Investing in Oregon: Columbia Sportswear (COLM), FLIR (FLIR), StanCorp (SFG)

Precision Castparts is a Portland-based manufacturer of jet engine parts, metalworking tools, and other components, products, and systems. Ongoing efforts to diversify paid off in Precision's first quarter FY2008 report in July. The company has beat Wall Street expectations in the past four quarters, and the consensus of analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial is that Precision is a buy. A three-year annual revenue growth rate of 31% and three-year annual earnings per share growth of 73% got Precision onto Fortune's 2007 list of fastest-growing companies in the U.S. TheStreet.com also picked Precision as a top five fast-growth stock. The share price reached a 52-week high of $160.73 last week, and was at $148.93 at Monday's close. Precision will release its next quarterly report on October 23.

Portland's StanCorp Financial is the holding company for Standard Insurance, which features group insurance and retirement plans for some 30,000 employers, covering 7 million employees. StanCorp's share price reached a 52-week low of $40.32 in August, despite a strong second quarter report, and was at $51.41 at close on Monday. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial consider StanCorp a buy. With its five-year earnings per share growth rate of 19%, StanCorp ended up making the 2007 Forbes list of 100 best mid cap stocks. StanCorp will report earnings again on October 24.

FLIR Systems is headquartered in Wilsonville, and produces infrared cameras and thermal imaging systems for military and commercial uses. FLIR clients include domestic and foreign government agencies. FLIR was number three on the 2007 Forbes list of best mid cap stocks. TheStreet.com also likes the stock for the strength of the defense sector, as did an analyst recently featured here on BloggingStocks. Although FLIR beat Wall Street expectations in the past four quarters, and had five-year earnings per share growth of 24.5%; analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial have shifted from buy to hold over the past quarter. FLIR's share price reached a 52-week high of $59.31 last week, and stood at $58.03 at close on Monday. FLIR will report third quarter results on October 25.

The Motley Fool calls Columbia Sportswear a "mini-Nike" and considers it worth a look despite its competitive environment. About 65% of this Portland-based sportswear manufacturer is owned by Boyle family, which includes Chairwoman Gertrude Boyle, and CEO Tim Boyle. Back in July, Columbia reported a record second quarter in a period that's usually slow for sportswear. Columbia regularly beats Wall Street's earnings expectations, and analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial rate it a buy. The share price reached a 52-week low of $52.12 last week, and ended Monday at $53.77.

I do not own shares in these stocks. As always, be sure to do your homework before investing.
See also: Investing in New Jersey, Investing in Wisconsin, and Investing in Nebraska.