the infrastructure-bill boost, Atlas has a long-term strategy of consolidating the fragmented U.S. inspection-services market while reducing its debt levels. Both should increase its appeal to investors and earn it a higher valuation multiple.</p>\n<p>The Austin, Texas–headquartered company went public inearly 2020via a merger with a special-purpose acquisition company, or SPAC. The deal saddled the company with a convoluted capital structure, including multiple share classes, outstanding warrants, and other complications. That complexity has probably kept some investors away, as has Atlas’ relatively high debt load, which comes to 5.5 times net debt to 2021 Ebitda.</p>\n<p><img src=\"https://static.tigerbbs.com/99bb73a7c212bfed6d0890b8b14fbc15\" tg-width=\"607\" tg-height=\"396\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer\"></p>\n<p>Atlas has reduced that complexity—redeeming its preferred equity, buying out warrants, and increasing the stock’s publicly traded float—and is focused on bringing its net debt below three times Ebitda.</p>\n<p>Atlas is forecast to grow sales 13% this year, to $530 million, with Ebitda up 21%, to $76 million.</p>\n<p>Its customers include state departments of transportation, private building owners, electric and water utilities, airports, schools, hospitals, and more. Its national presence and leading scale helps win and retain marquee projects and big clients, including the U.S. Postal <a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/SCI\">Service</a>, the Environmental Protection Agency, the <a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/NWY\">New York</a> <a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/CHCO\">City</a> Housing Authority, Stanford University,Walmart(WMT), and<a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/AAPL\">Apple</a>(AAPL).</p>\n<p>Atlas earned $64 million in adjusted Ebitda over the past four reported quarters, while it had a net loss of $18 million. As of the end of the first quarter, the company had a backlog of $689 million, or more than 140% of its last 12 months’ revenue of $482 million. “I’ve been in this business for 30 years, and it’s by far the highest I’ve seen,” Atlas CEO Joe Boyer tells<i>Barron’s</i>.</p>\n<p>About 70% of the company’s revenue comes from work on existing buildings, pipes, roads, and bridges. Those jobs are nondiscretionary: As we’ve tragically learned at times, infrastructure needs to be inspected and brought up to code at regular intervals, no matter what the economic or pandemic situation is.</p>\n<p>The remaining 30% of Atlas’ sales are tied to new construction, which dipped during the pandemic but is nearly back to pre-Covid-19 levels, according to Boyer.</p>\n<p>A long-term trend toward outsourcing services by cities and states, stricter environmental standards, and aging infrastructure in the U.S. have been drivers of Atlas’ organic growth in recent years.</p>\n<p>That trend has been responsible for about half of Atlas’ 20% compound annual growth in sales since 2016, when it was owned by private-equity firm Bernhard Capital Partners. The other avenue for growth has been Atlas’ acquisition strategy.</p>\n<p>“The idea is to find a company in a geography or a service that we don’t dominate in, bring it onto our platform, and cross-sell across our network,” Boyer says.</p>\n<p>Atlas’ sweet spot for acquisition targets is about $5 million to $20 million in Ebitda, The company typically pays four to six times Ebitda in a mix of cash and stock. That makes each deal immediately accretive to earnings.</p>\n<p>As a small and relatively young public company, Atlas gets minimal coverage from Wall Street, but the three analysts who cover the firm are bullish. “We think the company is in end markets that are strong or recovering; they’ve been winning large contracts, and its backlog has been growing,” says <a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/SF\">Stifel</a> analyst Noelle Dilts. “So, we feel good about the fundamental revenue outlook.”</p>\n<p>She rates Atlas a Buy, with a $14.50 price target, or 11 times her estimate of 2022 Ebitda, which doesn’t include any upside from a potential infrastructure bill. Using a 15 times Ebitda multiple, Sterling’s Silverman sees shares going to $43 three years from now, as debt paydown continues and earnings rise.