May 8, 2025
Top 10 Stock GEA 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: GEA – Top 10 Stock in Deutscher Aktienindex Mid Cap MDAX
GEA is listed as a top 10 stock on May 08, 2025 in the market index MDAX because of its high performance in at least one of the Obermatt investment strategies. Two consolidated Obermatt Ranks are above-average. The company is safely financed and the professional investor sentiment is positive. Both are encouraging signals for a stock purchase decision, albeit at an above-average share price. Based on the Obermatt 360° View of 48 (48% performer), Obermatt assesses an overall hold recommendation for GEA on May 08, 2025.
Snapshot: Obermatt Ranks
| Country | Germany |
| Industry | Industrial Machinery |
| Index | CDAX, Diversity Europe, Water Tech, MDAX |
| Size class | X-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 GEA Hold
| 360 METRICS | May 8, 2025 | |||||||
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| VALUE | ||||||||
| VALUE | 15 |
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| GROWTH | ||||||||
| GROWTH | 47 |
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| SAFETY | ||||||||
| SAFETY | 70 |
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| SENTIMENT | ||||||||
| SENTIMENT | 68 |
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| 360° VIEW | ||||||||
| 360° VIEW | 48 |
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ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt 360° View of 48 (better than 48% compared with alternatives), overall professional sentiment and financial characteristics for the stock GEA are below the industry average. The 360° View is based on consolidating four consolidated indicators, with half below and half above average for GEA. The consolidated Sentiment Rank has a good rank of 68, which means that professional investors are more optimistic about the stock than for 68% of alternative investment opportunities. It also rates well regarding its financing structure, with the consolidated Safety Rank at 70 or better than 70% of its peers when looking at the amount of its debt, its refinancing requirements, and its ability to service debt. But the stock is expensive and expects low growth. The consolidated Value Rank is only 15, meaning that the share price of GEA is on the high side, compared with indicators such as revenues, profits, and invested capital. The company exhibits below-average growth momentum when looking at financial metrics such as revenue, profit, invested capital growth,and stock returns, with its Growth Rank at 47. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: With a consolidated 360° View of 48, GEA is worse than 52% of all alternative stock investment opportunities based on the Obermatt Method. As only half of the consolidated Obermatt Ranks exhibit excellent performance, namely the positive professional market sentiment (Sentiment Rank of 68) and safe financing practices (Safety Rank of 70), the case for investing in this stock needs further thought. The Value and the Safety Ranks are below average. The Safety Rank is the least critical of the four consolidated ranks, because it only reflects financing practices. So the question is: How to assess below-average value against above-average sentiment? This may be a case where growth is in the future, not yet reflected in current performance. Companies that might fall into this category are those with intellectual property, such as technology and pharmaceutical companies. In early phases, they are expensive relative to their size and have a lot of capital on their books, as is the case here. Investors expect a better future and are willing to pay a higher price than is warranted by the current company size. These higher prices drive stock price value down in the short term. In this case, future growth may be the strongest driver of the investment case, reflected by institutional investors' opinions. With a weak Value Rank, the question is how much to sacrifice value at the cost of positive sentiment. Sometimes market sentiment is just hype, but sometimes it is right. You pay more than market-average for this stock, but it may be worth it, if the future of GEẠ is bright. Prudent investors may only want to invest a smaller portion of their wealth in such situations. Young investors can carry more risk but should still thrive for sufficient diversification. ...read more
Sentiment Strategy: Professional Market Sentiment for GEA positive
ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Sentiment Rank of 68 (better than 68% compared with alternatives), overall professional sentiment and engagement for the stock GEA is above average. The Sentiment Rank is based on consolidating four sentiment indicators, with half the indicators below and the other half above average for GEA. Analyst Opinions are at a rank of 36 (worse than 64% 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 37, which means that stock research experts are getting more pessimistic. It doesn't end with the analysts. Market Pulse is also low with a rank of 41, which means that the current professional news and professional social networks tend to be negative when discussing this company (more negative news than for 59% of competitors). On the upside, the Professional Investors rank is 100, which means that professional investors hold more stock in this company than in 100% of alternative investment opportunities. Pros tend to favor investing in this company. This could be due to a large company size, which could contribute to the higher share of professional investors in the company. If this is not the case, the low sentiment ranks are more challenging to explain. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: With a consolidated Sentiment Rank of 68 (more positive than 68% compared with investment alternatives), GEA has a reputation among professional investors that is above-average compared with that of its competitors. Should the company be on the smaller side, the presence of professional investors could be reassuring. That would make GEA stock something like a hidden gem. Investors should make sure with further research that this is true, because all other sentiment indicators are negative which is a sign for caution. ...read more
Value Strategy: GEA Stock Price Value low
ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Value Rank of 15 (worse than 85% compared with alternatives), GEA shares are significantly more expensive than comparable stocks. The Value Rank is based on consolidating four value indicators, with all four indicators below average for GEA. Price-to-Sales is 24 which means that the stock price compared with what market professionals expect for future profits is higher than 76% of comparable companies, indicating a low value concerning GEA's sales levels. Price-to-Book Capital (also referred to as market-to-book ratio) also has a low Price-to-Book Rank of 27, which means that both reliable company size indicators, sales, and invested capital cannot explain the high stock price of GEA. In addition, the two profit-related value indicators, Price-to-Profit (also referred to as price-earnings, P/E) with a low rank of 29 and Dividend Yield, which is lower than 61% of comparable companies, also make the stock more expensive compared with investment alternatives. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: The overall picture with a consolidated Value Rank of 15, is a sell recommendation based on GEA's stock price compared with the company's operational size and dividend yields. How can market participants pay such a high price for GEA? One reason may be that the company is simply too popular. If enough people want a particular stock, its price can exceed reasonable levels. This is often the case for companies offering new and exciting products and everybody wants a piece of the action. Should you pay a lot for a hot stock such as GEA? It's risky, and even if the stock price continues to grow because of popular demand, it may return to more typical lower levels later. And that return can be sudden and quick, making it impossible for retail investors to exit on time. Sometimes, high prices are deserved. This is the case when it is justified to believe that the company will dominate a market with high profit margins. It has happened in the past for many technology companies and indeed for commercially successful pharmaceutical discoveries. Sometimes they last, sometimes, they get eaten alive. GEA may be such a type of stock. That would mean, retail investors should be careful, only considering investing a small part of their wealth in this exciting category and always being ready to lose more than half, if not all of the investment. ...read more
Growth Strategy: GEA Growth Momentum low
ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Growth Rank of 47 (better than 47% compared with alternatives), GEA shows a below-average growth dynamic in its industry. There is limited momentum in this company. The Growth Rank is based on consolidating four value indicators, with three out of four indicators below average for GEA. Sales Growth has a below market rank of 43, which means that, currently, professionals expect the company to grow less than 57% of its competitors. The same is valid for Capital Growth, with a rank of 15, and Profit Growth, with a rank of 40. Currently, professionals expect the company to grow its profits less than 60% of its competitors). Only shareholders are optimistic. Stock Returns are above average at a rank of 100, which means that the stock returns have recently been above 100% of alternative investments. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: The overall picture with a consolidated Growth Rank of 47, is a hold recommendation for growth and momentum investors. That picture may be the result for a company that has reached the bottom. All went south for GEA, 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. ...read more
Safety Strategy: GEA Debt Financing Safety above-average
| SAFETY METRICS | May 8, 2025 | |||||||
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| LEVERAGE | ||||||||
| LEVERAGE | 87 |
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| REFINANCING | ||||||||
| REFINANCING | 6 |
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| LIQUIDITY | ||||||||
| LIQUIDITY | 82 |
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| CONSOLIDATED RANK: SAFETY | ||||||||
| CONSOLIDATED RANK: SAFETY | 70 |
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ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Safety Rank of 70 (better than 70% compared with alternatives), the company GEA 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 GEA 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 GEA. Leverage is at a rank of 87, meaning the company has a below-average debt-to-equity ratio. It has less debt than 87% of its competitors. Liquidity is also good at a rank of 82, meaning the company generates more profit to service its debt than 82% of its competitors. This indicates that the company is on the safer side when it comes to debt service. But Refinancing is lower at a rank of 6, 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 94% of its competitors. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: With a consolidated Safety Rank of 70 (better than 70% compared with alternatives), GEA has a financing structure that is safer than that of its competitors. The refinancing issues could be a short-term problem, especially if the company has reputation issues. Banks and investors don't like to refinance debt if there are clouds on the horizon. For this reason, investors should look at the refinancing environment for GEA. Does it look safe that debt that is coming due can be covered with new debt? If that is the case, then the financing situation of the company is on the safer side. If not, it may be better to wait until refinancing has been completed and the Refinancing rank is good again. ...read more
Combined financial peformance: GEA Below-Average Financial Performance
| COMBINED PERFORMANCE | May 8, 2025 | |||||||
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| VALUE | ||||||||
| VALUE | 15 |
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| GROWTH | ||||||||
| GROWTH | 47 |
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| SAFETY | ||||||||
| SAFETY | 82 |
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| COMBINED | ||||||||
| COMBINED | 37 |
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ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Combined Rank of 37 (worse than 63% compared with investment alternatives), GEA (Industrial Machinery, Germany) shares have somewhat below-average financial characteristics compared with similar stocks. Shares of GEA are low in value (priced high) with a consolidated Value Rank of 15 (worse than 85% of alternatives) and show below-average growth (Growth Rank of 47) but are safely financed (Safety Rank of 70), which means low debt burdens. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: A Combined Rank of 37, is a hold recommendation based on GEA's financial characteristics. As the company GEA's critical financial metrics exhibit below-average performance, such as low value (Obermatt Value Rank of 15) and low growth (Obermatt Growth Rank of 47), 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. In this case, good financing practices (Obermatt Safety Rank of 70) are a positive sign, because it may allow the company to weather challenging times until the hoped-for cash flows materialize. This may be true for high-tech or biotechnology companies with enough cash to sustain prolonged business development. If they own properties that only provide cash flows in the future, the stock may look excessively expensive and unattractive today. In such cases, the Obermatt Method has limited value, as it is based on facts we can observe today. If the facts lie all in the future, stock investing becomes guesswork, and this should only be a driver in a limited number of investments that account for a small fraction of a safe portfolio. ...read more
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