This post is part of our Big Company, Small Town series, featuring large companies and the small towns in which they are headquartered.

Ever taken a road trip in an RV? If you have, there is a good chance that you were inside a Winnebago recreational vehicle. The name Winnebago has been synonymous with the large RV for as long as I can remember. With such a rich history, one would think Winnebago is located somewhere next a major interstate corridor or airport. Otherwise, how would it receive in its raw materials and ship out its finished product?

Winnebago Industries, Inc. (NYSE: WGO) is actually based in Forest City, Iowa, founded in 1958 in Winnebago County (that's where the company's name comes from). From its inception, the company has been involved with travel trailers. It used names from Native American tribes to name its different lines of trailers, and in the 1970s and early 1980s, made smaller trailers as gas prices spiked upward. In fact, come this summer, one of Winnebago's manufacturing plants in Charles City, Iowa, will be closed due to drastic changes in Winnebago's market due to higher gas prices and declining demand. The company has already laid off 200 employees from its headquarters in Forest City.

Unlike many American companies these days, Winnebago still makes the majority of its products in the United States, most of which are built on top of chassis units made by Ford or Chevy. The term Winnebago has made itself, after more then 40 years, into a brand name completely associated with RVs and trailers. Do you blow your nose with a Kleenex or tissue? Drink Coke or a soft drink? Go on vacation in a Winnebago or travel trailer? There's the brand power the company continues to have today, even with the hard times its experiencing.

Be sure to check out more Big Company, Small Town posts.

Big company, small town: Winnebago Industries, Forest City, Iowa originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 23 Jun 2008 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Shares of Winnebago Industries (NYSE: WGO) dropped well over 9% on Friday. This sell-off came in response to the company's third-quarter earnings. They were awful. The top line declined over 39% to $139.7 million. Net income dropped precipitously to $0.10 per diluted share. In last year's Q3, Winnebago booked earnings of $0.35 per diluted share.

Winnebago came out on top in terms of earnings expectations. Wall Street was only looking for $0.03 per share. In this case, though, I think the sell-off was warranted, even with bottom-line performance that was better than expected. First, the company did generate an operating loss. Second, the economy is struggling with high energy prices and the prospect of a Fed that might need to become aggressive against inflation at some point, two things that will not inspire confidence in the consumer. Third, with the market in a tailspin yet again, Winnebago is not a defensive stock at all. It would be like buying Ford (NYSE: F) or General Motors (NYSE: GM) to ride out the recession.

Winnebago's stock is near the 52-week low. It has a high yield, but that does nothing for me. I don't think of this company as a value in the slightest. Putting motor homes in my portfolio in this environment is not my idea of fun.

Disclosure: I don't own any company mentioned; positions can change at any time.

Buy Winnebago Industries? Are you kidding? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 21 Jun 2008 07:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Despite the good news for the quarter, investors should not start revving their engines just yet. Motor home sales are still soft across the board, and the industry is entering its slowest part of the sales year. Dealers will not boost inventories due to soft demand. Gas prices continue to rise while consumer confidence levels continue to decline.

Winnebago is doing all it can to make the stock attractive to investors. The company repurchased 1.5 million shares of stock during the quarter, at a cost of $44 million. The company will pay a regular quarterly dividend of $0.12 per share. These are, however, actions with a short term impact and do not replace a company's need to increase its profits through organic growth, not real likely for Winnebago under current circumstances.

Visit AOL Money & Finance for more earnings coverage

Winnebago posts counter-intuitive profits originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 24 Oct 2007 19:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

To its credit, the company is responding to concerns over the cost of fuel by introducing a line of more efficient diesel engines in 2008 models. Sales order backlog has increased substantially due to the newer models, although the cost of those sales has also increased. Winnebago repurchased $20 million of its stock during 3Q 2007, but the stock has still lost almost 10% of its value since the beginning of the year. Winnebago stock recently closed at $30.00, up $1.34. While Winnebago's EPS are significantly above industry average, its P/E is as well.

Winnebago (WGO) not quite rolling along originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 09 Aug 2007 13:12:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.