Hurco Laboring Hard, But With Little To Show For It

My expectations back at the start of this year were that it would be a very tough year for the machine tool industry. It has managed to be even worse, and Hurco (NASDAQ:HURC) has definitely seen a significant negative impact from that market weakness. While an upcoming trade show next week could help drive some orders, and market participants seem to think that the North American market is bottoming out, the reality is that there aren't a lot of leading indicators to make an investor feel really confident right now.

I suppose this may be a time where Hurco's relative obscurity is an asset. While the business has most definitely weakened, the stock is down 5% over the past year and about 10% since my last update. That's worse than comparables like Hardinge (NASDAQ:HDNG), DMG Mori Co. Ltd. (OTCPK:MRSKY), and Okuma (OTC:OKUMF), but it certainly could have been worse given the sharp declines in orders and the margin weakness. Looking ahead, I do continue to believe that Hurco is undervalued, but I think the recovery could be a more protracted, patience-testing process than some investors will want to endure.

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Hurco Laboring Hard, But With Little To Show For It