I last wrote about MasTec (MTZ – Free Report) as the Bull of the Day on February 6 as earnings estimates and price targets were rising before their quarterly report this week.

The $3.75 billion E&C services (engineering & construction) provider for telecom and energy companies delivered record fourth-quarter 2017 adjusted earnings per share of 47-cents, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 37-cents by 27%.

Including one-time items, MasTec reported earnings of $1.95 per share compared with 66-cents per share reported in the prior-year quarter. Earnings in the fourth quarter included an after-tax benefit of $1.46 per share related to the impact of re-measurement of the company’s U.S. deferred income tax balances because of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act enacted in December 2017.
 
Sales and the Backlog Surprise

The 27% EPS beat was driven by stronger than anticipated revenues in every segment, including a 16% beat in Communications, 28% beat in Oil & Gas, and a 30% beat in Electric Transmission.

MasTec’s net sales climbed 19% year over year to $1.6 billion in the quarter, outpacing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.3 billion. Earnings improved across all segments. The Oil and Gas segment’s revenues in the reported quarter surged 30% to $740 million over the fourth-quarter 2016 level.

Revenues at the Power Generation and Industrial segment improved 18% year over year to $96 million. The Communication segment’s revenues increased 11% year over year to $662 million. The Electrical Transmission segment’s revenues inched up 1% year over year to $101 million.

Equally impressive was the that the company’s 18-month E&C backlog increased in every segment on year-over-year basis to total backlog of $7.087 billion, growing 30.8% year-over-year (yoy) and 41.3% quarter-over-quarter (qoq).

Stifel Nicolaus reiterated their Buy rating and $63 price target on MasTec shares. Even though the company report didn’t meet some of their higher expectations, the analysts were impressed by metrics of the revenue beat across all segments and the backlog of business projects.