Beltway Bet: MTC Technologies
Posted: January 25, 2007 Filed under: Investing, Washington Leave a comment »WASHINGTON, D.C. – Most of the companies on our 2007 Fast Tech list probably wouldn’t tempt a value-minded contrarian. One of the few exceptions is MTC Technologies, a government technology contractor.
Pick your metric. MTC Technologies is now valued under its $402 million in trailing-12-month sales. Its price-to-earnings ratio, based on consensus forecasts for the coming 12 months, is 17, versus an average of 34 for the Fast Tech 25. Among 20 publicly held companies that specialize in providing tech services to the government, the average price-to-book ratio is 3.3. MTC’s book value multiple? 1.9.
VC Builds Inside The Beltway
Posted: January 17, 2007 Filed under: Investing, Washington Leave a comment »WASHINGTON, D.C. – Two years ago, venture capitalist Hans Kobler and his partners at Digital Power Capital persuaded several smaller-portfolio companies to merge into a Washington-headquartered entity, ICx Technologies, focused on the detection and surveillance markets.
How’s that decision working out? “Terrific,” says Kobler, 41, ICx Technologies’ chief executive officer.
We doubt he’d tell us otherwise. Still, for entrepreneurs and venture investors interested in the homeland security market, ICx Technologies’ approach bears observation.
Blowing Up Infrastructure
Posted: January 10, 2007 Filed under: Transportation, Washington Leave a comment »WASHINGTON, D.C. – Last week, a crowd of 200 business reps and government officials piled into the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Washington headquarters for the organization’s annual State of American Business conference. Thomas Donohue, the Chamber’s chief, ticked off priorities for 2007. His top three: education, energy and improving America’s infrastructure.
On the latter, Donohue admitted at least one challenge. “Many people do not find infrastructure to be one of the more scintillating or sexy topics,” he said.
No, infrastructure is not sexy. But the Chamber hopes to add some sparkle this spring, when it rolls out an infrastructure capacity initiative known as “Rebuilding America.” The effort serves as more evidence, with implications for policy watchers and investors alike, that the building, construction, materials and transportation trades enjoy some of the hardiest support in Washington.
New Congress: Investing Pluses and Minuses
Posted: January 5, 2007 Filed under: Investing, Washington Leave a comment »WASHINGTON, D.C. – A former Hill staffer armed with a business degree from the University of Chicago, Stuart Sweet makes his living telling Wall Street what’s going on in Washington. With the 110th Congress kicking off this week, we checked in with Sweet, president of D.C.’s Capitol Analysts Network, to get his take on sectors bets for the Beltway-minded investor.
“The volatility of Washington has increased considerably,” says Sweet. “My job has gotten more interesting.”
Broadly speaking, Sweet’s take is that this Congress could prove productive. Reasoning: The Democrats’ need to protect conservative-leaning seats will prevent them from drifting too far left. Republicans, with a nervous eye on 2008, risk being tarred obstructionists if they block too much. Add to the mix President Bush’s likely desire to burnish his legacy, and the stage is set for cutting deals and passing laws.
