April 11, 2024
Top 10 Stock 3M Sell Recommendation
How to read the 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.
Snapshot: 3M – Top 10 Stock in Water Technology
3M is listed as a top 10 stock on April 11, 2024 in the market index Water Tech because of its high performance in at least one of the Obermatt investment strategies. Only the Obermatt Value Rank exhibits above-average performance, which means that the stock is seen as critical by the professional community and other financial facts are below average, conveying mixed investment signals. Based on the Obermatt 360° View of 1 (1% performer), Obermatt issues an overall sell recommendation for 3M on April 11, 2024.
Snapshot: Obermatt Ranks
| Country | USA |
| Industry | Industrial Conglomerates |
| Index | Dow Jones, Low Emissions, Dividends USA, Energy Efficient, Diversity USA, Human Rights, Low Waste, Recycling, Water Tech, S&P 500 |
| Size class | XX-Large |
When Obermatt identifies the Top 10 stocks in a market, it’s based on a certain investment strategy. The best performing stocks usually aren’t the ones that everyone is talking about (those are often "over-priced" and have low Value ranks).
For each investment strategy, we provide you with more detailed analysis and our recommendation. You see the ranks of the top 10 stocks ranked by that particular investment strategy (360° View, Sentiment, Value, Growth, Safety and Combined Financial Performance).
360° View: Obermatt 360° View 3M Sell
| 360 METRICS | April 11, 2024 | |||||||
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| VALUE | ||||||||
| VALUE | 71 |
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| GROWTH | ||||||||
| GROWTH | 3 |
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| SAFETY | ||||||||
| SAFETY | 4 |
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| SENTIMENT | ||||||||
| SENTIMENT | 1 |
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| 360° VIEW | ||||||||
| 360° VIEW | 1 |
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ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt 360° View of 1 (better than 1% compared with alternatives), overall professional sentiment and financial characteristics for the stock 3M are critical, mostly below average. The 360° View is based on consolidating four consolidated indicators, with three out of four indicators below average for 3M. Only the consolidated Value Rank has an attractive rank of 71, which means that the share price of 3M is on the lower side compared with the typical size in indicators such as revenues, profits, and invested capital. This means that the stock price is lower than for 71% of alternative stocks in the same industry. All other consolidated ranks are below average. The consolidated Growth Rank has a low rank of 3, which means that the company exhibits below-average growth momentum when looking at financial metrics such as revenue, profit, and invested capital growth as well as stock returns. The consolidated Safety Rank has a riskier rank of 4, meaning the company has a riskier financing structure than 96% comparable companies when looking at the amount of its debt, its refinancing requirements, and its ability to service debt. Finally, professionals are more pessimistic about the stock than for 99% of alternative investment opportunities, reflected in the consolidated Sentiment Rank of 1. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: With a consolidated 360° View of 1, 3M is worse than 99% of all alternative stock investment opportunities based on the Obermatt Method. This means that 3M shares are on the riskier side for investors. Only one of the consolidated Obermatt Ranks exhibits above-average performance, namely the Value Rank at a level of 71. All other ranks are below average, so proceed with caution. The company has below-average growth expectations (Growth Rank of 3), a riskier financing structure than the competition (Safety Rank of 4), and the market sentiment in the professional investor community ranking at (Sentiment Rank of 1) is negative. This combination is sensitive to a crisis, because high debt levels (low safety) require growth to finance the debt burden. It’s no wonder that the investor community indicators are skeptical (low sentiment). Good value is sometimes an indication that the company's future is challenging. The below-par growth performance may be the reason for this assessment. We recommend evaluating whether the future of 3M is as challenging as the low price of the stock suggests. Since the professional community is pessimistic, you might need to worry about the future of 3M. Only invest if you have solid reasons to believe that the low growth is temporary and the current market sentiment is an overreaction, possibly due to reputational issues in the past. ...read more
Sentiment Strategy: Professional Market Sentiment for 3M negative
ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Sentiment Rank of 1 (better than 1% compared with alternatives), overall professional sentiment and engagement for the stock 3M is critical, mostly below average. The Sentiment Rank is based on consolidating four sentiment indicators, with half of the metrics below and half above average for 3M. Analyst Opinions are at a rank of 3 (worse than 97% of alternative investments), which means that currently, stock research analysts tend to warn against investing in the stock of the company. Worse, Analyst Opinions Change has a rank of 12 which means that stock research experts are getting even more pessimistic. It doesn't end with the analysts. Market Pulse is also low with a rank of 22, which means that the current professional news and professional social networks are on the negative side when discussing this company (more negative news than for 78% of competitors). No wonder, the Professional Investors rank is only 5, which means that professional investors hold less stock in this company than in 95% of alternative investment opportunities. Pros tend to stay away from 3M, which may be due to a small company size but just as likely because of its relatively low Sentiment Rank. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: With a consolidated Sentiment Rank of 1 (less encouraging than 99% compared with investment alternatives), 3M has a reputation among professional investors that is far below that of its competitors. Investors should be careful with this stock right now. Further research is required if an investment is desired, because the facts found in the professional community are all negative. ...read more
