February 13, 2025
Top 10 Stock AECI Hold 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: AECI – Top 10 Stock in Energy Efficency Leaders
AECI is listed as a top 10 stock on February 13, 2025 in the market index Energy Efficient 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 28 (28% performer), Obermatt assesses an overall hold recommendation for AECI on February 13, 2025.
Snapshot: Obermatt Ranks
| Country | South Africa |
| Industry | Specialty Chemicals |
| Index | Low Emissions, Energy Efficient, Good Governace Growth Markets, Independent Boards Growth Markets, JSE All Shares |
| 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 AECI Hold
| 360 METRICS | February 13, 2025 | |||||||
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| VALUE | ||||||||
| VALUE | 100 |
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| GROWTH | ||||||||
| GROWTH | 7 |
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| SAFETY | ||||||||
| SAFETY | 42 |
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| SENTIMENT | ||||||||
| SENTIMENT | 17 |
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| 360° VIEW | ||||||||
| 360° VIEW | 28 |
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ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt 360° View of 28 (better than 28% compared with alternatives), overall professional sentiment and financial characteristics for the stock AECI are below the industry average. The 360° View is based on consolidating four consolidated indicators, with three out of four indicators below average for AECI. Only the consolidated Value Rank has an attractive rank of 100, which means that the share price of AECI 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 100% of alternative stocks in the same industry. All other consolidated ranks are below average. The consolidated Growth Rank has a low rank of 7, 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 42, meaning the company has a riskier financing structure than 58% 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 83% of alternative investment opportunities, reflected in the consolidated Sentiment Rank of 17. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: With a consolidated 360° View of 28, AECI is worse than 72% of all alternative stock investment opportunities based on the Obermatt Method. Only one of the consolidated Obermatt Ranks exhibits above-average performance, namely the Value Rank at a level of 100. All other ranks are below average, so proceed with caution. The company has below-average growth expectations (Growth Rank of 7), a riskier financing structure than the competition (Safety Rank of 42), and the market sentiment in the professional investor community ranking at (Sentiment Rank of 17) 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 AECI 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 AECI. 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 AECI negative
ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Sentiment Rank of 17 (better than 17% compared with alternatives), overall professional sentiment and engagement for the stock AECI is critical, mostly below average. The Sentiment Rank is based on consolidating four sentiment indicators, with three out of four metrics below average for AECI. Analyst Opinions are at a rank of 100 (better than 100% of alternative investments), which means that, currently, stock research analysts tend to recommend a stock investment in the company. This is a good sign, were it not for Analyst Opinions Change with a low rank of 13, which means that currently, stock research experts are changing their opinions for the worse. In other words, they are getting more critical of a stock investment in AECI. The Professional Investors rank is also low at 36, meaning that professional investors hold less stock in this company than in 64% of alternative investment opportunities. Pros tend to invest in other companies. Even worse, Market Pulse has a low rank of 20, which means that the current professional news and professional social networks are critical of this company (more negative news than for 80% of competitors). ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: With a consolidated Sentiment Rank of 17 (less encouraging than 83% compared with investment alternatives), AECI has a reputation among professional investors that is far below that of its competitors. There are several negative sentiment signals, with only the Analyst Opinions Rank above average. This could be a stock with a long reputation for being positive but where things are worsening. Most analysts may not see it yet, but some have, and the professionals are already quite pessimistic. Proceed with caution when investing in this stock. ...read more
Value Strategy: AECI Stock Price Value at the top
ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Value Rank of 100 (better than 100% compared with alternatives) for 2025, AECI shares are significantly less expensive than comparable stocks. The Value Rank is based on consolidating four value indicators that are all above average for AECI. Price-to-Sales is 93 which means that the stock price compared with what market professionals expect for future sales is lower than for 93% of comparable companies, indicating a good value for AECI's revenue size. The same is valid for expected Price-to-Profits, more favorable than for 97% of alternatives, and this is also true for the Price-to-Book capital ratio (also referred to as market-to-book ratio) with a Price-to-Capital Rank of 91. Compared with other companies in the same industry, dividend yields of AECI are expected to be higher than for 96% of all competitors (a Dividend Yield rank of 96). ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: The overall picture with a consolidated Value Rank of 100, is a buy recommendation based on AECI's stock price compared with the company's operational size and dividend yields. Since all value metrics are above the industry average, there is no objection to investing in AECI based on its detailed value metrics.
Growth Strategy: AECI Growth Momentum negative
ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Growth Rank of 7 (better than 7% compared with alternatives), AECI 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 AECI. Sales Growth has a rank of 8, which means that currently professionals expect the company to grow less than 92% of its competitors. The same is valid for Profit Growth, with a rank of 10, and Capital Growth with 23. In addition, Stock Returns have a below market rank of 29, which means that the stock returns have recently been below 71% of alternative investments. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: The overall picture with a consolidated Growth Rank of 7, 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: AECI Debt Financing Safety below-average
| SAFETY METRICS | February 13, 2025 | |||||||
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| LEVERAGE | ||||||||
| LEVERAGE | 26 |
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| REFINANCING | ||||||||
| REFINANCING | 98 |
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| LIQUIDITY | ||||||||
| LIQUIDITY | 22 |
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| CONSOLIDATED RANK: SAFETY | ||||||||
| CONSOLIDATED RANK: SAFETY | 42 |
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ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Safety Rank of 42 (better than 42% compared with alternatives), the company AECI has financing practices on the riskier side, which means that their overall debt burden is above the industry average. This doesn't mean that the business of AECI 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 just one indicator above average for AECI and the other two below average. Refinancing is at 98, meaning the portion of the debt about to be refinanced is below average. It has less debt in the refinancing stage than 98% of its competitors. But Leverage is high with a rank of 26, meaning the company has an above-average debt-to-equity ratio. It has more debt than 74% of its competitors. Liquidity is also on the riskier side with a rank of 22, meaning the company generates less profit to service its debt than 78% of its competitors. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: With a consolidated Safety Rank of 42 (worse than 58% compared with alternatives), AECI has a financing structure that is riskier than that of its competitors. A good Refinancing Rank means that the problems of the company may not be around the corner. But high Leverage is only good if things go well, and low Liquidity is a signal for caution. The financing signals for AECI are on the riskier side, requiring the company's future to be on the safer side. Investors may want to look at Growth and Sentiment ranks before making an investment decision. ...read more
Combined financial peformance: AECI Above-Average Financial Performance
| COMBINED PERFORMANCE | February 13, 2025 | |||||||
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| VALUE | ||||||||
| VALUE | 100 |
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| GROWTH | ||||||||
| GROWTH | 7 |
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| SAFETY | ||||||||
| SAFETY | 22 |
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| COMBINED | ||||||||
| COMBINED | 52 |
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ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Combined Rank of 52 (better than 52% compared with investment alternatives), AECI (Specialty Chemicals, South Africa) shares have above-average financial characteristics compared with similar stocks. Shares of AECI are a good value (attractively priced) with a consolidated Value Rank of 100 (better than 100% of alternatives) but show below-average growth (Growth Rank of 7), and are riskily financed (Safety Rank of 42), which means above-average debt burdens. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: A Combined Rank of 52, is a buy recommendation based on AECI's financial characteristics. As the company AECI's key financial metrics exhibit good value (Obermatt Value Rank of 100) but low growth (Obermatt Growth Rank of 7) and risky financing practices (Obermatt Safety Rank of 42), it may be a risky investment, because debt in times of crises can make things worse. The good value, better than 100% 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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