October 24, 2024
Top 10 Stock ACI Strong Buy 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: ACI – Top 10 Stock in Employee Health Leaders in the United States
ACI is listed as a top 10 stock on October 24, 2024 in the market index Employee Health US because of its high performance in at least one of the Obermatt investment strategies. As all consolidated Obermatt Ranks exhibit excellent performance, including positive market sentiment in the professional investor community, it is a solid stock investment where the risk of paying too much for the shares is limited. Based on the Obermatt 360° View of 98 (top 98% performer), Obermatt assesses an overall strong buy recommendation for ACI on October 24, 2024.
Snapshot: Obermatt Ranks
| Country | USA |
| Industry | Application Software |
| Index | Employee Health US, NASDAQ, S&P MIDCAP |
| Size class | 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 ACI Strong Buy
| 360 METRICS | October 24, 2024 | |||||||
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| VALUE | ||||||||
| VALUE | 53 |
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| GROWTH | ||||||||
| GROWTH | 55 |
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| SAFETY | ||||||||
| SAFETY | 75 |
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| SENTIMENT | ||||||||
| SENTIMENT | 93 |
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| 360° VIEW | ||||||||
| 360° VIEW | 98 |
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ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt 360° View of 98 (better than 98% compared with alternatives) for 2024, overall professional sentiment and financial characteristics for the stock ACI are very positive. The 360° View is based on consolidating four consolidated indicators, with all four indicators above average for ACI. The consolidated Value Rank has an attractive rank of 53, which means that the share price of ACI is on the lower side compared with the typical size in indicators such as revenues, profits, and invested capital. This means the stock price is lower than for 53% of alternative stocks in the same industry. The consolidated Growth Rank has a good rank of 55, which means that the company experiences above-average growth momentum when looking at financial metrics such as revenue, profit, and invested capital growth as well as stock returns. The company is also safely financed with a Safety rank of 75. Finally, professional market sentiment is above average compared with other stock investment alternatives with a Sentiment Rank of 93. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: With a consolidated 360° View of 98, ACI is better positioned than 98% of all alternative stock investment opportunities based on the Obermatt Method. As all consolidated Obermatt Ranks exhibit excellent performance, such as good value (Value Rank of 53), above-average growth (Growth Rank of 55), safe financing practices (Safety Rank of 75), and a positive market sentiment in the professional investor community (Sentiment Rank of 93), it is a solid stock investment where the risk of paying too much for the shares is limited and disappointments are less likely to occur, unless information not publicly available. High-Value Ranks sometimes indicate that the company's future is challenging. If they are safely financed and have above average growth, and are still a good value, it may indicate that this will not continue. We recommend evaluating whether the future of ACI is as difficult as the stock’s low price, despite what good growth and safe financing practice suggest. Since the professional community is optimistic, you might have less to worry about, and the stock is just not sufficiently visible, which may indicate good timing right now. ...read more
Sentiment Strategy: Professional Market Sentiment for ACI very positive
ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Sentiment Rank of 93 (better than 93% compared with alternatives) for 2024, overall professional sentiment and engagement for the stock ACI is very positive. The Sentiment Rank is based on consolidating four sentiment indicators, with all but one indicator above average for ACI. Analyst Opinions are at a rank of 87 (better than 87% of alternative investments), which means that, currently, stock research analysts tend to recommend a stock investment in the company. In addition, Analyst Opinions Change has a rank of 72, which means that stock research experts are changing their opinions for the better in recommending investing in the company. In other words, they are getting even more optimistic about investments in ACI. Finally, the Professional Investors rank is 100, which means that currently, professional investors hold more stock in this company than in 100% of alternative investment opportunities. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: With a consolidated Sentiment Rank of 93 (more positive than 93% compared with investment alternatives), ACI has a reputation among professional investors that is significantly higher than that of its competitors. Pros tend to favor investing in this company. But there is also a signal for caution. Market Pulse has a rank of 8, which means that the current professional news and professional social networks tend to be negative when discussing this company (more negative news than for 92% of competitors). This could mean future risks and should make investors careful. Attention to negative news for ACI is worthwhile because they may be early warning signals. Without those, all other professional signals are encouraging, especially since analysts are getting more optimistic. ...read more
Value Strategy: ACI Stock Price Value better than average
ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Value Rank of 53 (better than 53% compared with alternatives), ACI shares are more attractively priced than the majority of comparable stocks. The Value Rank is based on consolidating four value indicators, with three out of four indicators above average for ACI. Price-to-Sales (P/S) is 58, which means that the stock price compared with what market professionals expect for future sales is lower than for 58% of comparable companies, indicating a good value regarding ACI's revenue size. The same is valid for expected Price to Profits (or Price / Earnings, P/E), more favorable than for 62% of alternatives, and it's also true for the Price-to-Book Capital ratio (also referred to as market-to-book ratio) with a Price-to-Capital Rank of 51. But, compared with other companies in the same industry, dividend yields are expected to be lower than average; only 1% of all competitors have even lower dividend yields than ACI (a Dividend Yield Rank of 1). 99% alternative investments in the same business provide a higher dividend yield. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: The overall picture with a consolidated Value Rank of 53, is a buy recommendation based on ACI's stock price compared with the company's operational size and dividend yields. The below-average dividend yield may be a good sign, as it could mean the company has more attractive investment opportunities for the generated cash than to pay it out as dividends. A low dividend yield can also indicate a growth phase. ...read more