Value Strategy: 3M Stock Price Value better than average
ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Value Rank of 71 (better than 71% compared with alternatives), 3M shares are more attractively priced than the majority of comparable stocks. The Value Rank is based on consolidating four value indicators, with half of the indicators below and half above average for 3M. Price-to-Profit (also referred to as price-earnings, P/E) is 89 which means that the stock price compared with what market professionals expect for future profits is lower than for 89% of comparable companies, indicating a good value concerning 3M'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 8, which means that the stock price is lower as regards to invested capital than for 8% of comparable investments. On the other hand, Price-to-Sales is less favorable than 60% of alternatives (only 40% of peers have an even less favorable ratio). The same is valid for dividend yield, which is lower than 0% 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 71, is a buy recommendation based on 3M'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. ...read more
Growth Strategy: 3M Growth Momentum negative
ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Growth Rank of 3 (better than 3% compared with alternatives), 3M shows one of the most restricted growth dynamics in its industry. There is little momentum in this company. The Growth Rank is based on consolidating four value indicators, with all four metrics below average for 3M. Sales Growth has a rank of 6, which means that currently professionals expect the company to grow less than 94% of its competitors. The same is valid for Profit Growth, with a rank of 10, and Capital Growth with 13. In addition, Stock Returns have a below market rank of 31, which means that the stock returns have recently been below 69% of alternative investments. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: The overall picture with a consolidated Growth Rank of 3, is a sell recommendation for growth and momentum investors. These are all bad growth momentum indicators. These are negative signals for investors interested in growth companies. Value is likely good for this company, as investors may have left this stock in the cold. If that is the case, investors should look at the company's outlook, especially Sentiment performance, because it may be a turnaround situation that could entail above-average stock returns in the future. But it remains a risky bet, as no growth signals are in the green zone yet. ...read more
Safety Strategy: 3M Debt Financing Safety risky
| SAFETY METRICS | April 11, 2024 | |||||||
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| LEVERAGE | ||||||||
| LEVERAGE | 1 |
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| REFINANCING | ||||||||
| REFINANCING | 12 |
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| LIQUIDITY | ||||||||
| LIQUIDITY | 48 |
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| CONSOLIDATED RANK: SAFETY | ||||||||
| CONSOLIDATED RANK: SAFETY | 4 |
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ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Safety Rank of 4 (better than 4% compared with alternatives), the company 3M has much riskier financing practices than comparable other companies, which means that their overall debt burden is significantly above the industry average. This doesn't mean that the business of 3M is also risky, it only means that the company is on the riskier side in respect to bankruptcy in case things turn sour, assuming that public reporting is correct. The Safety Rank is based on consolidating three financing indicators, with all three metrics below average for 3M. Liquidity is at 48, meaning that the company generates less profit to service its debt than 52% of its competitors. This indicates that the company is on the riskier side when it comes to debt service. Even worse, Leverage is at a rank of 1, meaning the company has an above-average debt-to-equity ratio. It has more debt than 99% of its competitors. Finally, Refinancing is at a rank of 12 which means that the portion of the debt about to be refinanced is above average. It has more debt in the refinancing stage than 88% of its competitors. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: With a consolidated Safety Rank of 4 (worse than 96% compared with alternatives), 3M has a financing structure that is significantly riskier than that of its competitors. This combination is rather dangerous in most situations. Only very promising companies with bright future outlooks and stellar reputations can operate with such risky financing.
Combined financial peformance: 3M Lowest Financial Performance
| COMBINED PERFORMANCE | April 11, 2024 | |||||||
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| VALUE | ||||||||
| VALUE | 71 |
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| GROWTH | ||||||||
| GROWTH | 3 |
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| SAFETY | ||||||||
| SAFETY | 48 |
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| COMBINED | ||||||||
| COMBINED | 1 |
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ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Combined Rank of 1 (worse than 99% compared with investment alternatives), 3M (Industrial Conglomerates, USA) shares have lower financial characteristics compared with similar stocks. Shares of 3M are a good value (attractively priced) with a consolidated Value Rank of 71 (better than 71% of alternatives) but show below-average growth (Growth Rank of 3), and are riskily financed (Safety Rank of 4), which means above-average debt burdens. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: A Combined Rank of 1, is a sell recommendation based on 3M's financial characteristics. As the company 3M's key financial metrics exhibit good value (Obermatt Value Rank of 71) but low growth (Obermatt Growth Rank of 3) and risky financing practices (Obermatt Safety Rank of 4), it may be a risky investment, because debt in times of crises can make things worse. The good value, better than 71% of comparable companies, may indicate the company's future is challenging. If you believe that low growth is temporary or just due to a specific current event, you may conclude that the good value of the stock provides an attractive investment opportunity. ...read more
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