PetroQuest Energy is ranked 6th and LHC Group is 8th in the Top 10 of Forbes magazine's 200 best small businesses. This is the second consecutive year LHC has been in the top 10 and a first for PetroQuest. Both are headquartered in Lafayette.
To qualify for the list, companies must be publicly traded, have sales between $5 million and $750 million and a stock price of $5 as of Sept. 29. The ranking is based on return on equity, sales growth and profit growth over the past 12 months and over five years. Stock performance in relation to industry peers is also reviewed.
“You expect larger metropolitan areas to have multiple businesses named to a list like this. Having two companies identified in the top 10 is reflective of Lafayette’s entrepreneurial spirit and success,” says Gregg Gothreaux, LEDA president and CEO. “PetroQuest and LHC also illustrate the diversification of Lafayette’s economy, as health care and energy are two of Lafayette and Acadiana’s largest industries.”
Forbes notes that PetroQuest has increased sales an average of 53 percent annually since it went public in 1999. In just the last year, LHC Group bought 30 home health companies and now has 5,000 employees in 14 states, according to the magazine.
Lafayette also has locations of four retailers named in the list: Jos. A. Bank (47), Buckle (52), Buffalo Wild Wings (67), and Hibbett Sporting Goods (119).