CARR

At 37x, investors are paying up; a fair amount of future growth is already in the price.

Share price divided by earnings per share: what you pay for each $1 of yearly profit. Roughly 15 to 25 is typical, above 40 is richly priced, and negative means the company is losing money.

A 1.1% yield is modest: a small income on top of whatever the share price does.

The yearly dividend as a percent of the share price: the cash income each share pays out. Around 2 to 6% is healthy; above roughly 8% often signals the payout may be cut.

A 6.8% margin is solid, in the ordinary range for a profitable company.

The share of revenue left as profit once every cost is paid. Above 15% is strong; below 5% leaves little cushion against a bad year.

A 10.5% return on equity is respectable, in the normal range.

Profit earned on each dollar of shareholder equity: how well the company compounds its owners' capital. Above 15% is strong.

A 4.0% return on assets is reasonable for a company of this kind.

Profit earned on each dollar of assets: how efficiently the whole asset base is used. Above 8% is strong.

At 1.63, the company carries a moderate, manageable amount of debt.

Total liabilities divided by shareholder equity: how heavily the company leans on borrowing. Below 1 is conservative; above 2 is highly leveraged.

At 1.20, short-term assets cover short-term bills with a little room to spare.

Current assets divided by current liabilities: whether short-term resources cover short-term bills. Above 1.5 is comfortable; below 1 is tight.