Atlas Engineered Products received my highest rated FINS review of 2022. That was not the only 4.5 star review they received that year either, receiving follow up 4.5 star reviews in May and November. Ultimately the company was chosen in the inaugural batch of Wolf Picks, joining Happy Belly Food Group, KITS Eyecare, Simply Better Brands (now Trubar) and Now Vertical.
Those picks have an average return of 562% since the start of 2023, but AEP has been an overall drag on that number, down 13% over that three year span.
That wasn’t always the case. In fact the stock was up by 126% at one point in early 2024, but since then it has been a slow trickle down to the sixty-five cents it closed on Friday.
I haven’t held a position in AEP in sometime, but I’ve always felt there would be another day. The company has faced enormous macro headwinds that everyone familiar with the stock is keenly aware of. A weaker company may just try and ride out the storm, but AEP has continued to complete financially sound acquisitions, invest in robotics and automation for greater operational leverage to better position themselves for the time that macro situation shifts.
It has also been over one year since I’ve written a review so this will be a MUCH deeper than normal dive, including analyzing their acquisitions over the past couple of years.
Has that “another day” arrived? Is it time?