</p>\n<p>Atlas’ balance sheet remains a fixer-upper, but the company has the right foundation.</p>\n<p></p>","source":"lsy1610680873436","collect":0,"html":"<!DOCTYPE html>\n<html>\n<head>\n<meta http-equiv=\"Content-Type\" content=\"text/html; charset=utf-8\" />\n<meta name=\"viewport\" content=\"width=device-width,initial-scale=1.0,minimum-scale=1.0,maximum-scale=1.0,user-scalable=no\"/>\n<meta name=\"format-detection\" content=\"telephone=no,email=no,address=no\" />\n<title>Infrastructure Spending Is on Its Way. Here’s a Cheap Way to Play It</title>\n<style type=\"text/css\">\na,abbr,acronym,address,applet,article,aside,audio,b,big,blockquote,body,canvas,caption,center,cite,code,dd,del,details,dfn,div,dl,dt,\nem,embed,fieldset,figcaption,figure,footer,form,h1,h2,h3,h4,h5,h6,header,hgroup,html,i,iframe,img,ins,kbd,label,legend,li,mark,menu,nav,\nobject,ol,output,p,pre,q,ruby,s,samp,section,small,span,strike,strong,sub,summary,sup,table,tbody,td,tfoot,th,thead,time,tr,tt,u,ul,var,video{ font:inherit;margin:0;padding:0;vertical-align:baseline;border:0 }\nbody{ font-size:16px; line-height:1.5; color:#999; background:transparent; }\n.wrapper{ overflow:hidden;word-break:break-all;padding:10px; }\nh1,h2{ font-weight:normal; line-height:1.35; margin-bottom:.6em; }\nh3,h4,h5,h6{ line-height:1.35; margin-bottom:1em; }\nh1{ font-size:24px; }\nh2{ font-size:20px; }\nh3{ font-size:18px; }\nh4{ font-size:16px; }\nh5{ font-size:14px; }\nh6{ font-size:12px; }\np,ul,ol,blockquote,dl,table{ margin:1.2em 0; }\nul,ol{ margin-left:2em; }\nul{ list-style:disc; }\nol{ list-style:decimal; }\nli,li p{ margin:10px 0;}\nimg{ max-width:100%;display:block;margin:0 auto 1em; }\nblockquote{ color:#B5B2B1; border-left:3px solid #aaa; padding:1em; }\nstrong,b{font-weight:bold;}\nem,i{font-style:italic;}\ntable{ width:100%;border-collapse:collapse;border-spacing:1px;margin:1em 0;font-size:.9em; }\nth,td{ padding:5px;text-align:left;border:1px solid #aaa; }\nth{ font-weight:bold;background:#5d5d5d; }\n.symbol-link{font-weight:bold;}\n/* header{ border-bottom:1px solid #494756; } */\n.title{ margin:0 0 8px;line-height:1.3;color:#ddd; }\n.meta {color:#5e5c6d;font-size:13px;margin:0 0 .5em; }\na{text-decoration:none; color:#2a4b87;}\n.meta .head { display: inline-block; overflow: hidden}\n.head .h-thumb { width: 30px; height: 30px; margin: 0; padding: 0; border-radius: 50%; float: left;}\n.head .h-content { margin: 0; padding: 0 0 0 9px; float: left;}\n.head .h-name {font-size: 13px; color: #eee; margin: 0;}\n.head .h-time {font-size: 11px; color: #7E829C; margin: 0;line-height: 11px;}\n.small {font-size: 12.5px; display: inline-block; transform: scale(0.9); -webkit-transform: scale(0.9); transform-origin: left; -webkit-transform-origin: left;}\n.smaller {font-size: 12.5px; display: inline-block; transform: scale(0.8); -webkit-transform: scale(0.8); transform-origin: left; -webkit-transform-origin: left;}\n.bt-text {font-size: 12px;margin: 1.5em 0 0 0}\n.bt-text p {margin: 0}\n</style>\n</head>\n<body>\n<div class=\"wrapper\">\n<header>\n<h2 class=\"title\">\nInfrastructure Spending Is on Its Way. Here’s a Cheap Way to Play It\n</h2>\n\n<h4 class=\"meta\">\n\n\n2021-07-31 14:44 GMT+8&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href=https://www.barrons.com/articles/infrastructure-buy-atlas-technical-consultants-stock-51627684191?mod=hp_LEAD_2><strong>Barron's</strong></a>\n\n\n</h4>\n\n</header>\n<article>\n<div>\n<p>U.S. lawmakers appear to be on the cusp of passing a massive and long-awaitedinfrastructure-investment bill, totaling some $1 trillion.\nThe legislation should be a boost to businesses likeVulcan ...</p>\n\n<a href=\"https://www.barrons.com/articles/infrastructure-buy-atlas-technical-consultants-stock-51627684191?mod=hp_LEAD_2\">Web Link</a>\n\n</div>\n\n\n</article>\n</div>\n</body>\n</html>\n","type":0,"thumbnail":"","relate_stocks":{},"source_url":"https://www.barrons.com/articles/infrastructure-buy-atlas-technical-consultants-stock-51627684191?mod=hp_LEAD_2","is_english":true,"share_image_url":"https://static.laohu8.com/e9f99090a1c2ed51c021029395664489","article_id":"1186334150","content_text":"U.S. lawmakers appear to be on the cusp of passing a massive and long-awaitedinfrastructure-investment bill, totaling some $1 trillion.