Growth Strategy: ACI Growth Momentum good
ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Growth Rank of 55 (better than 55% compared with alternatives), ACI 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 half of the indicators below and half above average for ACI. Profit Growth has a rank of 63, which means that currently professionals expect the company to grow its profits more than 63% of its competitors. This is a good sign for shareholders, which is confirmed by an above-average Stock Returns rank of 99 (above 99% of alternative investments). But Sales Growth has a below the median rank of 24, which means that, currently, professionals expect the company to grow less than 76% of its competitors, and Capital Growth also has a lower rank of 18. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: The overall picture with a consolidated Growth Rank of 55, is a buy recommendation for growth and momentum investors. Because revenues and invested capital are the more solid growth indicators, the positive development on the profit side is less relevant. It may have been caused by cost-cutting, which may be a negative growth indicator. Finally, the above-average stock returns recently are a thing of the past and not a good indicator of future returns. Investors should be confident that the cost-cutting initiative leading to higher profits is to benefit the company's future. If not, there is little growth momentum, and investment is only advisable if the Value Ranks suggest a good investment timing for ACI. ...read more
Safety Strategy: ACI Debt Financing Safety very solid
| SAFETY METRICS | October 24, 2024 | |||||||
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| LEVERAGE | ||||||||
| LEVERAGE | 34 |
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| REFINANCING | ||||||||
| REFINANCING | 60 |
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| LIQUIDITY | ||||||||
| LIQUIDITY | 81 |
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| CONSOLIDATED RANK: SAFETY | ||||||||
| CONSOLIDATED RANK: SAFETY | 75 |
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ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Safety Rank of 75 (better than 75% compared with alternatives) for 2024, the company ACI has safe financing practices, which means that their overall debt burden is low. This doesn't mean that the business of ACI 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 two out of three indicators above-average for ACI. Refinancing is at 60, meaning the portion of the debt that is about to be refinanced is below average. It has less debt in the refinancing stage than 60% of its competitors. Liquidity is also good at 81, meaning the company generates more profit to service its debt than 81% of its competitors. This indicates that the company is safer when it comes to debt service. However, Leverage is rather large at 34, which means the company has an above-average debt-to-equity ratio. It has more debt than 66% of its competitors. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: With a consolidated Safety Rank of 75 (better than 75% compared with alternatives), ACI has a financing structure that is significantly safer than that of its competitors. This is not bad if things go well. The higher debt level means better returns to shareholders if things go well. Many top-performing companies operate with higher debt levels, and ACI could be in that group. But if you expect the environment to turn rougher, the higher leverage could become a problem. The same is valid if you expect interest rates to rise. That could squeeze shareholder returns, which so far have benefitted from better conditions. ...read more
Combined financial peformance: ACI Top Financial Performance
| COMBINED PERFORMANCE | October 24, 2024 | |||||||
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| VALUE | ||||||||
| VALUE | 53 |
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| GROWTH | ||||||||
| GROWTH | 55 |
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| SAFETY | ||||||||
| SAFETY | 81 |
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| COMBINED | ||||||||
| COMBINED | 78 |
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ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Combined Rank of 78 (better than 78% compared with investment alternatives), ACI (Application Software, USA) shares have much better financial characteristics than comparable stocks. Shares of ACI are a good value (attractively priced) with a consolidated Value Rank of 53 (better than 53% of alternatives), show above-average growth (Growth Rank of 55), and are safely financed (Safety Rank of 75), which means low debt burdens. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: A Combined Rank of 78, is a strong buy recommendation based on ACI's financial characteristics. As the company ACI's key financial metrics all exhibit excellent performance, such as good value (Obermatt Value Rank of 53), above-average growth (Obermatt Growth Rank of 55), and indicate that the company is safely financed (Obermatt Safety Rank of 75), it is a solid stock investment where the risk of paying too much for the share is limited, unless the company has a bleak future. Such good financial performance can indicate that the company's future might actually be challenging, as it may be difficult to maintain the good performance. If they are safely financed and have been growing above average, and are still a good value, it means that the market is keeping prices low, for a reason which may become clearer over time. We recommend evaluating the future of ACI. If you believe the company's future is market-typical or even better, this could be an argument for a share purchase. ...read more
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