This column is for investors willing to take more risk and potentially receive more reward.  The stocks mentioned in this column are not recommended to buy or sell.  They're brought to your attention so you can investigate them further to determine if they fit your risk profile.  Most of the stocks will have less than $1 billion of market capitalization, have more volatility than other stocks, and oftentimes no earnings.  And some will have tremendous stories.

April 29, 2011 - Kaman Corporation (KAMN-NASDAQ) operates in the industrial distribution and aerospace markets. The company's Industrial Distribution segment distributes bearings, mechanical and electrical power transmission, fluid power, motion control, and materials handling components.

Kaman Corporation primarily operates in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, Mexico, Australia, and New Zealand. The company was founded in 1945 and is headquartered in Bloomfield, Connecticut.

Back in March of 2009, this stock hit bottom at $9.30 a share. It's up almost 300% since then, gaining 24% in the last 4 months. Investors like the story and have been consistently buying the stock for the last 23 months. Here's why.

While earnings were down in 2009, going from $1.73 to $1.27, they rebounded last year to $1.57. This year, 7 analysts see $1.92 (with a range of $1.75 to $2.02). Next year, they think the bottom line will show $2.39 a share, up another 24.5%. First quarter results should show why investors are back on board this winner: earnings are expected to come in at 40 cents a share, well above the 7 cents reported last year in the first. For the second quarter, expect 46 cents a share, double the amount made in the second of 2010. The first quarter earnings call is scheduled for May 6. You can access it through the company's Web site (see below).

The driving force is a better economy. Orders are picking up in the industrial and aerospace product offerings. As the economy continues to gain strength, expect analysts to revisit their current numbers and boost expectations for this year and beyond. Another reason for optimism: recent acquisitions that immediately added to sales and earnings.

Sales to the military should stay strong as several worldwide conflicts continue. However, military budgets are under scrutiny in Washington as budget deficits widen. Still, helicopters are one of the mainstays of any military operation. Commercial aerospace should improve as well as consumers are traveling more. Boeing is ramping up its production of its new 777, 787 and A-10 aircraft in anticipation of orders. All of those would create more business for KAMN's Aerospace division.

Essential numbers: Trailing P/E is 25 while Forward P/E is 15.5. Price to sales ratio is .73. Price to book is 2.67. Book value is $13.94. Operating margin for the last 12 months was 5.33% and Profit margin was 2.91%. Return on equity was 11.35% and Return on assets was 5.26%. Revenues were $1.32 billion. Total cash is $32.23 million for $1.24 a share. Total debt is $148.42 million. Debt to equity is 41%. Current ratio is 2.64. Beta is 1.26. The stock is up 35.52% in the last year. There are 26.08 million shares Outstanding with a Float of 25.69 million. Insiders own 15.28%. Institutions have 74.10%. There is an annual dividend of 56 cents a share for a yield of 1.5%.

Aggressive investors will want to spend some time with KAMN, especially if they think the global economy will continue to improve. While the stock's price has performed better than most in the last 2 years, with earnings expected to grow well above average, this stock may be only starting to reach its full potential.