Oklahoma turns 100 years old this year, and I wrote a bit about its business climate in my recent Investing in Oklahoma post. That post featured some growth companies based in Oklahoma: Arena Resources Inc. (NYSE: ARD), Helmerich & Payne Inc. (NYSE: HP), Unit Corp. (NYSE: UNT), Chesapeake Energy Corp. (NYSE: CHK), ONEOK Inc. (NYSE: OKE), Devon Energy Corp. (NYSE: DVN), and the Williams Companies (NYSE: WMB).
Earlier this year, the Motley Fool also took at look at Oklahoma companies, and focused on some of the same energy sector companies that I did. Its search also included two non-energy companies as well: drive-in burger chain Sonic Corp. (NASDAQ: SONC) for its growth potential, and Tulsa-based Dollar Thrifty Automotive (NYSE: DTG).
Sonic recently announced 21 consecutive years of positive same-store sales performance, and reaffirmed its 33 cents earnings per share earnings expectations for the fourth quarter. For fiscal 2008, Sonic expects earnings growth of 15% to 17%. The consensus of analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial is that Sonic is a buy. The share price was $23.40 at the close on Friday, up from a 52-week low of $20.02 in late July, not yet quite back to its 52-week high of $25.09 in May, but still up from its stumble at the end of August after an analyst's downgrade based on labor and dairy costs. That was before the announcement and reaffirmed expectations mentioned above. Also, Sonic made the Forbes list of 100 best mid cap stocks in America.
Dollar Thrifty is one of 15 companies recently honored by the Department of Defense for their commitment to employees in the Guard and Reserves. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial recommend buying DTG, despite Dollar Thrifty missing earnings per share expectations by 30% for the past two quarters. Analysts expect earnings per share of $1.15 for the current quarter. The share price was $34.69 at the close on Friday, well below its 52-week high of $55.30 back in mid February. While Dollar Thrifty has seen increases in rental revenue and volume, it's also experienced increasing fleet costs. Efforts to position itself for the rest of the year include the usual raising rates and reducing operating costs, as well as more aggressively pursuing corporate customers, offering high-end vehicles in some markets, and opening new stores.
Returning to the energy sector, though, (this is Oklahoma's economy, after all), another Oklahoma company that might be worth a look is OGE Energy (NYSE: OGE), parent company of utility Oklahoma Gas & Electric. Based in Oklahoma City, OGE recently announced a fourth-quarter dividend of 34 cents per common share, unchanged from the previous quarter. In early September, OGE reaffirmed its 2007 earnings outlook of $213 million to $231 million for the year, or earnings per share of $2.30 to $2.50. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial expect earnings of $2.31 for the year, and rate OGE a buy. But in sadder news, chairman and CEO Steven Moore died in September at age 61. President and CFO Peter Delaney has been tapped to replace him. The share price was $33.10 at close on Friday, up from a 52-week low of $29.12 in August. It remains to be seen what the full impact of the denial of a permit for the Red Rock coal plant and the change in management will have for OGE.
I do not own shares of these stocks. As always, do your homework before investing.
See also: Investing in Nebraska, Investing in Tennessee, and Investing in Wisconsin.
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