Tag - Ldr

Valhi Inc (Nasdaq:VHI), Greenbrier Companies Inc (Nasdaq:GBX) and Insteel Industries Inc (Nasdaq:IIIN) are among the biggest percentage gainers in Wednesday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: First Midwest Bancorp Inc (Nasdaq:FMBI), Skechers USA Inc (Nasdaq:SKX), CVB Financial Corp (Nasdaq:CVBF), EZchip Semiconductor Ltd (Nasdaq:EZCH), Landauer Inc (Nasdaq:LDR) and Rubicon Technology Inc (Nasdaq:RBCN).

Univest Corp. of Pennsylvania (Nasdaq:UVSP), Griffin Land & Nurseries Inc. (Nasdaq:GRIF) and BancFirst Corp. (Nasdaq:BANF) are among the new 52-week highs in Tuesday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: Chemical Financial Corp. (Nasdaq:CHFC), Iberia Bank Corp. (Nasdaq:IBKC), Landauer Inc. (Nasdaq:LDR), Herley Industries Inc. (Nasdaq:HRLY), Applied Signal Technology Inc. (Nasdaq:APSG) and 1st Source Corp. (Nasdaq:SRCE).

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

When many companies start off, they are flanked with business proposals and specialists at the helm. Radiation detection company Landauer, Inc. (NYSE:LDR) was started “with a few borrowed dollars and a prayer.”

Or so the story goes. The company, which leases and sells radiation detection monitors to hospitals, medical offices, laboratories, nuclear power plants, was first started in 1954 by Robert S. Landauer, Jr., after returning from service in World War II. (Landauer took to radiation monitoring in the 1930s as he made the rounds with father, who consulted with radiologists.)

In the beginning, Landauer, Jr. was a jack-of-all-trades within his budding company, marking film, processing badges and writing up reports. Purdue University and General Electric eventually took chances on his product and helped establish his brand and by the '60s, the company reached a milestone in processing rates. The rest, as they say, is history, but one that is still radiating today.

Landauer typically enters into 12-month agreements with its customers and provides them with badges that are to be worn by employees for one to three months. Customers can include hospitals medical offices, laboratories and nuclear power plants. The badges are then returned to Landauer and analyzed so that a report indicating radiation exposure levels can be furnished to the customer. In addition, the company provides services related to analyzing and maintaining records on exposure findings from its monitors, and also offers radon gas detection services.

It’s been a long road since 1954, but today the $541-million market cap company is flourishing in a niche market and buoyant even through the current stock market maelstrom. In the past 52 weeks, Landauer shares have climbed . . .

Landauer, Inc. (NYSE: LDR) shares are up slightly after the provider of environmental analytical services met analyst’s fourth-quarter expectations. For the three months ended Sept. 30, the Glenwood, Ill.-based company posted revenue of $21.3 million, from $20.2 million a year earlier. The firm recorded a quarterly profit of $4.6 million, or $0.50 per share, compared with $4.7 million, or $0.51 per share, during the year-ago period. Wall Street analysts projected earnings of $0.49 per share on $21.13 million in revenue.

"We are proud of the important strides taken this year to optimize our core business, while fostering both competitive growth and strategic expansion," CEO Bill Saxelby said in a statement. “Our strategic accomplishments during the fiscal year are demonstrated by our financial results, which included record revenues and significant improvements in our gross margin and gross profit. This enabled us to initiate some key investments that are critical to our long-term success."

Going forward, Landauer expects net income growth in the range of 6% to 8% during fiscal 2008, excluding asset impairment and accelerated depreciation charges. Revenue for the 12 months is expected to grow between 4% and 5%.

In morning trading, LDR shares are up 0.42%, or $0.21, at $50.13. Over the last 52 weeks, shares have ranged form $45.50 to $54.46.