March 7, 2024
Top 10 Stock Harvey Norman 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: Harvey Norman – Top 10 Stock in Australian Securities Exchange Index ASX 200
Harvey Norman is listed as a top 10 stock on March 07, 2024 in the market index ASX 200 because of its high performance in at least one of the Obermatt investment strategies. As three out of four consolidated Obermatt Ranks exhibit excellent performance, it is a solid investment where the risk of paying too much for the shares is low. Based on the Obermatt 360° View of 91 (top 91% performer), Obermatt assesses an overall strong buy recommendation for Harvey Norman on March 07, 2024.
Snapshot: Obermatt Ranks
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 Harvey Norman Strong Buy
| 360 METRICS | March 7, 2024 | |||||||
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| VALUE | ||||||||
| VALUE | 57 |
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| GROWTH | ||||||||
| GROWTH | 73 |
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| SAFETY | ||||||||
| SAFETY | 42 |
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| SENTIMENT | ||||||||
| SENTIMENT | 79 |
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| 360° VIEW | ||||||||
| 360° VIEW | 91 |
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ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt 360° View of 91 (better than 91% compared with alternatives) for 2024, overall professional sentiment and financial characteristics for the stock Harvey Norman are very positive. The 360° View is based on consolidating four consolidated indicators, with all but one indicator above average for Harvey Norman. The consolidated Value Rank has an attractive rank of 57, which means that the share price of Harvey Norman 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 57% of alternative stocks in the same industry. The consolidated Growth Rank has a good rank of 73, 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. In addition, professional market sentiment is above average compared with other stock investment alternatives with a Sentiment Rank of 79. But the company’s financing is risky with a Safety rank of 42. This means 58% of comparable companies have a safer financing structure than Harvey Norman. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: With a consolidated 360° View of 91, Harvey Norman is better positioned than 91% of all alternative stock investment opportunities based on the Obermatt Method. As three out of four consolidated Obermatt Ranks exhibit excellent performance, such as good value (Value Rank of 57), above-average growth (Growth Rank of 73), and positive market sentiment in the professional investor community (Sentiment Rank of 79), it is a solid stock investment where the risk of paying too much for the shares is limited, and disappointments are less likely, unless information not publicly available. Only the company financing structure is on the riskier side (Safety Rank of 42), but that would also mean better returns for shareholders if things work out well. Good value is sometimes an indication that the company's future is challenging. If they have been growing above average and are still a good value, it may indicate that this will not continue. We recommend evaluating whether the future of Harvey Norman is as difficult as the low price of the stock, despite good growth and positive professional investor sentiment, suggests. Since the professional community is optimistic, you might have less to worry about, and the stock is just not sufficiently visible right now, which may indicate good timing. ...read more
Sentiment Strategy: Professional Market Sentiment for Harvey Norman very positive
ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Sentiment Rank of 79 (better than 79% compared with alternatives) for 2024, overall professional sentiment and engagement for the stock Harvey Norman is very positive. The Sentiment Rank is based on consolidating four sentiment indicators, with all but one indicator above average for Harvey Norman. Analyst Opinions are at a rank of 7 (worse than 93% of alternative investments), which means that currently, stock research analysts tend to warn against investing in the stock of the company. But they are changing their opinions! Analyst Opinions Change has a rank of 92, which indicates a shift in stock research experts opinions for the better. In other words, they are getting more optimistic about stock investments in Harvey Norman. Even better, the Professional Investors rank is 89, meaning that professional investors hold more stock in this company than in 89% of alternative investment opportunities. Pros tend to favor investing in this company. Furthermore, Market Pulse has a rank of 77, which means that the current professional news and professional social networks are upbeat when discussing this company (more positive news than for 77% of competitors). ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: With a consolidated Sentiment Rank of 79 (more positive than 79% compared with investment alternatives), Harvey Norman has a reputation among professional investors that is significantly higher than that of its competitors. While analysts are still critical of the company, some are changing their minds. In addition, the professional news channels are optimistic, and many institutional investors have already bought stock in the company. These are encouraging signals, despite the still lower level of analyst recommendations. They may be due to a problematic past, and about to change. The positive sentiment signals are stronger than the negative. ...read more
Value Strategy: Harvey Norman Stock Price Value better than average
ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Value Rank of 57 (better than 57% compared with alternatives), Harvey Norman 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 Harvey Norman. Price-to-Profit (also referred to as price to earnings, P/E ratio) is 52 which means that the stock price compared with what market professionals expect for future profits is lower than for 52% of comparable companies, indicating a good value concerning Harvey Norman's profit levels. The same is valid for the expected Price-to-Book Capital ratio (also referred to as market-to-book ratio) with a Price-to-Capital Rank of 65, and for Dividend Yield with a Dividend Yield Rank of 84. But, compared with other companies in the same industry, the stock price is higher than average as regards expected revenues; only 71% of all competitors have an even higher stock price as regards to sales revenues (a Price-to-Sales Rank of 29). Profits, the level of invested capital, and dividend policy suggest that this stock is attractively priced. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: The overall picture with a consolidated Value Rank of 57, is a buy recommendation based on Harvey Norman's stock price compared with the company's operational size and dividend yields. Since it is on the expensive side for Price-to-Sales, it may mean that Harvey Norman has pricing power in its distribution market because it can charge higher prices than its competitors. If this is the case, all four value indicators are positive signals for purchasing Harvey Norman shares. ...read more
Growth Strategy: Harvey Norman Growth Momentum good
ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Growth Rank of 73 (better than 73% compared with alternatives), Harvey Norman 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 Harvey Norman. Sales Growth has a rank of 56 which means that currently professionals expect the company to grow more than 56% of its competitors. Stock Returns are also above average with a rank of 87. But Capital Growth has only a rank of 49, which means that currently professionals expect the company to grow its invested capital less than 51% of its competitors. Profit Growth is also low, with a rank of only 10, which means that, currently, professionals expect the company to grow its profits below average. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: The overall picture with a consolidated Growth Rank of 73, is a buy recommendation for growth and momentum investors. This is a surprising picture, as the messages from the operating growth indicators of revenues, profits, and invested capital are mixed, while stock returns are above average. It may indicate new intellectual properties, such as brand improvement or a strong market position that shows in revenues but not in the capital. The low profit-growth rate may indicate an early phase where costs are still high, and revenues don't fully cover upfront investments or fixed costs. The positive investor outlook with a 87% peer outperformance is reaffirmed in this case which may be a good sign for an investment into a well-protected high-growth company. This fact needs to be confirmed by researching the company website and press. ...read more
Safety Strategy: Harvey Norman Debt Financing Safety below-average
| SAFETY METRICS | March 7, 2024 | |||||||
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| LEVERAGE | ||||||||
| LEVERAGE | 47 |
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| REFINANCING | ||||||||
| REFINANCING | 55 |
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| LIQUIDITY | ||||||||
| LIQUIDITY | 37 |
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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 Harvey Norman 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 Harvey Norman 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 Harvey Norman and the other two below average. Refinancing is at 55, meaning the portion of the debt about to be refinanced is below average. It has less debt in the refinancing stage than 55% of its competitors. But Leverage is high with a rank of 47, meaning the company has an above-average debt-to-equity ratio. It has more debt than 53% of its competitors. Liquidity is also on the riskier side with a rank of 37, meaning the company generates less profit to service its debt than 63% of its competitors. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: With a consolidated Safety Rank of 42 (worse than 58% compared with alternatives), Harvey Norman 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 Harvey Norman 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: Harvey Norman Above-Average Financial Performance
| COMBINED PERFORMANCE | March 7, 2024 | |||||||
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| VALUE | ||||||||
| VALUE | 57 |
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| GROWTH | ||||||||
| GROWTH | 73 |
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| SAFETY | ||||||||
| SAFETY | 37 |
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| COMBINED | ||||||||
| COMBINED | 73 |
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ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Combined Rank of 73 (better than 73% compared with investment alternatives), Harvey Norman (General Merchandise Stores, Australia) shares have above-average financial characteristics compared with similar stocks. Shares of Harvey Norman are a good value (attractively priced) with a consolidated Value Rank of 57 (better than 57% of alternatives), show above-average growth (Growth Rank of 73) but are riskily financed (Safety Rank of 42), which means above-average debt burdens. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: A Combined Rank of 73, is a buy recommendation based on Harvey Norman's financial characteristics. As the company Harvey Norman's key financial metrics exhibit excellent performance in two areas, such as good value (Obermatt Value Rank of 57) and above-average growth (Obermatt Growth Rank of 73), it could be argued that the risk-taking in financing (Obermatt Safety Rank of only 42) indicates that the company is optimistic about the future and sees debt as an opportunity to boost returns. More debt means more shareholder returns if everything goes well. However, higher debt burdens are risky when interest rates rise or the business deteriorates in a crisis. 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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