Fact based stock research
iA Financial (TSX:IAG)

CA45075E1043

How to read the free 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.

iA Financial stock research in summary

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ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Combined Rank of 79 (better than 79% compared with investment alternatives), iA Financial (Life & Health Insurance, Canada) shares have much better financial characteristics than comparable stocks. Shares of iA Financial are low in value (priced high) with a consolidated Value Rank of 33 (worse than 67% of alternatives) and show below-average growth (Growth Rank of 41) but are safely financed (Safety Rank of 84), which means low debt burdens. ...read more

RECOMMENDATION: A Combined Rank of 79, is a strong buy recommendation based on iA Financial's financial characteristics. As the company iA Financial's critical financial metrics exhibit below-average performance, such as low value (Obermatt Value Rank of 33) and low growth (Obermatt Growth Rank of 41), 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 84) 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. 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	33
Growth Rank	41
Safety Rank	84
Combined Rank	79

Country	Canada
Industry	Life & Health Insurance
Index	SDG 10, SDG 11, SDG 13, SDG 3, SDG 8, TSX Composite
Size class	X-Large

This stock has achievements: Top 10 Stock.

19-Dec-2024. Stock data may be delayed. Log in or sign up to get the most recent research.

Further information

Multiple opinions. One number.

Analysts rarely agree on a stock’s future. So, who do you believe? Obermatt translates those collective views into a single Sentiment Rank. That plus the financial ranks give you the ultimate 360° View. Sign up to access them.

Why popular stocks have low ratings

It’s easier said than done. When your stock drops, it’s easy to want to sell it and find a better performer. Think twice, or even three times, before trading. Those fees (especially the hidden ones) can eat up your gains.

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

Research History: iA Financial

RESEARCH HISTORY	2021	2022	2023	2024
VALUE
VALUE	74	57	86	33
GROWTH
GROWTH	61	87	81	41
SAFETY
SAFETY	25	84	84	84
SENTIMENT
SENTIMENT	n/a	97	78	^new
360° VIEW
360° VIEW	n/a	97	80	^new

Most recent update of the stock research: 19-Dec-2024. Financial reporting date used for calculating ranks: 30-Sep-2024. Stock research history is based on the Obermatt Method. The higher the rank, the better iA Financial is in the corresponding investment strategy.
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Combined financial peformance in Detail

RESEARCH HISTORY	2021	2022	2023	2024
VALUE
VALUE	74	57	86	33
GROWTH
GROWTH	61	87	81	41
SAFETY
SAFETY	25	84	84	84
COMBINED
COMBINED	47	79	79	79

Last update of combined financial performance: 6-Oct-2022. Stock analysis on combined financial performance: The higher the rank of iA Financial the better the performance.

Value Metrics in Detail

ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Value Rank of 33 (worse than 67% compared with alternatives), iA Financial 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 iA Financial. Price-to-Profit (also referred to as price-earnings, P/E) is 56 which means that the stock price compared with what market professionals expect for future profits is lower than for 56% of comparable companies, indicating a good value concerning iA Financial'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 43, which means that the stock price is lower as regards to invested capital than for 43% of comparable investments. On the other hand, Price-to-Sales is less favorable than 99% of alternatives (only 1% of peers have an even less favorable ratio). The same is valid for dividend yield, which is lower than 23% 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 33, is a hold recommendation based on iA Financial'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. 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	2021	2022	2023	2024
PRICE VS. REVENUES (P/S)
PRICE VS. REVENUES (P/S)	83	21	76	1
PRICE VS. PROFITS (P/E)
PRICE VS. PROFITS (P/E)	64	84	75	56
PRICE VS. CAPITAL (Market-to-Book)
PRICE VS. CAPITAL (Market-to-Book)	53	47	57	43
DIVIDEND YIELD
DIVIDEND YIELD	64	79	80	77
CONSOLIDATED RANK: VALUE
CONSOLIDATED RANK: VALUE	74	57	86	33

Last update of Value Rank: 19-Dec-2024. Stock analysis on value ratios: The higher the rank, the lower the value ratio of iA Financial; except for dividend yield where the rank is higher, the higher the yield.

