Obama stock: Constructing gains with Fluor (FLR)

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This post is part of a series in which TheStockAdvisors.com asked financial experts to name their top stock pick if McCain or if Obama wins the election.

"Like a neglectful homeowner who has let their house fall into a dilapidated state of disrepair, the federal government has quite a bit of housekeeping to do; if Obama wins the election, we would look towards infrastructure plays such as Fluor (NYSE: FLR)," says Nathan Slaughter, editor of Half-Priced Stocks.

"You may remember the tragic collapse of a Minneapolis bridge last year that took 13 lives. According to the Federal Highway Administration, this is not a one-time incident but a potential epidemic.

"By their estimates, 152,000 of the nation's 600,000 bridges (1 in 4) either require substantial work or have become obsolete and need to be replaced entirely.

"The overall price tag to bring all these bridges up to date: about $140 billion. And the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) believes that bridges are actually in pretty good shape when compared to other crumbling infrastructure.

"Across the country, we have 3,500 unsafe dams in need of repair and hundreds of locks that must be fixed to allow cargo barges to navigate through inland waterways.

"Sewage treatment facilities are outdated; corroded pipes leak 6 billion gallons of drinking water daily; and maintenance on energy transmission lines has been steadily dwindling for over a decade.

"Throw in aging transit systems, highways, landfills, and ports, and the ASCE has graded America's overall infrastructure a "D" and puts the repair bill at a staggering $1.6 trillion.

"And Obama will not shy away from big government projects. In fact, the senator has gone on record as saying 'it is critically important for the United States to rebuild its national infrastructure.'

"And this isn't just hollow campaign rhetoric. Obama has thrown his support behind the National Infrastructure Bank Act, which would free up tens of billions to support various infrastructure projects.

"By all accounts, a massive amount of cash will be needed to bring our infrastructure into the 21st century, and much of that will find its way into the coffers of heavy construction companies like Fluor.

"The Texas-based company is a global heavyweight in the engineering, procurement, construction and maintenance (EPCM) field with nearly $20 billion in annual revenues.

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