\nThe legislation should be a boost to businesses likeVulcan Materials(ticker: VMC) andMartin Marietta Materials(MLM), which make concrete and asphalt;Caterpillar(CAT) andTerex(TEX), which make construction equipment; andUnited Rentals(URI), which rents the machinery. Most of their stocks have already jumped on theprospect of infrastructure spending.\nBut one infrastructure play has been overlooked:Atlas Technical Consultants(ATCX) provides engineering and design services, inspection and certification of buildings and public works, and other construction-related services. More construction means more plans and designs for Atlas to review. These eventually become finished projects that need annual inspections, paying dividends for years.\nAnd yet Atlas shares have stalled. At a recent $9, the stock trades for just eight times enterprise value to estimated 2022 earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization, or Ebitda. That multiple is a significant discount to companies in related inspection businesses, such asMontrose Environmental Group(MEG) andTetra Tech(TTEK), which trade for more than 22 times EV/2022 Ebitda.\n“Right now, part of the valuation discount is due to the debt, but I would say there are companies like Atlas where the debt is appropriate,” says Kevin Silverman, chief investment officer and portfolio manager at small-cap–focused Sterling Partners Equity Advisors, which owns more than $2 million worth of Atlas stock, accounting for about 2% of its assets under management. “The debt helps equity holders if you have steady profit margins and can use it for growth.”\nAnd Atlas has substantial opportunities for growth. Beyond the infrastructure-bill boost, Atlas has a long-term strategy of consolidating the fragmented U.S. inspection-services market while reducing its debt levels. Both should increase its appeal to investors and earn it a higher valuation multiple.\nThe Austin, Texas–headquartered company went public inearly 2020via a merger with a special-purpose acquisition company, or SPAC. The deal saddled the company with a convoluted capital structure, including multiple share classes, outstanding warrants, and other complications. That complexity has probably kept some investors away, as has Atlas’ relatively high debt load, which comes to 5.5 times net debt to 2021 Ebitda.\n\nAtlas has reduced that complexity—redeeming its preferred equity, buying out warrants, and increasing the stock’s publicly traded float—and is focused on bringing its net debt below three times Ebitda.\nAtlas is forecast to grow sales 13% this year, to $530 million, with Ebitda up 21%, to $76 million.\nIts customers include state departments of transportation, private building owners, electric and water utilities, airports, schools, hospitals, and more. Its national presence and leading scale helps win and retain marquee projects and big clients, including the U.S. Postal Service, the Environmental Protection Agency, the New York City Housing Authority, Stanford University,Walmart(WMT), andApple(AAPL).\nAtlas earned $64 million in adjusted Ebitda over the past four reported quarters, while it had a net loss of $18 million. As of the end of the first quarter, the company had a backlog of $689 million, or more than 140% of its last 12 months’ revenue of $482 million. “I’ve been in this business for 30 years, and it’s by far the highest I’ve seen,” Atlas CEO Joe Boyer tellsBarron’s.\nAbout 70% of the company’s revenue comes from work on existing buildings, pipes, roads, and bridges. Those jobs are nondiscretionary: As we’ve tragically learned at times, infrastructure needs to be inspected and brought up to code at regular intervals, no matter what the economic or pandemic situation is.\nThe remaining 30% of Atlas’ sales are tied to new construction, which dipped during the pandemic but is nearly back to pre-Covid-19 levels, according to Boyer.\nA long-term trend toward outsourcing services by cities and states, stricter environmental standards, and aging infrastructure in the U.S. have been drivers of Atlas’ organic growth in recent years.\nThat trend has been responsible for about half of Atlas’ 20% compound annual growth in sales since 2016, when it was owned by private-equity firm Bernhard Capital Partners. The other avenue for growth has been Atlas’ acquisition strategy.\n“The idea is to find a company in a geography or a service that we don’t dominate in, bring it onto our platform, and cross-sell across our network,” Boyer says.