January 23, 2025
Top 10 Stock Swiss Life Hold 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: Swiss Life – Top 10 Stock in Swiss Market Index SMI
Swiss Life is listed as a top 10 stock on January 23, 2025 in the market index SMI because of its high performance in at least one of the Obermatt investment strategies. Only one consolidated Obermatt Rank is above-average. The company is safely financed, but all other facts speak against a stock purchase, especially the low market sentiment by professional investors. Based on the Obermatt 360° View of 45 (45% performer), Obermatt assesses an overall hold recommendation for Swiss Life on January 23, 2025.
Snapshot: Obermatt Ranks
| Country | Switzerland |
| Industry | Life & Health Insurance |
| Index | Renewables Users, SPI, SMI |
| Size class | XX-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 Swiss Life Hold
| 360 METRICS | January 23, 2025 | |||||||
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| VALUE | ||||||||
| VALUE | 11 |
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| GROWTH | ||||||||
| GROWTH | 29 |
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| SAFETY | ||||||||
| SAFETY | 96 |
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| SENTIMENT | ||||||||
| SENTIMENT | 25 |
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| 360° VIEW | ||||||||
| 360° VIEW | 45 |
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ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt 360° View of 45 (better than 45% compared with alternatives), overall professional sentiment and financial characteristics for the stock Swiss Life are below the industry average. The 360° View is based on consolidating four consolidated indicators, with three out of four metrics below average for Swiss Life. The only rank that is above average is the consolidated Safety Rank at 96, which means that the company has a financing structure that is safer than those of 96% comparable companies when looking at the amount of its debt, its refinancing requirements, and its ability to service debt. But the Value, Growth and Sentiment Ranks are all below average. The consolidated Value Rank has a less desirable rank of 11, which means that the share price of Swiss Life is on the high side compared with typical size in indicators such as revenues, profits, and invested capital. The consolidated Growth Rank also has a low rank of 29, which implies that the company exhibits below-average growth momentum when looking at financial metrics such as revenue, profit, and invested capital growth as well as stock returns. Finally, the consolidated Sentiment Rank is also low at a rank of 25, which means that professional investors are more pessimistic about the stock than for 75% of alternative investment opportunities. While Safety is strong, it’s not the most critical indicator, so we suggest proceeding with caution if you are considering this stock. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: With a consolidated 360° View of 45, Swiss Life is worse than 55% of all alternative stock investment opportunities based on the Obermatt Method. As only the financing structure, namely the Safety Rank, is on the safer side and all other consolidated Obermatt Ranks are below-average, this is a riskier stock investment proposition. This is especially the case, since professional investor sentiment, the consolidated Obermatt Sentiment Rank, is also low at 25. The negative market view on Swiss Life may be the high stock price (low value) or the low level of growth. This is a problem. As the Safety Rank is the least significant of the four consolidated Obermatt Ranks, we cannot identify enough positive facts that are visible today to make a case for this stock investment. The company may have a strong future which would justify the high stock price, but this is not visible from investor behavior today. As market sentiment is critical, you should be careful with paying more than market-average for this stock, and conduct further research into the company's future growth potential. 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 Swiss Life only reserved
ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Sentiment Rank of 25 (better than 25% compared with alternatives), overall professional sentiment and engagement for the stock Swiss Life is below industry average. The Sentiment Rank is based on consolidating four sentiment indicators, with half the indicators below and half above average for Swiss Life. Analyst Opinions are at a rank of 13 (worse than 87% of alternative investments), which means that currently, stock research analysts tend to warn against investing in the stock of the company. Worse, Analyst Opinions Change has a rank of 41, which means that stock research experts are getting even more pessimistic. In addition, the Professional Investors rank is 19, which means that professional investors hold less stock in this company than in 81% of alternative investment opportunities. Pros tend to invest in other companies. The only positive sentiment indicator for Swiss Life is Market Pulse, with a rank of 83, which means that the current professional news and professional social networks tend to be positive when discussing this company (more positive news than for 83% of competitors). ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: With a consolidated Sentiment Rank of 25 (less encouraging than 75% compared with investment alternatives), Swiss Life has a reputation among professional investors that is below that of its competitors. This is an ambiguous picture: analysts are negative and getting even more critical while the news in the market is positive. Who should investors believe? This is a difficult question in such a situation. Investors should proceed cautiously and verify not only the financial performance in the Obermatt Value, Growth and Safety Ranks but also independent news coverage of the company. ...read more
Value Strategy: Swiss Life Stock Price Value low
ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Value Rank of 11 (worse than 89% compared with alternatives), Swiss Life shares are significantly more expensive than comparable stocks. The Value Rank is based on consolidating four value indicators, with all four indicators below average for Swiss Life. Price-to-Sales is 23 which means that the stock price compared with what market professionals expect for future profits is higher than 77% of comparable companies, indicating a low value concerning Swiss Life's sales levels. Price-to-Book Capital (also referred to as market-to-book ratio) also has a low Price-to-Book Rank of 17, which means that both reliable company size indicators, sales, and invested capital cannot explain the high stock price of Swiss Life. In addition, the two profit-related value indicators, Price-to-Profit (also referred to as price-earnings, P/E) with a low rank of 12 and Dividend Yield, which is lower than 69% of comparable companies, also make the stock more expensive compared with investment alternatives. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: The overall picture with a consolidated Value Rank of 11, is a sell recommendation based on Swiss Life's stock price compared with the company's operational size and dividend yields. How can market participants pay such a high price for Swiss Life? One reason may be that the company is simply too popular. If enough people want a particular stock, its price can exceed reasonable levels. This is often the case for companies offering new and exciting products and everybody wants a piece of the action. Should you pay a lot for a hot stock such as Swiss Life? It's risky, and even if the stock price continues to grow because of popular demand, it may return to more typical lower levels later. And that return can be sudden and quick, making it impossible for retail investors to exit on time. Sometimes, high prices are deserved. This is the case when it is justified to believe that the company will dominate a market with high profit margins. It has happened in the past for many technology companies and indeed for commercially successful pharmaceutical discoveries. Sometimes they last, sometimes, they get eaten alive. Swiss Life may be such a type of stock. That would mean, retail investors should be careful, only considering investing a small part of their wealth in this exciting category and always being ready to lose more than half, if not all of the investment. ...read more
Growth Strategy: Swiss Life Growth Momentum low
ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Growth Rank of 29 (better than 29% compared with alternatives), Swiss Life 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 Swiss Life. Profit Growth has a rank of 52, which means that currently professionals expect the company to grow its profits more than 52% of its competitors. This is a good sign for shareholders, which is confirmed by an above-average Stock Returns rank of 58 (above 58% of alternative investments). But Sales Growth has a below the median rank of 25, which means that, currently, professionals expect the company to grow less than 75% of its competitors, and Capital Growth also has a lower rank of 30. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: The overall picture with a consolidated Growth Rank of 29, 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 Swiss Life. ...read more
Safety Strategy: Swiss Life Debt Financing Safety very solid
| SAFETY METRICS | January 23, 2025 | |||||||
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| LEVERAGE | ||||||||
| LEVERAGE | 21 |
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| REFINANCING | ||||||||
| REFINANCING | 92 |
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| LIQUIDITY | ||||||||
| LIQUIDITY | 52 |
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| CONSOLIDATED RANK: SAFETY | ||||||||
| CONSOLIDATED RANK: SAFETY | 96 |
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ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Safety Rank of 96 (better than 96% compared with alternatives) for 2022, the company Swiss Life has safe financing practices, which means that their overall debt burden is low. This doesn't mean that the business of Swiss Life 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 Swiss Life. Refinancing is at 92, meaning the portion of the debt that is about to be refinanced is below average. It has less debt in the refinancing stage than 92% of its competitors. Liquidity is also good at 52, meaning the company generates more profit to service its debt than 52% of its competitors. This indicates that the company is safer when it comes to debt service. However, Leverage is rather large at 21, which means the company has an above-average debt-to-equity ratio. It has more debt than 79% of its competitors. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: With a consolidated Safety Rank of 96 (better than 96% compared with alternatives), Swiss Life has a financing structure that is significantly safer than that of its competitors. This is not bad if things go well. The higher debt level means better returns to shareholders if things go well. Many top-performing companies operate with higher debt levels, and Swiss Life could be in that group. But if you expect the environment to turn rougher, the higher leverage could become a problem. The same is valid if you expect interest rates to rise. That could squeeze shareholder returns, which so far have benefitted from better conditions. ...read more
Combined financial peformance: Swiss Life Top Financial Performance
| COMBINED PERFORMANCE | January 23, 2025 | |||||||
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| VALUE | ||||||||
| VALUE | 11 |
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| GROWTH | ||||||||
| GROWTH | 29 |
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| SAFETY | ||||||||
| SAFETY | 52 |
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| COMBINED | ||||||||
| COMBINED | 98 |
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ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Combined Rank of 98 (better than 98% compared with investment alternatives), Swiss Life (Life & Health Insurance, Switzerland) shares have much better financial characteristics than comparable stocks. Shares of Swiss Life are low in value (priced high) with a consolidated Value Rank of 11 (worse than 89% of alternatives) and show below-average growth (Growth Rank of 29) but are safely financed (Safety Rank of 96), which means low debt burdens. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: A Combined Rank of 98, is a strong buy recommendation based on Swiss Life's financial characteristics. As the company Swiss Life's critical financial metrics exhibit below-average performance, such as low value (Obermatt Value Rank of 11) and low growth (Obermatt Growth Rank of 29), 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 96) 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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