This post is part of a special annual report -- Top Stock Picks '09 -- in which TheStockAdvisors.com asked 75 leading newsletter advisors to select their favorite investment for the new year.
"As the government and corporations look to get more environmentally sound, they'll be turning to Tetra Tech (NASDAQ: TTEK), an environmental consulting company," suggests 'green technology' specialist Brendan Coffey.
The editor of The Cabot Green Investor explains, "Tetra Tech is the expert people turn to the figure out the nitty gritty of getting eco-projects done." Here's his review of the stock, which he selects as his favorite investment idea for the coming year.
"President-elect Obama looking to resuscitate the economy, wants to do two things at once: immediate stimulate job growth with an aid package of perhaps $700 billion while laying the groundwork for the country's long-term economy health.
"He's identified the core of that dual strategy as going green -- to wean us off oil, counteract the eventual dire effects of global warming and make the country the technological leader in alternative energy, creating five million or more jobs in the process.
"As the government and corporations look to get more environmentally sound, they'll be turning to Tetra Tech, an environmental consulting company that does everything from figuring out how to clean up the Port of Los Angeles to where best to site wind farms in upstate New York.
"Essentially, Tetra Tech -- based in Pasadena, California -- is the expert people turn to the figure out the nitty gritty of getting eco-projects done.
"Its architects designed the ultra-green apartment building, The Visionaire in Manhattan, while its massive model on global warming is the standard that world governments refer to.
"The company's core business revolves around safe drinking water -- the U.S. Agency for International Development is using the company to create drinking water systems in Afghanistan while Tetra engineers are tackling water and sewer systems for cities including Detroit and Seattle.
"Growth is impressive (if not eye-popping) at a compounded annual rate of 28% since 2004, but it is seeing booming interest in its wind business, which promises to add a strong growth element to sales.
"In wind, Tetra Tech does everything but build the turbine -- it selects optimal sites, handles permitting, coordinates with utilities and more. T. Boone Pickens is one notable client.
"In what will continue to be a volatile market, Tetra also has some crucial advantages that make it a fine defensive play: with one-third of revenues coming from the U.S. government, sales are more predictable, while in a credit-crunched market, management works with exceptionally little debt.
"In fiscal 2008, in which it generated $1.22 billion in net revenues, it had just $6 million net debt on the books. Net income per share for fiscal 2009 (ending September) is expected to come in at $1.14 a share on sales of $1.3 billion-and that's before any stimulus package comes from the new president."
Steven Halpern's TheStockAdvisors.com offers a daily look at the latest market commentary and favorite stock picks and investment ideas from the nation's leading financial newsletter advisors.
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