Fact based stock research
Balfour Beatty (LSE:BBY)

GB0000961622

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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.

Balfour Beatty stock research in summary

balfourbeatty.com

ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Combined Rank of 7 (worse than 93% compared with investment alternatives), Balfour Beatty (Construction & Engineering, United Kingdom) shares have lower financial characteristics compared with similar stocks. Shares of Balfour Beatty are low in value (priced high) with a consolidated Value Rank of 29 (worse than 71% of alternatives), show below-average growth (Growth Rank of 21), and are riskily financed (Safety Rank of 39), which means above-average debt burdens. ...read more

RECOMMENDATION: A Combined Rank of 7, is a sell recommendation based on Balfour Beatty's financial characteristics. As the company Balfour Beatty's key financial metrics all exhibit below-average performance, such as low value (Obermatt Value Rank of 29), low growth (Obermatt Growth Rank of 21), and risky financing practices (Obermatt Safety Rank of 39), it is a somewhat questionable stock investment, where the risk of paying too much for the shares is significant, unless the company has an exceptionally bright future. Such poor financial performance sometimes indicates that the company's business is all concentrated in some distant future. This is sometimes the case for high-tech or biotechnology companies. If they own properties that only provide cash flows in the future, the stock may look excessively expensive and risky today. In such cases, the Obermatt Method has limited value as it is based on facts we can observe today. If the facts are all in the future, stock investing becomes guesswork, and this should only be a driver in a limited number of investments that should only amount to a small fraction of a safe portfolio. Obermatt Premium subscribers can further check the stock’s Sentiment Ranks, which also flow into the Obermatt 360° View for investors. ...read more

Latest Obermatt Ranks


360° View^new
Sentiment Rank^new
Value Rank	29
Growth Rank	21
Safety Rank	39
Combined Rank	7

Country	United Kingdom
Industry	Construction & Engineering
Index	FTSE All Shares, FTSE 250, FTSE 350, Customer Focus EU, Employee Focus EU, Human Rights, SDG 11, SDG 12, SDG 13, SDG 8, SDG 9, Water Tech
Size class	Medium

31-Jul-2025. Stock data may be delayed. Log in or sign up to get the most recent research.

Further information

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Review the performance ranks of the individual metrics that form each investment strategy.

Research History: Balfour Beatty

RESEARCH HISTORY	2022	2023	2024	2025
VALUE
VALUE	53	75	51	29
GROWTH
GROWTH	47	5	29	21
SAFETY
SAFETY	23	34	51	39
SENTIMENT
SENTIMENT	56	93	73	^new
360° VIEW
360° VIEW	33	56	41	^new

Most recent update of the stock research: 31-Jul-2025. Financial reporting date used for calculating ranks: 31-Dec-2024. Stock research history is based on the Obermatt Method. The higher the rank, the better Balfour Beatty is in the corresponding investment strategy.
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Combined financial peformance in Detail

RESEARCH HISTORY	2022	2023	2024	2025
VALUE
VALUE	53	75	51	29
GROWTH
GROWTH	47	5	29	21
SAFETY
SAFETY	23	34	51	39
COMBINED
COMBINED	37	29	28	7

Last update of combined financial performance: 31-Jul-2025. Stock analysis on combined financial performance: The higher the rank of Balfour Beatty the better the performance.

Value Metrics in Detail

ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Value Rank of 29 (worse than 71% compared with alternatives), Balfour Beatty shares are more expensive than the average comparable stock. The Value Rank is based on consolidating four value indicators, where the majority of metrics are below, and only one is above average for Balfour Beatty. Price-to-Sales (P/S) is 72, which means that the stock price compared with what market professionals expect for future sales is lower than 72% of comparable companies, indicating a good value concerning to Balfour Beatty's revenue size. But all other performance indicators point in a different direction. Dividend yields have a Dividend Yield rank of 33, meaning that dividends are expected to be lower than for 67% of comparable investments. Furthermore, Price-to-Book Capital (also referred to as market-to-book ratio) is less favorable than 63% of alternatives (only 37% of peers have an even higher ratio). The same is valid for Price-to-Profit (or Price / Earnings, P/E), which is higher than for 57% of comparable companies, making the stock more expensive compared with the company's expected profit levels. ...read more

