Boston, MA 03/21/2014 (wallstreetpr) – Herman Miller, Inc. (NASDAQ:MLHR) is a provider of interior furniture used in environments such as offices, healthcare settings and residential. The stock has long been a concern for investors who were worried whether the current spending habits in interior furnishing warranted any hopes for investing in furniture stocks. But that concerns got its answer Wednesday when the company reported its third quarter results and issued guidance for the current quarter.
We take a deeper look into the facts and figures as they came, but before we do that, here is a recap of the previous session. Shares of the furniture maker jumped to a new one-year high of $32.32, and managed to settle with a gain of 9.3 percent at $31.38. The Thursday trading session was very active with far more shares changing hands than in a normal session. The stock currently trades at the market cap of $1.85 billion.
As we already now, gain in the stock price is not the big deal, but it is just the outward manifestation of the underlying developments. But what are these developments and do they have any bearing on how you should view this stock as an investment option?
Financial results met the test
Herman Miller, Inc. (NASDAQ:MLHR) announced that it ended the third quarter with net income of 419.4 million or 33 cents per share. That contrasted with $16.5 million or 28 cents per share in the corresponding quarter a year prior. On adjusted basis, EPS came in at 34 cents, against 32 cents a year ago, and in-line with consensus. Sales in the quarter went climbed almost 8 percent to $455.9 million over the previous year’s corresponding quarter. The sales in the quarter under review also breached the estimate planted by analysts at $457.6 million.
Does the stock present a compelling position?
Looking at the above results alone may have little to do with the real story in Herman Miller, Inc. (NASDAQ:MLHR). The company identified interesting developments in its business which deserve attention and which no doubt make the stock a worthy case to consider. The management said sales growth was uniform, but surprise growth in sales to government was quite telling. With clear indications in the air that the market environment is beginning to reward, the management promised restructuring efforts that should bolster North America sales and hence improve overall revenue and earnings and uplift the stock price.
