Apogee Enterprises

The architectural glass company beat second-quarter estimates by 10 cents a share, reporting 77 cents versus estimates of 66 cents. Despite the beat and an increase in estimates for fiscal 2017 (ending February 2017), Apogee’s (NSDQ: APOG) stock dropped 6%. Analysts were concerned about a 13% decline in the company’s backlog.

Due to the size of some of Apogee’s projects, its backlog can be “lumpy” in that the delay of one big contract or a faster-than-expected completion of a project can exaggerate swings in its pipeline of orders. Management was bullish and raised estimates per share for the year to range between $2.80 and $2.90. That was versus a previous range of $2.70 to $2.85. Apogee trades for a price-to-earnings ratio of 13 despite expected growth of 28% this fiscal year and 16% in 2018.

Installed Building Products

Based on positive reports from homebuilders Lennar and KB Home, Installed Building Products (NYSE: IBP) should continue seeing strong growth. Lennar’s 8% growth in orders was clipped slightly due to weakness in Houston. Outside of Houston, orders were up 10%. KB Home delivered 11% more homes in its quarter and reported its backlog of orders was up 17%. Although no single homebuilder makes up more than 4% of Installed’s revenue, any good news from these large builders usually indicates strong demand for the company’s products.

Lattice Semiconductor

Susquehanna International Group started following Lattice (NSDQ: LSCC) with a “positive” rating. Analyst Christopher Rolland noted that Lattice is a top acquisition candidate because of its potential cost synergies and a strategic portfolio. As phones that were taken apart show, the new iPhone 7 uses one of Lattice’s programmable chips. Earlier versions of Apple’s phones don’t include Lattice’s chips, so this is a new customer for Lattice and is probably the reason why management is confident about revenue increasing.

Ethan Allen

Although existing home sales for August dipped slightly from the previous month, we still believe that demand is strong for Ethan Allen’s (NYSE: ETH) furniture. The drop in home sales was small and due to a shrinking inventory of properties for sale. Demand remains strong from consumers whose incomes continue to inch up. We’ll get an update on earnings and the November rollout of a Disney-based children’s furniture line in late October.

On Assignment

On Assignment (NSDQ: ASGN) appeared at several broker conferences this month and repeated its guidance for the third quarter and the year. It reaffirmed guidance for 8% to 10% revenue growth and 5% earnings growth for the third quarter. Double-digit earnings growth is expected to resume in the fourth quarter. Financial targets for 2018 of $3 billion of revenue and higher profits remain unchanged.

Omnova

The company got clocked 14% when it missed earnings estimates by 3 cents a share. Omnova (NYSE: OMN) reported earnings per share of 14 cents, up slightly from last year. Omnova’s performance chemicals segment continues to do well, with income more than doubling. However, a delay at a manufacturing plant of one of its customers dented earnings for Omnova’s engineered surface division. Management expects some orders from this customer will be placed by year-end with more following in 2017. The company lowered the interest on its debt, which will cut interest expenses by $2 million annually. We are giving this new holding a grace period of one quarter to see if it returns to growth. We’ll be watching closely.