\nAtlas’ sweet spot for acquisition targets is about $5 million to $20 million in Ebitda, The company typically pays four to six times Ebitda in a mix of cash and stock. That makes each deal immediately accretive to earnings.\nAs a small and relatively young public company, Atlas gets minimal coverage from Wall Street, but the three analysts who cover the firm are bullish. “We think the company is in end markets that are strong or recovering; they’ve been winning large contracts, and its backlog has been growing,” says Stifel analyst Noelle Dilts. “So, we feel good about the fundamental revenue outlook.”\nShe rates Atlas a Buy, with a $14.50 price target, or 11 times her estimate of 2022 Ebitda, which doesn’t include any upside from a potential infrastructure bill. Using a 15 times Ebitda multiple, Sterling’s Silverman sees shares going to $43 three years from now, as debt paydown continues and earnings rise.\nAtlas’ balance sheet remains a fixer-upper, but the company has the right foundation.","news_type":1},"isVote":1,"likeStatus":false,"favoriteStatus":false,"reportStatus":false,"tweetType":1,"comments":[{"id":5390556,"gmtCreate":1627777166792,"gmtModify":1663231768147,"authorId":4088296712073280,"author":{"id":4088296712073280,"idStr":"4088296712073280","authorId":4088296712073280,"name":"oohsodope","avatar":"https://community-static.tradeup.com/news/6962460538ca42adce5ec6388d8a8a67","vip":1,"currentWearingBadge":{"badgeId":"7a9f168ff73447fe856ed6c938b61789-1","templateUuid":"7a9f168ff73447fe856ed6c938b61789","name":"Knowledgeable Investor","description":"Traded more than 10 stocks","bigImgUrl":"https://static.tigerbbs.com/e74cc24115c4fbae6154ec1b1041bf47","smallImgUrl":"https://static.tigerbbs.com/d48265cbfd97c57f9048db29f22227b0","grayImgUrl":"https://static.tigerbbs.com/76c6d6898b073c77e1c537ebe9ac1c57","redirectLinkEnabled":0,"hasAllocated":1,"isWearing":1,"stampPosition":0,"hasStamp":0,"allocationCount":1,"allocatedDate":"2021.12.29","individualDisplayEnabled":0,"individualDisplaySort":0,"categoryType":1102},"crmLevel":1,"crmLevelSwitch":0,"individualDisplayBadges":[]},"repliedAuthorId":0,"objectId":802685987,"type":1,"supId":0,"prevId":0,"content":"Like","text":"Like","html":"Like"},{"id":5390538,"gmtCreate":1627777027320,"gmtModify":1663231766452,"authorId":3580766516032125,"author":{"id":3580766516032125,"idStr":"3580766516032125","authorId":3580766516032125,"name":"JooL","avatar":"https://community-static.tradeup.com/news/b36b34d8462eda7c0391ac4d71c88bf4","vip":1,"crmLevel":2,"crmLevelSwitch":0,"individualDisplayBadges":[]},"repliedAuthorId":0,"objectId":802685987,"type":1,"supId":0,"prevId":0,"content":"[Cool]","text":"[Cool]","html":"[Cool]"}],"langContent":"EN"},{"id":802683872,"gmtCreate":1627776827696,"gmtModify":1703495597506,"author":{"id":"3575113315907312","authorId":"3575113315907312","name":"MengYang","avatar":"https://static.tigerbbs.com/2dece979ff56347c710918e7aa49d224","vip":1,"crmLevel":4,"crmLevelSwitch":0,"authorIdStr":"3575113315907312","idStr":"3575113315907312"},"htmlText":"Please like","listText":"Please like","text":"Please like","images":[],"top":1,"highlighted":1,"essential":1,"paper":1,"likeSize":1,"commentSize":1,"repostSize":0,"link":"https://ttm.financial/post/802683872","repostId":1186334150,"repostType":4,"repost":{"id":"1186334150","pubTimestamp":1627713845,"share":"https://ttm.financial/m/news/1186334150?lang=&edition=fundamental","pubTime":"2021-07-31 14:44","market":"us","language":"en","title":"Infrastructure Spending Is on Its Way. Here’s a Cheap Way to Play It","url":"https://stock-news.laohu8.com/highlight/detail?id=1186334150","media":"Barron's","summary":"U.S. lawmakers appear to be on the cusp of passing a massive and long-awaitedinfrastructure-investme","content":"<p>U.S. lawmakers appear to be on the cusp of passing a massive and long-awaitedinfrastructure-investment bill, totaling some $1 trillion.</p>\n<p>The legislation should be a boost to businesses like<a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/VMC\">Vulcan Materials</a>(ticker: VMC) and<a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/MLM\">Martin Marietta Materials</a>(MLM), which make concrete and asphalt;<a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/CAT\">Caterpillar</a>(CAT) and<a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/TEX\">Terex</a>(TEX), which make construction equipment; and<a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/URI\">United Rentals</a>(URI), which rents the machinery. Most of their stocks have already jumped on theprospect of infrastructure spending.