NV5 Global (NVEE) is a top recommendation for the coming year; the company is a provider of professional and technical engineering and consulting solutions to public and private sectors, explains Tom Bishop, editor of BI Research.

NV5 focuses primarily on five business verticals: construction quality assurance, infrastructure engineering and support services, energy, program management and environmental solutions.

In a nutshell here is why I like NV5. The stock is currently trading at 22 times trailing earnings, 15 times full year 2019 consensus EPS of $3.40, and just 11 times the mid-point of guidance for 2020 ($4.32- $4.78).

The company has grown EPS rapidly in recent years. Here is the EPS progression starting in 2013: $0.70, $0.87, $1.41, $1.53, 2.38, $3.24 in 2018, $3.40 expected for 2019 (after a temporary hiccup in Q3 due to a few project delays), with a 30% increase to $4.55, the midpoint of company guidance, expected for 2020.

If the shares can just command the trailing 22 PE currently prevailing, by the end of 2020 the shares would be trading at $100 (22 X $4.55).

With a record like the above, and growth of 30% on tap for 2020, I think a PE of 22 would be on the low side, especially in light of the ample valuations in the stock market today after a 10 year bull market, but let’s go with that (you could make a case for a PE of 30). In other words, the shares could double from here in 2020.

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