P/E Ratio: 26
Yield: 0%
Normally we wouldn't recommend a stock that has doubled since the start of '07. But in a slowing economy, you want to own companies that can demonstrate superior earnings growth regardless of what's happening around them. Jacobs Engineering is such an enterprise. Jacobs is one of the fastest growers in an exploding industry: construction and engineering. The company is hired to design and build oil refineries, biodiesel plants, hospitals, bridges, and water-treatment centers.
Earnings jumped 39% in the fourth quarter of the fiscal year ended Sept. 30. That makes the company's 26 P/E look reasonable, especially since Jacobs should maintain a 35%-plus growth rate into 2008: It has a $13.6 billion backlog of orders (up 39% from the year before).
Last updated January 02 2008: 5:32 PM ET