</p>\n<p>But <a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/AONE.U\">one</a> infrastructure play has been overlooked:<a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/AFH\">Atlas</a> Technical Consultants(ATCX) provides engineering and design services, inspection and certification of buildings and public works, and other construction-related services. More construction means more plans and designs for Atlas to review. These eventually become finished projects that need annual inspections, paying dividends for years.</p>\n<p>And yet Atlas shares have stalled. At a recent $9, the stock trades for just eight times enterprise value to estimated 2022 earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization, or Ebitda. That multiple is a significant discount to companies in related inspection businesses, such asMontrose Environmental Group(MEG) andTetra Tech(TTEK), which trade for more than 22 times EV/2022 Ebitda.</p>\n<p><img src=\"https://static.tigerbbs.com/19ad62f427fb70a25aa96068bc5d1756\" tg-width=\"442\" tg-height=\"364\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer\">“Right now, part of the valuation discount is due to the debt, but I would say there are companies like Atlas where the debt is appropriate,” says Kevin Silverman, chief investment officer and portfolio manager at small-cap–focused <a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/STL\">Sterling</a> Partners <a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/EQR\">Equity</a> Advisors, which owns more than $2 million worth of Atlas stock, accounting for about 2% of its assets under management. “The debt helps equity holders if you have steady profit margins and can use it for growth.”</p>\n<p>And Atlas has substantial opportunities for growth. Beyond the infrastructure-bill boost, Atlas has a long-term strategy of consolidating the fragmented U.S. inspection-services market while reducing its debt levels. Both should increase its appeal to investors and earn it a higher valuation multiple.</p>\n<p>The Austin, Texas–headquartered company went public inearly 2020via a merger with a special-purpose acquisition company, or SPAC. The deal saddled the company with a convoluted capital structure, including multiple share classes, outstanding warrants, and other complications. That complexity has probably kept some investors away, as has Atlas’ relatively high debt load, which comes to 5.5 times net debt to 2021 Ebitda.</p>\n<p><img src=\"https://static.tigerbbs.com/99bb73a7c212bfed6d0890b8b14fbc15\" tg-width=\"607\" tg-height=\"396\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer\"></p>\n<p>Atlas has reduced that complexity—redeeming its preferred equity, buying out warrants, and increasing the stock’s publicly traded float—and is focused on bringing its net debt below three times Ebitda.</p>\n<p>Atlas is forecast to grow sales 13% this year, to $530 million, with Ebitda up 21%, to $76 million.</p>\n<p>Its customers include state departments of transportation, private building owners, electric and water utilities, airports, schools, hospitals, and more. Its national presence and leading scale helps win and retain marquee projects and big clients, including the U.S. Postal <a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/SCI\">Service</a>, the Environmental Protection Agency, the <a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/NWY\">New York</a> <a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/CHCO\">City</a> Housing Authority, Stanford University,Walmart(WMT), and<a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/AAPL\">Apple</a>(AAPL).</p>\n<p>Atlas earned $64 million in adjusted Ebitda over the past four reported quarters, while it had a net loss of $18 million. As of the end of the first quarter, the company had a backlog of $689 million, or more than 140% of its last 12 months’ revenue of $482 million. “I’ve been in this business for 30 years, and it’s by far the highest I’ve seen,” Atlas CEO Joe Boyer tells<i>Barron’s</i>.