Tag - Crvl

First South Bancorp Inc.  (Nasdaq:FSBK), Dime Community Bancshares Inc. (Nasdaq:DCOM) and CorVel Corp. (Nasdaq:CRVL) are among the new 52-week lows in Monday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: Affymax Inc. (Nasdaq:AFFY), Signet Jewelers  (Nasdaq:SIG), Enterprise Bancorp Inc. (Nasdaq:EBTC), City Holding Corp. (Nasdaq:CHCO), Myers Industries Inc. (Nasdaq:MYE) and Stewardship Financial Corp. (Nasdaq:SSFN).

Trailer Bridge Inc. (Nasdaq:TRBR), United Security Bancshares (Nasdaq:USBI) and Eagle Bancorp Inc. (Nasdaq:EGBN) are among the biggest percentage gainers in Thursday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. (Nasdaq:CMG), CorVel Corp. (Nasdaq:CRVL), Seacoast Banking Corp of Florida (Nasdaq:SBCF), Centerstate Banks of Florida Inc. (Nasdaq:CSFL), Intervest Bancshares Corp. (Nasdaq:IBCA) and Encore Bancshares Inc. (Nasdaq:EBTX).

Here are the biggest percentage gainers among small caps:

Hanger Orthopedic Group Inc (Nasdaq:HGR), Titan Machinery Inc (Nasdaq:TITN) and Pioneer Southwest Energy Partners LP (Nasdaq:PSE) are among the new 52-week highs in Wednesday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Here are the new 52-week highs among small caps:

Doug Roberts is the managing principal for the Channel Capital Research Institute and author of the new book “Follow the Fed to Investment Success.” Prior to Channel Capital, Roberts served as a vice president and portfolio manager at Bernstein Investment Management and Research. Previously, Roberts was also managing director of the Roberts Mitani Group, a founding member of the board of directors of Benson Eyecare Corp. and served as COO of the Flori Roberts/Dermablend Group.

Roberts spoke with SmallCapInvestor.com’s Jennifer Schonberger on Monday about his investing strategy, the Fed’s current policy and how it relates overall to investing in small caps, and his favorite small-cap picks.

Essentially, “Follow the Fed” is based on the thesis that money and credit policy is the driving factor in the performances of stock prices and earnings. [Those], who do not have capital, cannot grow. The Federal Reserve is the largest determining factor behind this equation. When monetary policy is loose, it benefits small caps because it’s very difficult for them to borrow and gain access to capital, therefore the small-cap “out-performance premium” comes during those periods of time — give or take.

Right now we’re starting to move toward a small-cap environment, which depends on two things: that the Fed continues to maintain interest rates at a low level and whether inflation continues at the current pace. If it continues to do that, then by definition of our formula, the environment for monetary and credit policy is quite loose and once the fear gets sucked out of the market that [will] lead to a small cap rebound].

Currently, there’s no clear indication that the Fed is looking toward raising interest rates anytime soon. By definition then, according to our formula, we’re . . .

CorVel Corp. (Nasdaq:CRVL)
Irvine, Calif.
http://www.corvel.com
 
52-week low / high: $21.38 / $33.56
Shares Outstanding: 13.73 million
Market Capitalization: $415 million 

In the land of all things health insurance, the grease that has kept the bureaucratic wheels efficiently turning as of late has been CorVel Corp. (Nasdaq:CRVL), a medical cost containment and managed care services provider.

The California-based small cap, which is in the process of regrouping and positioning itself to capitalize on favorable industry trends, manages the medical costs of workers' compensation and other healthcare benefits, primarily for coverage under group health and auto insurance policies.

The current market environment and industry trends should bode well for CorVel going forward. Although claims volumes persist at historic lows and premiums remain soft, stabilization may be on the horizon. Years of double-digit premium rate reductions appear to be bottoming and there are reports of a potential slight increase in rates for 2008.

The industry is also experiencing a wave of consolidation, especially in the preferred provider organization (PPO) area. While this trend has hindered certain companies that lease access to technology or PPO networks, CorVel should benefit from the consolidation wave due to its long-term investments, its proprietary assets in its PPO, CorCare, and its systems. For example, the company reported in September that it added Integrated Health Plan, as an affiliate to its PPO.

Aside from favorable industry trends, CorVel is in the process of revamping and regrouping their segments, which are showing signs of improvement.

The company’s patient management business has begun to pick up after CorVel acquired two claims administration companies during the first-half of 2007. The company’s segment saw revenue jump 29% to $33.3 million in the fourth-quarter, while profit surged 174%.

In its network solutions unit, CorVel has now reported 12 consecutive quarters of margin improvement through continued revenue growth in its product line, savings improvements and internal efficiencies. Revenues from network solutions products grew 6.2% to $43.3 million for the quarter, while profit increased 15.6% from the year ago quarter.

Overall, the small cap saw a better-than-average fourth quarter: for the three months ended Dec. 31, 2007, CorVel reported earnings per share of $0.43, up 61% from the $0.27 earnings per share reported for the quarter ended December 2006. Revenues for the quarter were $76.7 million, up 15% from $66.6 million in the December quarter of 2006.

CorVel’s case management product line has shown improved performance, as the company has moved away from low price business and improved internal efficiencies. While revenues in the case management segment have declined in 10 of 11 quarters, the company says it appears it has found bottom and will begin to see an upturn in this segment as evidenced by an improvement in the segment’s revenues and margins over the past two quarters.
 
Monitor CorVel as it capitalizes on favorable industry trends and continues greasing the health insurance gears with its expertise.

Note: CorVel Corp. (Nasdaq:CRVL) is on the “Watch List” of Rising Star Stocks, a subscription investment newsletter from Business Financial Publishing, which also publishes SmallCapInvestor.com. As a Watch List company, CorVel displays many characteristics found in successful stock winners, and is being closely monitored for possible inclusion in the Rising Star Stocks portfolio at a later date.

The Russell 2000 is joining the other major U.S. indices in extending its downward slide. At 14:42 p.m. ET the Russell 2000 was down 14.32 points, or 1.70%, to 826.89. The Dow Jones Industrial Average had lost 139.21 points, or 1.03%, to 13,326.46.

Shares of CorVel Corp. (Nasdaq: CRVL), a provider of medical cost containment and managed care services, are higher following news of record quarterly earnings. The net income for the quarter ended March 31 was $0.37 was per share, compared with a net income of $0.22 per share in the same quarter of 2006, the Irvine, Calif.-based company said before market open.