May 2, 2024
Top 10 Stock Howden 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: Howden – Top 10 Stock in FTSE 250 Index
Howden is listed as a top 10 stock on May 02, 2024 in the market index FTSE 250 because of its high performance in at least one of the Obermatt investment strategies. Three consolidated Obermatt Ranks are above-average. Only the Value Rank is below average. The investment rationale may be an investment in future growth, supported by professional market opinion. Based on the Obermatt 360° View of 94 (top 94% performer), Obermatt assesses an overall strong buy recommendation for Howden on May 02, 2024.
Snapshot: Obermatt Ranks
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Industry | Trading & Distribution |
| Index | FTSE All Shares, FTSE 250, FTSE 350, SDG 12, SDG 13, SDG 15, SDG 8, Water Tech |
| 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 Howden Strong Buy
| 360 METRICS | May 2, 2024 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| VALUE | ||||||||
| VALUE | 46 |
|
||||||
| GROWTH | ||||||||
| GROWTH | 73 |
|
||||||
| SAFETY | ||||||||
| SAFETY | 52 |
|
||||||
| SENTIMENT | ||||||||
| SENTIMENT | 96 |
|
||||||
| 360° VIEW | ||||||||
| 360° VIEW | 94 |
|
||||||
ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt 360° View of 94 (better than 94% compared with alternatives) for 2024, overall professional sentiment and financial characteristics for the stock Howden are very positive. The 360° View is based on consolidating four consolidated indicators, with all but one indicator above average for Howden. 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. This means that growth is higher than for 73% of competitors in the same industry. The consolidated Safety Rank at 52 means that the company has a financing structure that is safer than 52% comparable companies when looking at the amount of its debt, its refinancing requirements, and its ability to service debt. Finally, the consolidated Sentiment Rank has a good rank of 96, which means that professional investors are more optimistic about the stock than for 96% of alternative investment opportunities. But the consolidated Value Rank is less desirable at 46, meaning that the share price of Howden is on the higher side compared with indicators such as revenues, profits, and invested capital. This means the stock price is higher than for 54% of alternative stocks in the same industry. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: With a consolidated 360° View of 94, Howden is better positioned than 94% of all alternative stock investment opportunities based on the Obermatt Method. As three out of four consolidated Obermatt Ranks exhibit excellent performance, such as above-average growth (Growth Rank of 73), a safe financing structure (Safety Rank of 52), and positive professional market sentiment (Sentiment Rank of 96), it is a solid stock investment where growth may be the strongest driver of the investment rationale, also reflected by institutional investors. It is typical for growth companies to have low value, as is the case here. Investors are willing to pay more for companies that outperform their competitors. So the question is, how much more do you pay for the stock of Howden compared with alternatives? You can use the following rule of thumb: The growth rank measures the growth momentum of the company (73% better than peers). The value rank could be the reverse reflection of that (27%). A Value Rank below that level may be assessed as expensive, a rank above that is still good value. Sometimes market sentiment just reflects the past, sometimes the reality. You pay more than the market average for this stock, but it may be worth it. ...read more
Sentiment Strategy: Professional Market Sentiment for Howden very positive
ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Sentiment Rank of 96 (better than 96% compared with alternatives) for 2024, overall professional sentiment and engagement for the stock Howden is very positive. The Sentiment Rank is based on consolidating four sentiment indicators, with all four indicators above average for Howden. Analyst Opinions are at a rank of 71 (better than 71% of alternative investments), which means that, currently, stock research analysts tend to recommend a stock investment in the company. Analyst Opinions Change is also positive with a rank of 54, which means that stock research experts are changing their opinions for the better and recommending investing in the company. They are getting more optimistic about stock investments in Howden. 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. Pros tend to favor investing in this company. Finally, Market Pulse has a rank of 71 which means that the current professional news and professional social networks are on the positive side when discussing this company (more positive news than for 71% of competitors). ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: With a consolidated Sentiment Rank of 96 (more positive than 96% compared with investment alternatives), Howden has a reputation among professional investors that is significantly higher than that of its competitors. Since all market sentiment indicators are positive, the professional community highly recommends investment in the company. Does this mean Howden stocks are a safe investment? Far from it. Even professionals make mistakes. Especially in stock investing, there is a tendency to follow the leaders. Since trees don't grow to the heavens, such positive sentiment may also be interpreted as a danger sign. A lot of optimism can often be a sign of troubles to come, albeit unforeseen by most. ...read more
Value Strategy: Howden Stock Price Value below-average critical
ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Value Rank of 46 (worse than 54% compared with alternatives), Howden shares are more expensive than the average comparable stock. The Value Rank is based on consolidating four value indicators, with half of the indicators below and half above average for Howden. Price-to-Profit (also referred to as price-earnings, P/E) is 50 which means that the stock price compared with what market professionals expect for future profits is lower than for 50% of comparable companies, indicating a good value concerning Howden's profit levels. The same is valid for Price-to-Book Capital (also referred to as market-to-book ratio) with a Price-to-Book Rank of 27, which means that the stock price is lower as regards to invested capital than for 27% of comparable investments. On the other hand, Price-to-Sales is less favorable than 77% of alternatives (only 23% of peers have an even less favorable ratio). The same is valid for dividend yield, which is lower than 38% of comparable companies, making the stock more expensive as regards to the company's expected dividend payouts. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: The overall picture with a consolidated Value Rank of 46, is a hold recommendation based on Howden's stock price compared with the company's operational size and dividend yields. This is a puzzling picture, because it means that profits are high while dividends are low. Since the stock price is low compared with invested capital but high in respect to expected revenues, it means that the company has more invested capital than peers for generating the same amount of revenue. Since profits are higher, it could be a "cash cow" situation (using the classic Boston Consulting BCG matrix naming convention) where the company is on a downward trend, still living from the profits of past products. As the company pays low dividends, it may harbor the opinion that a turnaround is possible, and it rather invests the cash than pay it out to shareholders, thus sealing the company's fate early. Any investment optimism should only be a buy trigger once thorough research is completed. ...read more
Growth Strategy: Howden Growth Momentum good
ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Growth Rank of 73 (better than 73% compared with alternatives), Howden 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 all but one indicator above average for Howden. Sales Growth has a rank of 66 which means that currently, professionals expect the company to grow more than 66% of its competitors. Both Profit Growth, with a rank of 52, and Stock Returns, with a rank of 84, are also above average. But Capital Growth only has a rank of 36, which means that, currently, professionals expect the company to grow its invested capital less than 64% of its competitors. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: The overall picture with a consolidated Growth Rank of 73, is a buy recommendation for growth and momentum investors. That may be a good sign if the company is already well positioned and doesn't require more investments at this time. They may focus on growing the top (revenues) and bottom (profits) lines, recently rewarded with above-average stock returns for shareholders. But it may also be a sign of danger as the company is falling back with capital investment activities concerning competition. This requires further analysis of corporate communications. ...read more
Safety Strategy: Howden Debt Financing Safety above-average
| SAFETY METRICS | May 2, 2024 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LEVERAGE | ||||||||
| LEVERAGE | 37 |
|
||||||
| REFINANCING | ||||||||
| REFINANCING | 38 |
|
||||||
| LIQUIDITY | ||||||||
| LIQUIDITY | 77 |
|
||||||
| CONSOLIDATED RANK: SAFETY | ||||||||
| CONSOLIDATED RANK: SAFETY | 52 |
|
||||||
ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Safety Rank of 52 (better than 52% compared with alternatives), the company Howden 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 Howden 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 just one indicator above average for Howden. Liquidity is at 77, meaning the company generates more profit to service its debt than 77% of its competitors. This indicates that the company is safer when it comes to debt service. But Refinancing is riskier at a rank of 38, 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 62% of its competitors. Leverage is also high at a rank of 37, which means that the company has an above-average debt-to-equity ratio. It has more debt than 63% of its competitors. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: With a consolidated Safety Rank of 52 (better than 52% compared with alternatives), Howden has a financing structure that is safer than that of its competitors. High Leverage (a low Obermatt Leverage Rank) is good in good times, because it usually indicates that shareholders get higher returns. The good Liquidity performance of the company is an indicator that this is the case. However, if you expect an economic downturn, you may stay clear of this stock because they have an above-average debt level that needs refinancing soon. ...read more
Combined financial peformance: Howden Above-Average Financial Performance
| COMBINED PERFORMANCE | May 2, 2024 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| VALUE | ||||||||
| VALUE | 46 |
|
||||||
| GROWTH | ||||||||
| GROWTH | 73 |
|
||||||
| SAFETY | ||||||||
| SAFETY | 77 |
|
||||||
| COMBINED | ||||||||
| COMBINED | 70 |
|
||||||
ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Combined Rank of 70 (better than 70% compared with investment alternatives), Howden (Trading & Distribution, United Kingdom) shares have above-average financial characteristics compared with similar stocks. Shares of Howden are low in value (priced high) with a consolidated Value Rank of 46 (worse than 54% of alternatives). But they show above-average growth (Growth Rank of 73) and are safely financed (Safety Rank of 52, which means below-average debt burdens). ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: A Combined Rank of 70, is a buy recommendation based on Howden's financial characteristics. Investors looking for growth and low financial risk may find this stock attractive. While the company Howden exhibits low value (Obermatt Value Rank of 46), which means that the stock price is rather high, it also demonstrates above-average growth (Obermatt Growth Rank of 73). This is a typical case, as high-growth companies are often expensive. Good financing practices (Obermatt Safety Rank of 52) are a double-edged sword: if the company continues growing, low debt limits shareholder returns. But if the company increases its debt, it will also increase risk. In other words, this is an investment on the safer side, despite the above-average price (low value). ...read more
Obermatt Portfolio Performance
We’re so convinced about our research, that we buy our stock tips.
See the performance of the Obermatt portfolio.