RECOMMENDATION: The overall picture with a consolidated Value Rank of 29, is a hold recommendation based on Balfour Beatty's stock price compared with the company's operational size and dividend yields. Since Price-to-Sales is a stable value indicator even in challenging times, investing in Balfour Beatty could be seen as a value investment. However, there must be a good reason for the low market-to-book rank. If the company has a typical capital investment practice, the stock may be overvalued because the profit and dividend-related performance indicators are also low. The stock is only good value if investors can expect profits and dividends to pick up in the future. Else, Balfour Beatty looks like an expensive investment today. 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	2022	2023	2024	2025
PRICE VS. REVENUES (P/S)
PRICE VS. REVENUES (P/S)	81	81	78	72
PRICE VS. PROFITS (P/E)
PRICE VS. PROFITS (P/E)	64	69	58	43
PRICE VS. CAPITAL (Market-to-Book)
PRICE VS. CAPITAL (Market-to-Book)	67	62	44	37
DIVIDEND YIELD
DIVIDEND YIELD	39	56	38	33
CONSOLIDATED RANK: VALUE
CONSOLIDATED RANK: VALUE	53	75	51	29

Last update of Value Rank: 31-Jul-2025. Stock analysis on value ratios: The higher the rank, the lower the value ratio of Balfour Beatty; except for dividend yield where the rank is higher, the higher the yield.

Growth Metrics in Detail

ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Growth Rank of 21 (better than 21% compared with alternatives), Balfour Beatty 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 three out of four indicators below average for Balfour Beatty. Sales Growth has a below market rank of 19, which means that, currently, professionals expect the company to grow less than 81% of its competitors. The same is valid for Capital Growth, with a rank of 49, and Profit Growth, with a rank of 37. Currently, professionals expect the company to grow its profits less than 63% of its competitors). Only shareholders are optimistic. Stock Returns are above average at a rank of 63, which means that the stock returns have recently been above 63% of alternative investments. ...read more

RECOMMENDATION: The overall picture with a consolidated Growth Rank of 21, is a sell recommendation for growth and momentum investors. That picture may be the result for a company that has reached the bottom. All went south for Balfour Beatty, and it still looks bad, but some investors already see light at the end of the tunnel, rewarding the stock with recent above-market stock returns. It could also mean that investors are correcting an overreaction to negative news. If that were the case, the positive stock returns are not yet a sign of recovery. Investors should look closely at the Value and Sentiment indicators before they make a stock purchasing decision, because growth is unlikely to be the driving argument behind this investment. 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, especially since the growth performance is low here. ...read more

GROWTH METRICS	2022	2023	2024	2025
REVENUE GROWTH
REVENUE GROWTH	34	17	47	19
PROFIT GROWTH
PROFIT GROWTH	98	15	43	37
CAPITAL GROWTH
CAPITAL GROWTH	31	21	10	49
STOCK RETURNS
STOCK RETURNS	17	23	71	63
CONSOLIDATED RANK: GROWTH
CONSOLIDATED RANK: GROWTH	47	5	29	21

Last update of Growth Rank: 31-Jul-2025. Stock analysis on growth metrics: The higher the rank, the higher the growth and returns of Balfour Beatty.

Safety Metrics in Detail

ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Safety Rank of 39 (better than 39% compared with alternatives), the company Balfour Beatty 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 Balfour Beatty 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 Balfour Beatty. Liquidity is at 40, meaning that the company generates less profit to service its debt than 60% 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 40, meaning the company has an above-average debt-to-equity ratio. It has more debt than 60% of its competitors. Finally, Refinancing is at a rank of 35 which means that the portion of the debt about to be refinanced is above average. It has more debt in the refinancing stage than 65% of its competitors. ...read more

RECOMMENDATION: With a consolidated Safety Rank of 39 (worse than 61% compared with alternatives), Balfour Beatty has a financing structure that is 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. Investors should look at Obermatt’s Value, Growth, and Sentiment Ranks to confirm a very positive outlook or be careful with investing in stocks of Balfour Beatty because it may suffer significantly in case of future difficulties. ...read more

SAFETY METRICS	2022	2023	2024	2025
LEVERAGE
LEVERAGE	72	68	55	40
REFINANCING
REFINANCING	11	18	34	35
LIQUIDITY
LIQUIDITY	16	30	41	40
CONSOLIDATED RANK: SAFETY
CONSOLIDATED RANK: SAFETY	23	34	51	39

Last update of Safety Rank: 31-Jul-2025. Stock analysis on safety metrics: The higher the rank, the lower the leverage of Balfour Beatty and the more cash is available to service its debt.

Sentiment Metrics in Detail

SENTIMENT	2022	2023	2024	2025
ANALYST OPINIONS
ANALYST OPINIONS	n/a	97	95	^new
OPINIONS CHANGE
OPINIONS CHANGE	50	98	40	^new
PRO HOLDINGS
PRO HOLDINGS	13	42	70	^new
MARKET PULSE
MARKET PULSE	79	73	50	^new
CONSOLIDATED RANK: SENTIMENT
CONSOLIDATED RANK: SENTIMENT	56	93	73	^new

Last update of Sentiment Rank: 31-Jul-2025. Stock analysis on sentiment metrics: The higher the rank, the more positive the sentiment for Balfour Beatty.
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