April 18, 2024
Top 10 Stock Scales 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: Scales – Top 10 Stock in SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation
Scales is listed as a top 10 stock on April 18, 2024 in the market index SDG 6 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 Scales on April 18, 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 Scales Strong Buy
| 360 METRICS | April 18, 2024 | |||||||
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| VALUE | ||||||||
| VALUE | 70 |
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| GROWTH | ||||||||
| GROWTH | 71 |
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| SAFETY | ||||||||
| SAFETY | 49 |
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| SENTIMENT | ||||||||
| SENTIMENT | 51 |
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| 360° VIEW | ||||||||
| 360° VIEW | 76 |
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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 Scales are very positive. The 360° View is based on consolidating four consolidated indicators, with all but one indicator above average for Scales. The consolidated Value Rank has an attractive rank of 70, which means that the share price of Scales 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 70% of alternative stocks in the same industry. The consolidated Growth Rank has a good rank of 71, 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 51. But the company’s financing is risky with a Safety rank of 49. This means 51% of comparable companies have a safer financing structure than Scales. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: With a consolidated 360° View of 76, Scales 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 70), above-average growth (Growth Rank of 71), and positive market sentiment in the professional investor community (Sentiment Rank of 51), 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 49), 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 Scales 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 Scales positive
ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Sentiment Rank of 51 (better than 51% compared with alternatives), overall professional sentiment and engagement for the stock Scales is above average. The Sentiment Rank is based on consolidating four sentiment indicators, with all but one indicator above average for Scales. Analyst Opinions are at a rank of 63 (better than 63% of alternative investments), which means that currently, stock research analysts tend to recommend a stock investment in the company. In addition, Analyst Opinions Change has a rank of 50, which means that currently, stock research experts are getting even more optimistic. Obermatt Market Pulse further supports this with a rank of 82, which means that the current professional news and professional social networks are generally positive when discussing this company (more positive news than for 82% of competitors). But there are few stock holdings by institutional investors. The Professional Investors rank is low at 23, which means that currently, professional investors hold less stock in this company than in 77% of alternative investment opportunities. Pros tend to invest in other companies. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: With a consolidated Sentiment Rank of 51 (more positive than 51% compared with investment alternatives), Scales has a reputation among professional investors that is above-average compared with that of its competitors. Not having too many professionals invested in Scales may be less of an issue, especially if the stock is from a smaller company where professionals typically invest less. It is natural for professional investors to focus on large and extra-large companies, as they provide more safety. Smaller companies attract fewer professionals in the shareholder community. Overall, the signals from the professionals are still quite favorable for investments in Scales. ...read more
Value Strategy: Scales Stock Price Value better than average
ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Value Rank of 70 (better than 70% compared with alternatives), Scales shares are more attractively priced than the majority of comparable stocks. The Value Rank is based on consolidating four value indicators, with three out of four indicators above average for Scales. Price-to-Profit (also referred to as price to earnings, P/E ratio) is 60 which means that the stock price compared with what market professionals expect for future profits is lower than for 60% of comparable companies, indicating a good value concerning Scales's profit levels. The same is valid for the expected Price-to-Book Capital ratio (also referred to as market-to-book ratio) with a Price-to-Capital Rank of 61, and for Dividend Yield with a Dividend Yield Rank of 94. But, compared with other companies in the same industry, the stock price is higher than average as regards expected revenues; only 59% of all competitors have an even higher stock price as regards to sales revenues (a Price-to-Sales Rank of 41). Profits, the level of invested capital, and dividend policy suggest that this stock is attractively priced. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: The overall picture with a consolidated Value Rank of 70, is a buy recommendation based on Scales's stock price compared with the company's operational size and dividend yields. Since it is on the expensive side for Price-to-Sales, it may mean that Scales has pricing power in its distribution market because it can charge higher prices than its competitors. If this is the case, all four value indicators are positive signals for purchasing Scales shares. ...read more
Growth Strategy: Scales Growth Momentum good
ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Growth Rank of 71 (better than 71% compared with alternatives), Scales 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 Scales. Sales Growth has a value of 54 which means that currently professionals expect the company to grow more than 54% of its competitors. Profit Growth with a value of 92 and Capital Growth with a rank of 56 means that currently, professionals expect the company to grow both profits and invested capital more than of its competitors. But Stock Returns has only a rank of 35, which means that stock returns have recently been below 65% of alternative investments. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: The overall picture with a consolidated Growth Rank of 71, is a buy recommendation for growth and momentum investors. Scales has only one below-average growth indicator, the stock returns. This is probably the least reliable growth indicator, because it measures company and investor expectations at the same time. The three other growth indicators, which are all positive for Scales, are more reliable measures of growth momentum. For this reason, the company seems to be on a good trajectory, unless you think the current period is not representative, because of unique events that will not be repeated in the future. ...read more
Safety Strategy: Scales Debt Financing Safety below-average
| SAFETY METRICS | April 18, 2024 | |||||||
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| LEVERAGE | ||||||||
| LEVERAGE | 58 |
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| REFINANCING | ||||||||
| REFINANCING | 53 |
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| LIQUIDITY | ||||||||
| LIQUIDITY | 35 |
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| CONSOLIDATED RANK: SAFETY | ||||||||
| CONSOLIDATED RANK: SAFETY | 49 |
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ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Safety Rank of 49 (better than 49% compared with alternatives), the company Scales has financing practices on the riskier side, which means that their overall debt burden is above the industry average. This doesn't mean that the business of Scales 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 where two out of three are above average for Scales.Leverage is at 58, meaning the company has a below-average debt-to-equity ratio. It has less debt than 58% of its competitors.Refinancing is at a rank of 53, meaning that the portion of the debt that is about to be refinanced is below average. It has less debt in the refinancing stage than 53% of its competitors. Liquidity is at 35, meaning that the company generates less profit to service its debt than 65% of its competitors. This indicates that the company is on the riskier side regarding debt service. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: With a consolidated Safety Rank of 49 (worse than 51% compared with alternatives), Scales has a financing structure that is riskier than that of its competitors. Low leverage and low refinancing risk mean a safer financing situation. However, low liquidity means that current company cash flows are low in relation to the level of debt. This is a sign of caution in case it is expected for profits to remain low. ...read more
Combined financial peformance: Scales Top Financial Performance
| COMBINED PERFORMANCE | April 18, 2024 | |||||||
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| VALUE | ||||||||
| VALUE | 70 |
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| GROWTH | ||||||||
| GROWTH | 71 |
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| SAFETY | ||||||||
| SAFETY | 35 |
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| COMBINED | ||||||||
| COMBINED | 80 |
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ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Combined Rank of 80 (better than 80% compared with investment alternatives), Scales (Agricultural Products, New Zealand) shares have much better financial characteristics than comparable stocks. Shares of Scales are a good value (attractively priced) with a consolidated Value Rank of 70 (better than 70% of alternatives), show above-average growth (Growth Rank of 71) but are riskily financed (Safety Rank of 49), which means above-average debt burdens. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: A Combined Rank of 80, is a strong buy recommendation based on Scales's financial characteristics. As the company Scales's key financial metrics exhibit excellent performance in two areas, such as good value (Obermatt Value Rank of 70) and above-average growth (Obermatt Growth Rank of 71), it could be argued that the risk-taking in financing (Obermatt Safety Rank of only 49) 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
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