Investing in small-cap materials stocks can be tricky. The direction of the broader economy often plays a big role in their success, and notoriously unpredictable factors like mining output or commodity prices can often be key to maintaining margins. But equities.com's Small-Cap Stars, our proprietary list of those small-cap companies with metrics that are typically the most indicative of future success, gives investors a way to identify those companies that are best-positioned to ride out the tough times and make major gains in the good times.
Here's a look at the five top-performing basic materials Small-Cap Stars:
Lapolla Industries Inc (LPAD)
Lapolla Industries Inc gained 5.98% to $0.42. The gains came on a volume of 3,990 shares against an average daily volume of 24,366 shares. Lapolla Industries Inc has had a trading range from $0.72 to $0.28 over the last year, it has a 50-day SMA of $0.38, and a 200-day SMA of $0.44.
LaPolla Industries Inc is a manufacturer and distributor of foam, coatings, and equipment, focused on developing and commercializing foam and coatings targeted at commercial and industrial and residential applications.
Harvest Natural Resources Inc. (HNR)
Harvest Natural Resources Inc. gained 4.41% to $0.58. The gains came on a volume of 183,860 shares against an average daily volume of 223,008 shares. Harvest Natural Resources Inc. has had a trading range from $5.35 to $0.53 over the last year, it has a 50-day SMA of $1.02, and a 200-day SMA of $3.28.
Harvest Natural Resources, Inc. is an energy company engaged in the acquisition, exploration, development, production and disposition of oil and natural gas properties.
Miller Energy Resources (MILL)
Miller Energy Resources gained 4.17% to $1.75. The gains came on a volume of 499,473 shares against an average daily volume of 799,350 shares. Miller Energy Resources has had a trading range from $7.11 to $0.94 over the last year, it has a 50-day SMA of $1.40, and a 200-day SMA of $3.61.
Miller Energy Resources Inc operates as an exploration and production company that utilizes seismic data and other technologies for geophysical exploration and development of oil and gas wells.
Triangle Petroleum (TPLM)
Triangle Petroleum gained 3.8% to $5.19. The gains came on a volume of 1,257,370 shares against an average daily volume of 1,707,226 shares. Triangle Petroleum has had a trading range from $12.48 to $3.10 over the last year, its P/E ratio is 7.4, it has a 50-day SMA of $5.17, and a 200-day SMA of $8.51.
Triangle Petroleum Corp is an independent energy holding company. It has three main lines of business: oil and natural gas exploration, development and production; oilfield services; and midstream services.
Willbros Group Inc. (WG)
Willbros Group Inc. gained 3.18% to $6.49. The gains came on a volume of 322,940 shares against an average daily volume of 379,627 shares. Willbros Group Inc. has had a trading range from $13.69 to $3.96 over the last year, it has a 50-day SMA of $5.94, and a 200-day SMA of $8.47.
Willbros Group Inc is a specialty energy infrastructure contractor serving the oil, gas, refinery, petrochemical and power industries. It operates through three business segments; Utility T&D, Oil & Gas, Canada and Professional Services.
Equities.com's Small-Cap Stars - Stocks Made From Sterner Stuff
Investing in small-cap materials stocks is a high-risk, high-reward proposition much of the time. Often, the best way to approach the sector is simply limiting the number of misses as much as possible. And that's what the equities.com Small-Cap Stars system does.
By looking at past success stories among basic materials small caps, the Small-Cap Stars system can identify what level several dozen metrics were at among those successful companies and determine which of those factors were the most predictive of future success. We then precisely construct a carefully balanced screen through advanced statistical regression that will identify those companies that currently have the most in common with those that succeeded in the past immediately before those stocks took off.
Among the traits our system found the most revealing of a strong materials company were a low ratio of enterprise value to sales, a low effective tax rate, and a high ROE-cost of equity.
All data provided by QuoteMedia and was accurate as of 4:30 pm ET.
