October 31, 2024
Top 10 Stock Italgas 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: Italgas – Top 10 Stock in Milano Italia Borsa Index MIB
Italgas is listed as a top 10 stock on October 31, 2024 in the market index MIB 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 76 (top 76% performer), Obermatt assesses an overall strong buy recommendation for Italgas on October 31, 2024.
Snapshot: Obermatt Ranks
| Country | Italy |
| Industry | Gas Utilities |
| Index | MIB, Dividends Europe |
| 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 Italgas Strong Buy
| 360 METRICS | October 31, 2024 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| VALUE | ||||||||
| VALUE | 69 |
|
||||||
| GROWTH | ||||||||
| GROWTH | 89 |
|
||||||
| SAFETY | ||||||||
| SAFETY | 22 |
|
||||||
| SENTIMENT | ||||||||
| SENTIMENT | 69 |
|
||||||
| 360° VIEW | ||||||||
| 360° VIEW | 76 |
|
||||||
ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt 360° View of 76 (better than 76% compared with alternatives) for 2024, overall professional sentiment and financial characteristics for the stock Italgas are very positive. The 360° View is based on consolidating four consolidated indicators, with all but one indicator above average for Italgas. The consolidated Value Rank has an attractive rank of 69, which means that the share price of Italgas 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 69% of alternative stocks in the same industry. The consolidated Growth Rank has a good rank of 89, 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 69. But the company’s financing is risky with a Safety rank of 22. This means 78% of comparable companies have a safer financing structure than Italgas. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: With a consolidated 360° View of 76, Italgas is better positioned than 76% 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 69), above-average growth (Growth Rank of 89), and positive market sentiment in the professional investor community (Sentiment Rank of 69), 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 22), 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 Italgas 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 Italgas positive
ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Sentiment Rank of 69 (better than 69% compared with alternatives), overall professional sentiment and engagement for the stock Italgas is above average. The Sentiment Rank is based on consolidating four sentiment indicators, with all but one indicator above average for Italgas. Analyst Opinions are at a rank of 37 (worse than 63% 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 57, which indicates a shift in stock research experts opinions for the better. In other words, they are getting more optimistic about stock investments in Italgas. Even better, the Professional Investors rank is 91, meaning that professional investors hold more stock in this company than in 91% of alternative investment opportunities. Pros tend to favor investing in this company. Furthermore, Market Pulse has a rank of 54, which means that the current professional news and professional social networks are upbeat when discussing this company (more positive news than for 54% of competitors). ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: With a consolidated Sentiment Rank of 69 (more positive than 69% compared with investment alternatives), Italgas has a reputation among professional investors that is above-average compared with 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: Italgas Stock Price Value better than average
ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Value Rank of 69 (better than 69% compared with alternatives), Italgas shares are more attractively priced than the majority of comparable stocks. The Value Rank is based on consolidating four value indicators, with half of the indicators below and half above average for Italgas. Price-to-Profit (also referred to as price-earnings, P/E) is 85 which means that the stock price compared with what market professionals expect for future profits is lower than for 85% of comparable companies, indicating a good value concerning Italgas'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 41, which means that the stock price is lower as regards to invested capital than for 41% of comparable investments. On the other hand, Price-to-Sales is less favorable than 64% of alternatives (only 36% of peers have an even less favorable ratio). The same is valid for dividend yield, which is lower than 14% 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 69, is a buy recommendation based on Italgas'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: Italgas Growth Momentum high
ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Growth Rank of 89 (better than 89% compared with alternatives) for 2024, Italgas shows one of the highest growth dynamics in its industry. Investors also speak of high momentum. The Growth Rank is based on consolidating four value indicators, with all four indicators above average for Italgas. Sales Growth has a value of 91, which means that, currently, professionals expect the company to grow more than 91% of its competitors. The same is valid for Profit Growth with a value of 61 and for Capital Growth with 60. In addition, Stock Returns had an above-average rank value of 79, which means they have been higher than 79% of comparable investments. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: The overall picture with a consolidated Growth Rank of 89, is a buy recommendation for growth and momentum investors. Since all Growth Ranks are positive, Italgas exhibits above-average growth momentum. This could be due to a uniquely strong market position, proprietary technology, or an extensive corporate acquisition strategy. Growth investors will find this an attractive investment opportunity, unless they expect that the current phase is transitory and will deteriorate in the future. The current performance could also be a temporary recovery from a very low point, such as a turn-around situation. In the case of a turn-around, the current performance may or may not be followed by a continuing positive development. ...read more
Safety Strategy: Italgas Debt Financing Safety risky
| SAFETY METRICS | October 31, 2024 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LEVERAGE | ||||||||
| LEVERAGE | 11 |
|
||||||
| REFINANCING | ||||||||
| REFINANCING | 9 |
|
||||||
| LIQUIDITY | ||||||||
| LIQUIDITY | 84 |
|
||||||
| CONSOLIDATED RANK: SAFETY | ||||||||
| CONSOLIDATED RANK: SAFETY | 22 |
|
||||||
ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Safety Rank of 22 (better than 22% compared with alternatives), the company Italgas has much riskier financing practices than comparable other companies, which means that their overall debt burden is significantly above the industry average. This doesn't mean that the business of Italgas 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 Italgas. Liquidity is at 84, meaning the company generates more profit to service its debt than 84% of its competitors. This indicates that the company is safer when it comes to debt service. But Refinancing is riskier at a rank of 9, 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 91% of its competitors. Leverage is also high at a rank of 11, which means that the company has an above-average debt-to-equity ratio. It has more debt than 89% of its competitors. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: With a consolidated Safety Rank of 22 (worse than 78% compared with alternatives), Italgas has a financing structure that is significantly riskier 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: Italgas Above-Average Financial Performance
| COMBINED PERFORMANCE | October 31, 2024 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| VALUE | ||||||||
| VALUE | 69 |
|
||||||
| GROWTH | ||||||||
| GROWTH | 89 |
|
||||||
| SAFETY | ||||||||
| SAFETY | 84 |
|
||||||
| COMBINED | ||||||||
| COMBINED | 72 |
|
||||||
ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Combined Rank of 72 (better than 72% compared with investment alternatives), Italgas (Gas Utilities, Italy) shares have above-average financial characteristics compared with similar stocks. Shares of Italgas are a good value (attractively priced) with a consolidated Value Rank of 69 (better than 69% of alternatives), show above-average growth (Growth Rank of 89) but are riskily financed (Safety Rank of 22), which means above-average debt burdens. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: A Combined Rank of 72, is a buy recommendation based on Italgas's financial characteristics. As the company Italgas's key financial metrics exhibit excellent performance in two areas, such as good value (Obermatt Value Rank of 69) and above-average growth (Obermatt Growth Rank of 89), it could be argued that the risk-taking in financing (Obermatt Safety Rank of only 22) 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
Obermatt Portfolio Performance
We’re so convinced about our research, that we buy our stock tips.
See the performance of the Obermatt portfolio.