Growth Metrics in Detail

ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Growth Rank of 41 (better than 41% compared with alternatives), iA Financial 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 half of the indicators below and half above average for iA Financial. Profit Growth has a rank of 64, which means that currently professionals expect the company to grow its profits more than 64% of its competitors. This is a good sign for shareholders, which is confirmed by an above-average Stock Returns rank of 77 (above 77% of alternative investments). But Sales Growth has a below the median rank of 1, which means that, currently, professionals expect the company to grow less than 99% of its competitors, and Capital Growth also has a lower rank of 25. ...read more

RECOMMENDATION: The overall picture with a consolidated Growth Rank of 41, is a hold recommendation for growth and momentum investors. Because revenues and invested capital are the more solid growth indicators, the positive development on the profit side is less relevant. It may have been caused by cost-cutting, which may be a negative growth indicator. Finally, the above-average stock returns recently are a thing of the past and not a good indicator of future returns. Investors should be confident that the cost-cutting initiative leading to higher profits is to benefit the company's future. If not, there is little growth momentum, and investment is only advisable if the Value Ranks suggest a good investment timing for iA Financial. 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 mixed here. ...read more

GROWTH METRICS	2021	2022	2023	2024
REVENUE GROWTH
REVENUE GROWTH	21	80	100	1
PROFIT GROWTH
PROFIT GROWTH	80	60	29	64
CAPITAL GROWTH
CAPITAL GROWTH	n/a	39	77	25
STOCK RETURNS
STOCK RETURNS	88	73	55	77
CONSOLIDATED RANK: GROWTH
CONSOLIDATED RANK: GROWTH	61	87	81	41

Last update of Growth Rank: 19-Dec-2024. Stock analysis on growth metrics: The higher the rank, the higher the growth and returns of iA Financial.

Safety Metrics in Detail

ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Safety Rank of 84 (better than 84% compared with alternatives) for 2022, the company iA Financial has safe financing practices, which means that their overall debt burden is low. This doesn't mean that the business of iA Financial 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, where all three are above average for iA Financial. Leverage is at 82, meaning the company has a below-average debt-to-equity ratio. It has less debt than 82% of its competitors. Refinancing is at a rank of 64, meaning that the portion of the debt about to be refinanced is below average. It has less debt in the refinancing stage than 64% of its competitors. Finally, Liquidity is also good at a rank of 66, which means that the company generates more profit to service its debt than 66% of its competitors. ...read more

RECOMMENDATION: With a consolidated Safety Rank of 84 (better than 84% compared with alternatives), iA Financial has a financing structure that is significantly safer than that of its competitors. These three positive financing indicators signal that the company is less likely to default on its debt obligations. However, it also means that its shareholder returns will be more modest if things go well. A low safety means fewer troubles in downtimes and less upside in good times. Investors may not have a debt issue with iA Financial but they should also compare Obermatt’s Value, Growth, and Sentiment Ranks before making a decision. ...read more

SAFETY METRICS	2021	2022	2023	2024
LEVERAGE
LEVERAGE	27	60	83	82
REFINANCING
REFINANCING	38	64	64	64
LIQUIDITY
LIQUIDITY	53	1	94	66
CONSOLIDATED RANK: SAFETY
CONSOLIDATED RANK: SAFETY	25	84	84	84

Last update of Safety Rank: 6-Oct-2022. Stock analysis on safety metrics: The higher the rank, the lower the leverage of iA Financial and the more cash is available to service its debt.

Sentiment Metrics in Detail

SENTIMENT	2021	2022	2023	2024
ANALYST OPINIONS
ANALYST OPINIONS	n/a	96	74	^new
OPINIONS CHANGE
OPINIONS CHANGE	n/a	50	50	^new
PRO HOLDINGS
PRO HOLDINGS	n/a	99	50	^new
MARKET PULSE
MARKET PULSE	n/a	48	91	^new
CONSOLIDATED RANK: SENTIMENT
CONSOLIDATED RANK: SENTIMENT	n/a	97	78	^new

Last update of Sentiment Rank: 19-Dec-2024. Stock analysis on sentiment metrics: The higher the rank, the more positive the sentiment for iA Financial.
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