Fact based stock research
Howden (LSE:HWDN)
GB0005576813
How to read the free ranks
For every stock, we judge its performance against its peers and rank it on a scale of 1 to 100. The higher the rank, the better the stock performs than its peers. And, we do this for six investment strategies:
Value - shows how good of a value the stock is. Green is "inexpensive"; red is "expensive".
Growth - shows a company's growth potential. Green is "high growth" expected; red is "tough times ahead".
Safety - relates to the amount of debt a company has. Green is low debt level; red is high debt level.
Combined Financial - this isn't an average of the first three ranks but rather a consolidated view across several financial indicators. Green = good; red = tread carefully.
(NEW) Sentiment - quantifies professional analyst ratings and holdings as well as market pulse. Green = positive sentiment; red = skepticism (Only available to Premium Subscribers).
(NEW) 360° View - the ultimate rating with all financial and non-financial indicators.
Howden stock research in summary
ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Combined Rank of 70 (better than 70% compared with investment alternatives), Howden (Trading & Distribution, United Kingdom) shares have above-average financial characteristics compared with similar stocks. Shares of Howden are low in value (priced high) with a consolidated Value Rank of 46 (worse than 54% of alternatives). But they show above-average growth (Growth Rank of 73) and are safely financed (Safety Rank of 52, which means below-average debt burdens). ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: A Combined Rank of 70, is a buy recommendation based on Howden's financial characteristics. Investors looking for growth and low financial risk may find this stock attractive. While the company Howden exhibits low value (Obermatt Value Rank of 46), which means that the stock price is rather high, it also demonstrates above-average growth (Obermatt Growth Rank of 73). This is a typical case, as high-growth companies are often expensive. Good financing practices (Obermatt Safety Rank of 52) are a double-edged sword: if the company continues growing, low debt limits shareholder returns. But if the company increases its debt, it will also increase risk. In other words, this is an investment on the safer side, despite the above-average price (low value). Obermatt Premium subscribers can further check the stock’s Sentiment Ranks, which also flow into the Obermatt 360° View for investors. ...read more
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Country | United Kingdom |
Industry | Trading & Distribution |
Index | FTSE All Shares, FTSE 250, FTSE 350, SDG 12, SDG 13, SDG 15, SDG 8, Water Tech |
Size class | Large |
This stock has achievements: Gold Winner CEO, Top 10 Stock.
2-May-2024. Stock data may be delayed. Log in or sign up to get the most recent research.
Analysts rarely agree on a stock’s future. So, who do you believe? Obermatt translates those collective views into a single Sentiment Rank. That plus the financial ranks give you the ultimate 360° View. Sign up to access them.
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Review the performance ranks of the individual metrics that form each investment strategy.
Research History: Howden
RESEARCH HISTORY | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
VALUE | ||||||||
VALUE | 47 |
|
53 |
|
42 |
|
46 |
|
GROWTH | ||||||||
GROWTH | 91 |
|
33 |
|
51 |
|
73 |
|
SAFETY | ||||||||
SAFETY | 69 |
|
42 |
|
48 |
|
52 |
|
SENTIMENT | ||||||||
SENTIMENT | n/a |
|
55 |
|
94 |
|
new | |
360° VIEW | ||||||||
360° VIEW | n/a |
|
41 |
|
86 |
|
new |
Combined financial peformance in Detail
ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Combined Rank of 70 (better than 70% compared with investment alternatives), Howden (Trading & Distribution, United Kingdom) shares have above-average financial characteristics compared with similar stocks. Shares of Howden are low in value (priced high) with a consolidated Value Rank of 46 (worse than 54% of alternatives). But they show above-average growth (Growth Rank of 73) and are safely financed (Safety Rank of 52, which means below-average debt burdens). ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: A Combined Rank of 70, is a buy recommendation based on Howden's financial characteristics. Investors looking for growth and low financial risk may find this stock attractive. While the company Howden exhibits low value (Obermatt Value Rank of 46), which means that the stock price is rather high, it also demonstrates above-average growth (Obermatt Growth Rank of 73). This is a typical case, as high-growth companies are often expensive. Good financing practices (Obermatt Safety Rank of 52) are a double-edged sword: if the company continues growing, low debt limits shareholder returns. But if the company increases its debt, it will also increase risk. In other words, this is an investment on the safer side, despite the above-average price (low value). Obermatt Premium subscribers can further check the stock’s Sentiment Ranks, which also flow into the Obermatt 360° View for investors. ...read more
RESEARCH HISTORY | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
VALUE | ||||||||
VALUE | 47 |
|
53 |
|
42 |
|
46 |
|
GROWTH | ||||||||
GROWTH | 91 |
|
33 |
|
51 |
|
73 |
|
SAFETY | ||||||||
SAFETY | 69 |
|
42 |
|
48 |
|
52 |
|
COMBINED | ||||||||
COMBINED | 88 |
|
36 |
|
47 |
|
70 |
|
Value Metrics in Detail
ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Value Rank of 46 (worse than 54% compared with alternatives), Howden shares are more expensive than the average comparable stock. The Value Rank is based on consolidating four value indicators, with half of the indicators below and half above average for Howden. Price-to-Profit (also referred to as price-earnings, P/E) is 50 which means that the stock price compared with what market professionals expect for future profits is lower than for 50% of comparable companies, indicating a good value concerning Howden's profit levels. The same is valid for Price-to-Book Capital (also referred to as market-to-book ratio) with a Price-to-Book Rank of 27, which means that the stock price is lower as regards to invested capital than for 27% of comparable investments. On the other hand, Price-to-Sales is less favorable than 77% of alternatives (only 23% of peers have an even less favorable ratio). The same is valid for dividend yield, which is lower than 38% of comparable companies, making the stock more expensive as regards to the company's expected dividend payouts. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: The overall picture with a consolidated Value Rank of 46, is a hold recommendation based on Howden's stock price compared with the company's operational size and dividend yields. This is a puzzling picture, because it means that profits are high while dividends are low. Since the stock price is low compared with invested capital but high in respect to expected revenues, it means that the company has more invested capital than peers for generating the same amount of revenue. Since profits are higher, it could be a "cash cow" situation (using the classic Boston Consulting BCG matrix naming convention) where the company is on a downward trend, still living from the profits of past products. As the company pays low dividends, it may harbor the opinion that a turnaround is possible, and it rather invests the cash than pay it out to shareholders, thus sealing the company's fate early. Any investment optimism should only be a buy trigger once thorough research is completed. We recommend further analyzing the stock with Obermatt’s Value, Safety, and Sentiment Ranks, including the 360° View, before making an investment decision, which is especially important in this case, as the financial indicators are inconclusive. ...read more
VALUE METRICS | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
PRICE VS. REVENUES (P/S) | ||||||||
PRICE VS. REVENUES (P/S) | 50 |
|
29 |
|
25 |
|
23 |
|
PRICE VS. PROFITS (P/E) | ||||||||
PRICE VS. PROFITS (P/E) | 68 |
|
53 |
|
48 |
|
50 |
|
PRICE VS. CAPITAL (Market-to-Book) | ||||||||
PRICE VS. CAPITAL (Market-to-Book) | 40 |
|
32 |
|
22 |
|
27 |
|
DIVIDEND YIELD | ||||||||
DIVIDEND YIELD | 31 |
|
65 |
|
60 |
|
62 |
|
CONSOLIDATED RANK: VALUE | ||||||||
CONSOLIDATED RANK: VALUE | 47 |
|
53 |
|
42 |
|
46 |
|
Growth Metrics in Detail
ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Growth Rank of 73 (better than 73% compared with alternatives), Howden shows an above-average growth dynamic in its industry. Investors also speak of positive momentum. The Growth Rank is based on consolidating four value indicators, with all but one indicator above average for Howden. Sales Growth has a rank of 66 which means that currently, professionals expect the company to grow more than 66% of its competitors. Both Profit Growth, with a rank of 52, and Stock Returns, with a rank of 84, are also above average. But Capital Growth only has a rank of 36, which means that, currently, professionals expect the company to grow its invested capital less than 64% of its competitors. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: The overall picture with a consolidated Growth Rank of 73, is a buy recommendation for growth and momentum investors. That may be a good sign if the company is already well positioned and doesn't require more investments at this time. They may focus on growing the top (revenues) and bottom (profits) lines, recently rewarded with above-average stock returns for shareholders. But it may also be a sign of danger as the company is falling back with capital investment activities concerning competition. This requires further analysis of corporate communications. While momentum is a popular investment factor, the value aspect might be the more important one, in the longer term. We recommend analyzing the stock with Obermatt’s Value, Safety, and Sentiment Ranks to arrive at a 360° View of the stock purchase case. ...read more
GROWTH METRICS | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
REVENUE GROWTH | ||||||||
REVENUE GROWTH | 94 |
|
4 |
|
53 |
|
66 |
|
PROFIT GROWTH | ||||||||
PROFIT GROWTH | 64 |
|
88 |
|
14 |
|
52 |
|
CAPITAL GROWTH | ||||||||
CAPITAL GROWTH | n/a |
|
7 |
|
21 |
|
36 |
|
STOCK RETURNS | ||||||||
STOCK RETURNS | 83 |
|
61 |
|
93 |
|
84 |
|
CONSOLIDATED RANK: GROWTH | ||||||||
CONSOLIDATED RANK: GROWTH | 91 |
|
33 |
|
51 |
|
73 |
|
Safety Metrics in Detail
ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Safety Rank of 52 (better than 52% compared with alternatives), the company Howden has financing practices on the safer side, which mean that their overall debt burden is lower than average. This doesn't mean that the business of Howden is safe, it only means that the company is on the safer side regarding possible bankruptcy, assuming that public reporting is correct. The Safety Rank is based on consolidating three financing indicators, with just one indicator above average for Howden. Liquidity is at 77, meaning the company generates more profit to service its debt than 77% of its competitors. This indicates that the company is safer when it comes to debt service. But Refinancing is riskier at a rank of 38, which means that the portion of the debt that is about to be refinanced is above average. It has more debt in the refinancing stage than 62% of its competitors. Leverage is also high at a rank of 37, which means that the company has an above-average debt-to-equity ratio. It has more debt than 63% of its competitors. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: With a consolidated Safety Rank of 52 (better than 52% compared with alternatives), Howden has a financing structure that is safer than that of its competitors. High Leverage (a low Obermatt Leverage Rank) is good in good times, because it usually indicates that shareholders get higher returns. The good Liquidity performance of the company is an indicator that this is the case. However, if you expect an economic downturn, you may stay clear of this stock because they have an above-average debt level that needs refinancing soon. If the company is sailing with good winds, as may be visible from the Growth and Sentiment performance, the refinancing risk may be lower than the low Refinancing rank suggests. ...read more
SAFETY METRICS | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
LEVERAGE | ||||||||
LEVERAGE | 66 |
|
34 |
|
36 |
|
37 |
|
REFINANCING | ||||||||
REFINANCING | 40 |
|
51 |
|
34 |
|
38 |
|
LIQUIDITY | ||||||||
LIQUIDITY | 69 |
|
54 |
|
76 |
|
77 |
|
CONSOLIDATED RANK: SAFETY | ||||||||
CONSOLIDATED RANK: SAFETY | 69 |
|
42 |
|
48 |
|
52 |
|
Sentiment Metrics in Detail
SENTIMENT | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
ANALYST OPINIONS | ||||||||
ANALYST OPINIONS | n/a |
|
77 |
|
77 |
|
new | |
OPINIONS CHANGE | ||||||||
OPINIONS CHANGE | n/a |
|
61 |
|
50 |
|
new | |
PRO HOLDINGS | ||||||||
PRO HOLDINGS | n/a |
|
13 |
|
94 |
|
new | |
MARKET PULSE | ||||||||
MARKET PULSE | n/a |
|
62 |
|
76 |
|
new | |
CONSOLIDATED RANK: SENTIMENT | ||||||||
CONSOLIDATED RANK: SENTIMENT | n/a |
|
55 |
|
94 |
|
new |
Free stock analysis by the purely fact based Obermatt Method for Howden from May 2, 2024.
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