</p>\n<p>About 70% of the company’s revenue comes from work on existing buildings, pipes, roads, and bridges. Those jobs are nondiscretionary: As we’ve tragically learned at times, infrastructure needs to be inspected and brought up to code at regular intervals, no matter what the economic or pandemic situation is.</p>\n<p>The remaining 30% of Atlas’ sales are tied to new construction, which dipped during the pandemic but is nearly back to pre-Covid-19 levels, according to Boyer.</p>\n<p>A long-term trend toward outsourcing services by cities and states, stricter environmental standards, and aging infrastructure in the U.S. have been drivers of Atlas’ organic growth in recent years.</p>\n<p>That trend has been responsible for about half of Atlas’ 20% compound annual growth in sales since 2016, when it was owned by private-equity firm Bernhard Capital Partners. The other avenue for growth has been Atlas’ acquisition strategy.</p>\n<p>“The idea is to find a company in a geography or a service that we don’t dominate in, bring it onto our platform, and cross-sell across our network,” Boyer says.</p>\n<p>Atlas’ sweet spot for acquisition targets is about $5 million to $20 million in Ebitda, The company typically pays four to six times Ebitda in a mix of cash and stock. That makes each deal immediately accretive to earnings.</p>\n<p>As a small and relatively young public company, Atlas gets minimal coverage from Wall Street, but the three analysts who cover the firm are bullish. “We think the company is in end markets that are strong or recovering; they’ve been winning large contracts, and its backlog has been growing,” says <a href=\"https://laohu8.com/S/SF\">Stifel</a> analyst Noelle Dilts. “So, we feel good about the fundamental revenue outlook.”</p>\n<p>She rates Atlas a Buy, with a $14.50 price target, or 11 times her estimate of 2022 Ebitda, which doesn’t include any upside from a potential infrastructure bill. Using a 15 times Ebitda multiple, Sterling’s Silverman sees shares going to $43 three years from now, as debt paydown continues and earnings rise.</p>\n<p>Atlas’ balance sheet remains a fixer-upper, but the company has the right foundation.</p>\n<p></p>","source":"lsy1610680873436","collect":0,"html":"<!DOCTYPE html>\n<html>\n<head>\n<meta http-equiv=\"Content-Type\" content=\"text/html; charset=utf-8\" />\n<meta name=\"viewport\" content=\"width=device-width,initial-scale=1.0,minimum-scale=1.0,maximum-scale=1.0,user-scalable=no\"/>\n<meta name=\"format-detection\" content=\"telephone=no,email=no,address=no\" />\n<title>Infrastructure Spending Is on Its Way. Here’s a Cheap Way to Play It</title>\n<style type=\"text/css\">\na,abbr,acronym,address,applet,article,aside,audio,b,big,blockquote,body,canvas,caption,center,cite,code,dd,del,details,dfn,div,dl,dt,\nem,embed,fieldset,figcaption,figure,footer,form,h1,h2,h3,h4,h5,h6,header,hgroup,html,i,iframe,img,ins,kbd,label,legend,li,mark,menu,nav,\nobject,ol,output,p,pre,q,ruby,s,samp,section,small,span,strike,strong,sub,summary,sup,table,tbody,td,tfoot,th,thead,time,tr,tt,u,ul,var,video{ font:inherit;margin:0;padding:0;vertical-align:baseline;border:0 }\nbody{ font-size:16px; line-height:1.5; color:#999; background:transparent; }\n.wrapper{ overflow:hidden;word-break:break-all;padding:10px; }\nh1,h2{ font-weight:normal; line-height:1.35; margin-bottom:.6em; }\nh3,h4,h5,h6{ line-height:1.35; margin-bottom:1em; }\nh1{ font-size:24px; }\nh2{ font-size:20px; }\nh3{ font-size:18px; }\nh4{ font-size:16px; }\nh5{ font-size:14px; }\nh6{ font-size:12px; }\np,ul,ol,blockquote,dl,table{ margin:1.2em 0; }\nul,ol{ margin-left:2em; }\nul{ list-style:disc; }\nol{ list-style:decimal; }\nli,li p{ margin:10px 0;}\nimg{ max-width:100%;display:block;margin:0 auto 1em; }\nblockquote{ color:#B5B2B1; border-left:3px solid #aaa; padding:1em; }\nstrong,b{font-weight:bold;}\nem,i{font-style:italic;}\ntable{ width:100%;border-collapse:collapse;border-spacing:1px;margin:1em 0;font-size:.9em; }\nth,td{ padding:5px;text-align:left;border:1px solid #aaa; }\nth{ font-weight:bold;background:#5d5d5d; }\n.symbol-link{font-weight:bold;}\n/* header{ border-bottom:1px solid #494756; } */\n.title{ margin:0 0 8px;line-height:1.3;color:#ddd; }\n.meta {color:#5e5c6d;font-size:13px;margin:0 0 .5em; }\na{text-decoration:none; color:#2a4b87;}\n.meta .head { display: inline-block; overflow: hidden}\n.head .h-thumb { width: 30px; height: 30px; margin: 0; padding: 0; border-radius: 50%; float: left;}\n.head .h-content { margin: 