Investopedia: Actuant Still Working Through A Lull

That big second-half rebound in industrial demand is starting to look weaker and weaker. Although companies like Grainger (NYSE:GWW) and Fastenal (Nasdaq:FAST) have been reporting decent demand for industrial supplies and equipment among manufacturing customers, Actuant's (NYSE:ATU) guidance suggests that most industrial, energy, and vehicle markets are still crawling along. While I do believe growth should pick up again, the value proposition here doesn't look very compelling.

Sluggish Results Due To Sluggish Demand
Actuant's results aren't showing much underlying strength in key end-markets like industrial, energy, or vehicles. Overall revenue was flat on a reported basis and down 2% on a “core” or organic comparison. Industrial revenue rose 1% as reported, and energy rose 3%, but sales in the engineered products business were down about 2%.

To read the full article on Actuant, please follow here:
http://www.investopedia.com/stock-analysis/061913/actuant-still-working-through-lull-atu-fast-gww-cat.aspx