The 2011 returns on electrical and construction stocks mirrored the skittish performance of the stock market as a whole, with a smattering of companies enjoying double-digit gains; a bunch of companies clumped around the S&P 500, Dow Jones and NASDAQ growth rates for year; and some stocks suffering from double-digit declines. Only 12 of the 32 companies that Electrical Marketing analyzed for this article beat the S&P 500 Average for the full-year 2011, and 20 companies had share prices that finished the year lower than where they started it (See chart on page 2).

Electrical Marketing’s editors compared the share prices of publicly held electrical manufacturers, distributors and contractors against the market averages and with the share prices of several other public companies that focus on different aspects of the distribution industry (electronics distributor Avnet) and construction industry (home builders Toll Brothers and D.R. Horton). The year is off to a better start for many of the companies in this analysis — 25 companies were doing better in 2012 than the S&P 500 Index, which closed up 2.8% at 1291 on Jan. 11.

Leading the pack in 2011 was Generac Holdings, Inc., Waukesha, Wis., which finished up 73.8% for the year (and is up 4.2% YTD for 2012); Fastenal Inc., Winona, Minn., up 46.2% in 2011; Coleman Cable, Waukegan, Ill., up 37.9%; and W.W. Grainger Inc., Lake Forest, Ill., up 34.1%. Eleven stocks in this analysis were down double digits, led by LED manufacturer Cree Inc., Durham, N.C., which saw its shares slide 67% last year.

Cree’s 2011 fortunes on Wall Street illustrate the fickleneess of the market, as its stock price was up 17% in 2010 and is up about 5% in 2012. It also shows that even though the company won accolades for its acquisition last year of Ruud Lighting and is a major player in one of the fastest-growing niches in the lighting market, that doesn’t automatically translate into a higher price.

Publicly held wire and cable companies may start attracting the attention of investors, as the stock prices of four of the seven wire and cable or copper companies (Coleman Cable, General Cable, Freeport McMoRan and Belden) are already up more than 10 percent in 2012. Belden, General Cable and Freeport McMoRan are enjoying the change in fortunes — their stock prices were all down double digits in 2011.

— Jim Lucy