0; padding: 0 0 0 9px; float: left;}\n.head .h-name {font-size: 13px; color: #eee; margin: 0;}\n.head .h-time {font-size: 11px; color: #7E829C; margin: 0;line-height: 11px;}\n.small {font-size: 12.5px; display: inline-block; transform: scale(0.9); -webkit-transform: scale(0.9); transform-origin: left; -webkit-transform-origin: left;}\n.smaller {font-size: 12.5px; display: inline-block; transform: scale(0.8); -webkit-transform: scale(0.8); transform-origin: left; -webkit-transform-origin: left;}\n.bt-text {font-size: 12px;margin: 1.5em 0 0 0}\n.bt-text p {margin: 0}\n</style>\n</head>\n<body>\n<div class=\"wrapper\">\n<header>\n<h2 class=\"title\">\nInfrastructure Spending Is on Its Way. Here’s a Cheap Way to Play It\n</h2>\n\n<h4 class=\"meta\">\n\n\n2021-07-31 14:44 GMT+8&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href=https://www.barrons.com/articles/infrastructure-buy-atlas-technical-consultants-stock-51627684191?mod=hp_LEAD_2><strong>Barron's</strong></a>\n\n\n</h4>\n\n</header>\n<article>\n<div>\n<p>U.S. lawmakers appear to be on the cusp of passing a massive and long-awaitedinfrastructure-investment bill, totaling some $1 trillion.\nThe legislation should be a boost to businesses likeVulcan ...</p>\n\n<a href=\"https://www.barrons.com/articles/infrastructure-buy-atlas-technical-consultants-stock-51627684191?mod=hp_LEAD_2\">Web Link</a>\n\n</div>\n\n\n</article>\n</div>\n</body>\n</html>\n","type":0,"thumbnail":"","relate_stocks":{},"source_url":"https://www.barrons.com/articles/infrastructure-buy-atlas-technical-consultants-stock-51627684191?mod=hp_LEAD_2","is_english":true,"share_image_url":"https://static.laohu8.com/e9f99090a1c2ed51c021029395664489","article_id":"1186334150","content_text":"U.S. lawmakers appear to be on the cusp of passing a massive and long-awaitedinfrastructure-investment bill, totaling some $1 trillion.\nThe legislation should be a boost to businesses likeVulcan Materials(ticker: VMC) andMartin Marietta Materials(MLM), which make concrete and asphalt;Caterpillar(CAT) andTerex(TEX), which make construction equipment; andUnited Rentals(URI), which rents the machinery. Most of their stocks have already jumped on theprospect of infrastructure spending.\nBut one infrastructure play has been overlooked:Atlas Technical Consultants(ATCX) provides engineering and design services, inspection and certification of buildings and public works, and other construction-related services. More construction means more plans and designs for Atlas to review. These eventually become finished projects that need annual inspections, paying dividends for years.\nAnd yet Atlas shares have stalled. At a recent $9, the stock trades for just eight times enterprise value to estimated 2022 earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization, or Ebitda. That multiple is a significant discount to companies in related inspection businesses, such asMontrose Environmental Group(MEG) andTetra Tech(TTEK), which trade for more than 22 times EV/2022 Ebitda.\n“Right now, part of the valuation discount is due to the debt, but I would say there are companies like Atlas where the debt is appropriate,” says Kevin Silverman, chief investment officer and portfolio manager at small-cap–focused Sterling Partners Equity Advisors, which owns more than $2 million worth of Atlas stock, accounting for about 2% of its assets under management. “The debt helps equity holders if you have steady profit margins and can use it for growth.”\nAnd Atlas has substantial opportunities for growth. Beyond the infrastructure-bill boost, Atlas has a long-term strategy of consolidating the fragmented U.S. inspection-services market while reducing its debt levels. Both should increase its appeal to investors and earn it a higher valuation multiple.\nThe Austin, Texas–headquartered company went public inearly 2020via a merger with a special-purpose acquisition company, or SPAC. The deal saddled the company with a convoluted capital structure, including multiple share classes, outstanding warrants, and other complications. That complexity has probably kept some investors away, as has Atlas’ relatively high debt load, which comes to 5.5 times net debt to 2021 Ebitda.\n\nAtlas has reduced that complexity—redeeming its preferred equity, buying out warrants, and increasing the stock’s publicly traded float—and is focused on bringing its net debt below three times Ebitda.