Fact based stock research
ME Group (LSE:PHTM)

GB0008481250

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.

ME Group stock research in summary

photo-me.co.uk

ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Combined Rank of 85 (better than 85% compared with investment alternatives), ME Group (Leisure Products, United Kingdom) shares have much better financial characteristics than comparable stocks. Shares of ME Group are a good value (attractively priced) with a consolidated Value Rank of 66 (better than 66% of alternatives), show above-average growth (Growth Rank of 68), and are safely financed (Safety Rank of 56), which means low debt burdens. ...read more

RECOMMENDATION: A Combined Rank of 85, is a strong buy recommendation based on ME Group's financial characteristics. As the company ME Group's key financial metrics all exhibit excellent performance, such as good value (Obermatt Value Rank of 66), above-average growth (Obermatt Growth Rank of 68), and indicate that the company is safely financed (Obermatt Safety Rank of 56), it is a solid stock investment where the risk of paying too much for the share is limited, unless the company has a bleak future. Such good financial performance can indicate that the company's future might actually be challenging, as it may be difficult to maintain the good performance. If they are safely financed and have been growing above average, and are still a good value, it means that the market is keeping prices low, for a reason which may become clearer over time. We recommend evaluating the future of ME Group. If you believe the company's future is market-typical or even better, this could be an argument for a share purchase. 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	66
Growth Rank	68
Safety Rank	56
Combined Rank	85

Country	United Kingdom
Industry	Leisure Products
Index	FTSE All Shares
Size class	Medium

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.

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

Research History: ME Group

RESEARCH HISTORY	2021	2022	2023	2024
VALUE
VALUE	39	91	83	66
GROWTH
GROWTH	75	67	81	68
SAFETY
SAFETY	15	54	53	56
SENTIMENT
SENTIMENT	n/a	94	97	^new
360° VIEW
360° VIEW	n/a	93	100	^new

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

RESEARCH HISTORY	2021	2022	2023	2024
VALUE
VALUE	39	91	83	66
GROWTH
GROWTH	75	67	81	68
SAFETY
SAFETY	15	54	53	56
COMBINED
COMBINED	8	98	100	85

Last update of combined financial performance: 19-Dec-2024. Stock analysis on combined financial performance: The higher the rank of ME Group the better the performance.

Value Metrics in Detail

ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Value Rank of 66 (better than 66% compared with alternatives), ME Group 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 ME Group. Price-to-Profit (also referred to as price-earnings, P/E) is 64 which means that the stock price compared with what market professionals expect for future profits is lower than for 64% of comparable companies, indicating a good value concerning ME Group'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 23, which means that the stock price is lower as regards to invested capital than for 23% of comparable investments. On the other hand, Price-to-Sales is less favorable than 55% of alternatives (only 45% of peers have an even less favorable ratio). The same is valid for dividend yield, which is lower than 8% 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 66, is a buy recommendation based on ME Group'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)	89	83	58	45
PRICE VS. PROFITS (P/E)
PRICE VS. PROFITS (P/E)	15	35	84	64
PRICE VS. CAPITAL (Market-to-Book)
PRICE VS. CAPITAL (Market-to-Book)	64	80	38	23
DIVIDEND YIELD
DIVIDEND YIELD	1	98	100	92
CONSOLIDATED RANK: VALUE
CONSOLIDATED RANK: VALUE	39	91	83	66

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

Growth Metrics in Detail

ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Growth Rank of 68 (better than 68% compared with alternatives), ME Group 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 ME Group. Capital Growth has a rank of 74, which means that currently professionals expect the company to grow its invested capital more than 42% of its competitors. Investors welcomed this, visible in the Stock Returns rank of 96 (above 96% of alternative investments). But Sales Growth has only a rank of 45, which means that, currently, professionals expect the company to grow less than 55% of its competitors, and Profit Growth is also low at a rank of 42. ...read more

RECOMMENDATION: The overall picture with a consolidated Growth Rank of 68, is a buy recommendation for growth and momentum investors. This is an ambiguous picture. Revenue growth and capital growth are strong, but the growth in profit, which seems good, can also be an indication that growth momentum may be negative. The fact that stock returns have been above average doesn't help much, as stock returns are less reliable in showing a company’s future growth potential. Prices may perform well for the simple reason that investors were too pessimistic in the past and are now correcting their opinions and moving the stock price to a more reasonable level. As the growth picture is mixed for ME Group, investors may want to look at value and sentiment indicators for a well-rounded picture of this stock. 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	14	77	70	45
PROFIT GROWTH
PROFIT GROWTH	65	93	76	42
CAPITAL GROWTH
CAPITAL GROWTH	n/a	59	46	74
STOCK RETURNS
STOCK RETURNS	86	67	77	96
CONSOLIDATED RANK: GROWTH
CONSOLIDATED RANK: GROWTH	75	67	81	68

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

Safety Metrics in Detail

ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Safety Rank of 56 (better than 56% compared with alternatives), the company ME Group 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 ME Group 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 ME Group. Leverage is at a rank of 50, meaning the company has a below-average debt-to-equity ratio. It has less debt than 50% of its competitors. Liquidity is also good at a rank of 76, meaning the company generates more profit to service its debt than 76% 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 32, 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 68% of its competitors. ...read more

RECOMMENDATION: With a consolidated Safety Rank of 56 (better than 56% compared with alternatives), ME Group has a financing structure that is 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 ME Group. 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. Investors may have a short-term debt challenge with ME Group and should also compare Obermatt’s Value, Growth, and Sentiment Ranks before making a decision. ...read more

SAFETY METRICS	2021	2022	2023	2024
LEVERAGE
LEVERAGE	50	36	23	50
REFINANCING
REFINANCING	14	73	60	32
LIQUIDITY
LIQUIDITY	30	37	64	76
CONSOLIDATED RANK: SAFETY
CONSOLIDATED RANK: SAFETY	15	54	53	56

Last update of Safety Rank: 19-Dec-2024. Stock analysis on safety metrics: The higher the rank, the lower the leverage of ME Group 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	100	70	^new
OPINIONS CHANGE
OPINIONS CHANGE	n/a	50	89	^new
PRO HOLDINGS
PRO HOLDINGS	n/a	98	86	^new
MARKET PULSE
MARKET PULSE	n/a	54	68	^new
CONSOLIDATED RANK: SENTIMENT
CONSOLIDATED RANK: SENTIMENT	n/a	94	97	^new

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