May 2, 2024
Top 10 Stock Pathward Financial 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: Pathward Financial – Top 10 Stock in SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy
Pathward Financial is listed as a top 10 stock on May 02, 2024 in the market index SDG 7 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 52 (high 52% performer), Obermatt assesses an overall buy recommendation for Pathward Financial on May 02, 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 Pathward Financial Buy
| 360 METRICS | May 2, 2024 | |||||||
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| VALUE | ||||||||
| VALUE | 30 |
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| GROWTH | ||||||||
| GROWTH | 5 |
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| SAFETY | ||||||||
| SAFETY | 100 |
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| SENTIMENT | ||||||||
| SENTIMENT | 74 |
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| 360° VIEW | ||||||||
| 360° VIEW | 52 |
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ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt 360° View of 52 (better than 52% compared with alternatives), overall professional sentiment and financial characteristics for the stock Pathward Financial are above average. The 360° View is based on consolidating four consolidated indicators, with half below and half above average for Pathward Financial. The consolidated Sentiment Rank has a good rank of 74, which means that professional investors are more optimistic about the stock than for 74% of alternative investment opportunities. It also rates well regarding its financing structure, with the consolidated Safety Rank at 100 or better than 100% 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 30, meaning that the share price of Pathward Financial 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 5. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: With a consolidated 360° View of 52, Pathward Financial is better positioned 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 74) and safe financing practices (Safety Rank of 100), 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 Pathward Financiaḷ 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 Pathward Financial positive
ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Sentiment Rank of 74 (better than 74% compared with alternatives), overall professional sentiment and engagement for the stock Pathward Financial is above average. The Sentiment Rank is based on consolidating four sentiment indicators, with half of the metrics below and half above average for Pathward Financial. Analyst Opinions are at a rank of 34 (worse than 66% 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 98, which means that stock research experts are more positive in their investment recommendations in the company. In other words, they are getting more optimistic of stock investments in Pathward Financial. More encouragingly, the Professional Investors rank is 84, which means that professional investors hold more stock in this company than in 84% of alternative investment opportunities. Pros tend to favor investing in this company. But Market Pulse is on the lower side with a rank of 46, which means that the current professional news and professional social networks are on the negative side when discussing this company (more negative news than for 54% of competitors). ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: With a consolidated Sentiment Rank of 74 (more positive than 74% compared with investment alternatives), Pathward Financial has a reputation among professional investors that is above-average compared with that of its competitors. The sentiment signals are mixed for Pathward Financial. While analysts and the news channels are negative, there is a change in what analysts think. Above-average institutional investors in this company support them. Sentiment signals remain mixed with analysts and news channels pessimistic, though improving, and professional investors above average. ...read more
Value Strategy: Pathward Financial Stock Price Value below-average critical
ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Value Rank of 30 (worse than 70% compared with alternatives), Pathward Financial shares are more expensive than the average comparable stock. The Value Rank is based on consolidating four value indicators, where half the indicators are below and half are above average for Pathward Financial. Price-to-Sales (P/S) is 85, which means that the stock price compared with what market professionals expect for future sales is lower than for 85% of comparable companies, indicating a good value concerning Pathward Financial's revenue size. The same is valid for expected Price-to-Profits (or Price / Earnings, P/E), more favorable than for 82% of alternatives. It is also positive for expected dividend yields with a Dividend Yield rank of 4 (dividends are expected to be higher than for 4% of other stocks). But, compared with other companies in the same industry, the Price-to-Book Capital ratio (also referred to as market-to-book ratio) is higher than average, making the stock more expensive. Only 97% of all competitors have an even higher price compared with book capital which puts the Price-to-Capital Rank for Pathward Financial to 3. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: The overall picture with a consolidated Value Rank of 30, is a hold recommendation based on Pathward Financial's stock price compared with the company's operational size and dividend yields. A low level of book capital means that the company has a business that is leaner on assets than its competitors. For instance, the company could be leasing its production facilities, or be more focussed on intellectual property, such as its brand and software, which is less visible in its book capital. If that is the case, the low Dividend Yield is also explained as such companies tend to invest their income into market development. The other good value ranks for Sales and Profits are encouraging indicators for the stock price value. ...read more
Growth Strategy: Pathward Financial Growth Momentum negative
ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Growth Rank of 5 (better than 5% compared with alternatives), Pathward Financial shows one of the most restricted growth dynamics in its industry. There is little momentum in this company. The Growth Rank is based on consolidating four value indicators, with three out of four metrics below average for Pathward Financial. While Profit Growth has a good rank of 65, as professionals currently expect the company to grow its profits more than 65% of its competitors, all other growth indicators are below market averages. Sales Growth has a rank of 12, which means that currently professionals expect the company to grow less than 88% of its competitors, while Capital Growth has a rank of 9 and Stock Returns have been below market median, with a rank of 47 (53% of alternative investments were better). ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: The overall picture with a consolidated Growth Rank of 5, is a sell recommendation for growth and momentum investors. While revenue growth and capital growth are good growth momentum indicators, profit is less reliable, because profits may increase due to cost-cutting measures which typically indicate negative growth momentum. "You can save a dollar only once" is the saying about such situations. Growth Investors should look at company priorities closely if they are interested in growth, because the increase in profits is not usually an indicator of growth, and stock prices have been below market, too. ...read more
Safety Strategy: Pathward Financial Debt Financing Safety very solid
| SAFETY METRICS | May 2, 2024 | |||||||
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| LEVERAGE | ||||||||
| LEVERAGE | 88 |
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| REFINANCING | ||||||||
| REFINANCING | 45 |
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| LIQUIDITY | ||||||||
| LIQUIDITY | 100 |
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| CONSOLIDATED RANK: SAFETY | ||||||||
| CONSOLIDATED RANK: SAFETY | 100 |
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ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Safety Rank of 100 (better than 100% compared with alternatives) for 2024, the company Pathward Financial has safe financing practices, which means that their overall debt burden is low. This doesn't mean that the business of Pathward 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, with two out of three indicators above average for Pathward Financial. Leverage is at a rank of 88, meaning the company has a below-average debt-to-equity ratio. It has less debt than 88% of its competitors. Liquidity is also good at a rank of 100, meaning the company generates more profit to service its debt than 100% 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 45, 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 55% of its competitors. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: With a consolidated Safety Rank of 100 (better than 100% compared with alternatives), Pathward Financial has a financing structure that is significantly 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 Pathward Financial. 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: Pathward Financial Below-Average Financial Performance
| COMBINED PERFORMANCE | May 2, 2024 | |||||||
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| VALUE | ||||||||
| VALUE | 30 |
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| GROWTH | ||||||||
| GROWTH | 5 |
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| SAFETY | ||||||||
| SAFETY | 100 |
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| COMBINED | ||||||||
| COMBINED | 35 |
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ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Combined Rank of 35 (worse than 65% compared with investment alternatives), Pathward Financial (Regional Banks, USA) shares have somewhat below-average financial characteristics compared with similar stocks. Shares of Pathward Financial are low in value (priced high) with a consolidated Value Rank of 30 (worse than 70% of alternatives) and show below-average growth (Growth Rank of 5) but are safely financed (Safety Rank of 100), which means low debt burdens. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: A Combined Rank of 35, is a hold recommendation based on Pathward Financial's financial characteristics. As the company Pathward Financial's critical financial metrics exhibit below-average performance, such as low value (Obermatt Value Rank of 30) and low growth (Obermatt Growth Rank of 5), 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 100) 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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