\nAtlas is forecast to grow sales 13% this year, to $530 million, with Ebitda up 21%, to $76 million.\nIts customers include state departments of transportation, private building owners, electric and water utilities, airports, schools, hospitals, and more. Its national presence and leading scale helps win and retain marquee projects and big clients, including the U.S. Postal Service, the Environmental Protection Agency, the New York City Housing Authority, Stanford University,Walmart(WMT), andApple(AAPL).\nAtlas earned $64 million in adjusted Ebitda over the past four reported quarters, while it had a net loss of $18 million. As of the end of the first quarter, the company had a backlog of $689 million, or more than 140% of its last 12 months’ revenue of $482 million. “I’ve been in this business for 30 years, and it’s by far the highest I’ve seen,” Atlas CEO Joe Boyer tellsBarron’s.\nAbout 70% of the company’s revenue comes from work on existing buildings, pipes, roads, and bridges. Those jobs are nondiscretionary: As we’ve tragically learned at times, infrastructure needs to be inspected and brought up to code at regular intervals, no matter what the economic or pandemic situation is.\nThe remaining 30% of Atlas’ sales are tied to new construction, which dipped during the pandemic but is nearly back to pre-Covid-19 levels, according to Boyer.\nA long-term trend toward outsourcing services by cities and states, stricter environmental standards, and aging infrastructure in the U.S. have been drivers of Atlas’ organic growth in recent years.\nThat trend has been responsible for about half of Atlas’ 20% compound annual growth in sales since 2016, when it was owned by private-equity firm Bernhard Capital Partners. The other avenue for growth has been Atlas’ acquisition strategy.\n“The idea is to find a company in a geography or a service that we don’t dominate in, bring it onto our platform, and cross-sell across our network,” Boyer says.\nAtlas’ sweet spot for acquisition targets is about $5 million to $20 million in Ebitda, The company typically pays four to six times Ebitda in a mix of cash and stock. That makes each deal immediately accretive to earnings.\nAs a small and relatively young public company, Atlas gets minimal coverage from Wall Street, but the three analysts who cover the firm are bullish. “We think the company is in end markets that are strong or recovering; they’ve been winning large contracts, and its backlog has been growing,” says Stifel analyst Noelle Dilts. “So, we feel good about the fundamental revenue outlook.”\nShe rates Atlas a Buy, with a $14.50 price target, or 11 times her estimate of 2022 Ebitda, which doesn’t include any upside from a potential infrastructure bill. Using a 15 times Ebitda multiple, Sterling’s Silverman sees shares going to $43 three years from now, as debt paydown continues and earnings rise.\nAtlas’ balance sheet remains a fixer-upper, but the company has the right foundation.","news_type":1},"isVote":1,"likeStatus":false,"favoriteStatus":false,"reportStatus":false,"tweetType":1,"comments":[{"id":5390578,"gmtCreate":1627777283955,"gmtModify":1635163159958,"authorId":3581636786147439,"author":{"id":3581636786147439,"idStr":"3581636786147439","authorId":3581636786147439,"name":"Supermark","avatar":"https://static.tigerbbs.com/216b88e6021ef8dfdb8a3a1d156559d2","vip":1,"currentWearingBadge":{"badgeId":"1026c425416b44e0aac28c11a0848493-2","templateUuid":"1026c425416b44e0aac28c11a0848493","name":"Senior Tiger","description":"Join the tiger community for 1000 days","bigImgUrl":"https://static.tigerbbs.com/0063fb68ea29c9ae6858c58630e182d5","smallImgUrl":"https://static.tigerbbs.com/96c699a93be4214d4b49aea6a5a5d1a4","grayImgUrl":"https://static.tigerbbs.com/35b0e542a9ff77046ed69ef602bc105d","redirectLinkEnabled":0,"hasAllocated":1,"isWearing":1,"stampPosition":0,"hasStamp":0,"allocationCount":1,"allocatedDate":"2024.01.11","individualDisplayEnabled":0,"individualDisplaySort":0,"categoryType":1001},"crmLevel":2,"crmLevelSwitch":0,"individualDisplayBadges":[]},"repliedAuthorId":0,"objectId":802683872,"type":1,"supId":0,"prevId":0,"content":"Yea","text":"Yea","html":"Yea"}],"langContent":"EN"}],"hasMoreComments":true,"newsSizeData":{"likeSize":1116,"commentSize":95,"repostSize":0,"favoriteSize":0,"likeStatus":false,"favoriteStatus":false}}