Fact based stock research
Victrex (LSE:VCT)

GB0009292243

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.

Victrex stock research in summary

victrexplc.com

ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Combined Rank of 72 (better than 72% compared with investment alternatives), Victrex (Specialty Chemicals, United Kingdom) shares have above-average financial characteristics compared with similar stocks. Shares of Victrex are a good value (attractively priced) with a consolidated Value Rank of 57 (better than 57% of alternatives), are safely financed (Safety Rank of 100, which means low debt burdens), but show below-average growth (Growth Rank of 22). ...read more

RECOMMENDATION: A Combined Rank of 72, is a buy recommendation based on Victrex's financial characteristics. As the company Victrex's key financial metrics exhibit good value (Obermatt Value Rank of 57) but low growth (Obermatt Growth Rank of 22) while being safely financed (Obermatt Safety Rank of 100), it may be a safer investment because companies with low debt can better withstand times of crises. Yet the good value, better than 57% of comparable companies, may also indicate that the company's future is challenging. If you believe that low growth is temporary or just due to a specific current event, you may conclude that the good value of the stock provides an attractive investment opportunity and the downside is limited due to below-average financing risks. 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	57
Growth Rank	22
Safety Rank	100
Combined Rank	72

Country	United Kingdom
Industry	Specialty Chemicals
Index	FTSE All Shares, FTSE 250, FTSE 350
Size class	Medium

This stock has achievements: Top 10 Stock.

14-Nov-2024. Stock data may be delayed. Log in or sign up to get the most recent research.

Further information

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

Research History: Victrex

RESEARCH HISTORY	2021	2022	2023	2024
VALUE
VALUE	49	35	37	57
GROWTH
GROWTH	49	7	83	22
SAFETY
SAFETY	64	94	96	100
SENTIMENT
SENTIMENT	n/a	47	46	^new
360° VIEW
360° VIEW	n/a	37	86	^new

Most recent update of the stock research: 14-Nov-2024. Financial reporting date used for calculating ranks: 31-Mar-2024. Stock research history is based on the Obermatt Method. The higher the rank, the better Victrex is in the corresponding investment strategy.
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Combined financial peformance in Detail

RESEARCH HISTORY	2021	2022	2023	2024
VALUE
VALUE	49	35	37	57
GROWTH
GROWTH	49	7	83	22
SAFETY
SAFETY	64	94	96	100
COMBINED
COMBINED	27	36	92	72

Last update of combined financial performance: 14-Nov-2024. Stock analysis on combined financial performance: The higher the rank of Victrex the better the performance.

Value Metrics in Detail

ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Value Rank of 57 (better than 57% compared with alternatives), Victrex 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 Victrex. Price-to-Profit (also referred to as price-earnings, P/E) is 61 which means that the stock price compared with what market professionals expect for future profits is lower than for 61% of comparable companies, indicating a good value concerning Victrex'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 49, which means that the stock price is lower as regards to invested capital than for 49% of comparable investments. On the other hand, Price-to-Sales is less favorable than 87% of alternatives (only 13% of peers have an even less favorable ratio). The same is valid for dividend yield, which is lower than 2% 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 57, is a buy recommendation based on Victrex'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)	22	13	13	13
PRICE VS. PROFITS (P/E)
PRICE VS. PROFITS (P/E)	56	33	39	61
PRICE VS. CAPITAL (Market-to-Book)
PRICE VS. CAPITAL (Market-to-Book)	48	26	35	49
DIVIDEND YIELD
DIVIDEND YIELD	90	74	80	98
CONSOLIDATED RANK: VALUE
CONSOLIDATED RANK: VALUE	49	35	37	57

Last update of Value Rank: 14-Nov-2024. Stock analysis on value ratios: The higher the rank, the lower the value ratio of Victrex; except for dividend yield where the rank is higher, the higher the yield.

Growth Metrics in Detail

ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Growth Rank of 22 (better than 22% compared with alternatives), Victrex 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 indicators below-average for Victrex. While Sales Growth ranks at 88, professionals currently expect the company to grow more than 88% of its competitors, while all other growth ranks are below the market median. Profit Growth has a rank of 14, which means that, currently, professionals expect the company to grow its profits less than 86% of its competitors, and Capital Growth has a low rank of 34. Historic stock returns were also below average with a current Stock Returns rank of 12 which means that the stock returns have recently been below 88% of alternative investments. ...read more

RECOMMENDATION: The overall picture with a consolidated Growth Rank of 22, is a sell recommendation for growth and momentum investors. If revenues are expected to increase, but all other growth indicators are negative, the company may be investing in future growth through means not visible in the balance sheet and thus not reflected in capital growth. The fact that Stock Returns have been below market doesn't mean that much, as it may be due to overly optimistic investor behavior in the past, which has been corrected to a more reasonable level recently. If that were the case, a positive Value Rank would be a reason to invest because the company is still expected to grow, while stock prices are now at a more reasonable level. 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 isn't stellar here. ...read more

GROWTH METRICS	2021	2022	2023	2024
REVENUE GROWTH
REVENUE GROWTH	36	40	67	88
PROFIT GROWTH
PROFIT GROWTH	27	25	75	14
CAPITAL GROWTH
CAPITAL GROWTH	n/a	21	58	34
STOCK RETURNS
STOCK RETURNS	58	25	61	12
CONSOLIDATED RANK: GROWTH
CONSOLIDATED RANK: GROWTH	49	7	83	22

Last update of Growth Rank: 14-Nov-2024. Stock analysis on growth metrics: The higher the rank, the higher the growth and returns of Victrex.

Safety Metrics in Detail

ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Safety Rank of 100 (better than 100% compared with alternatives) for 2024, the company Victrex has safe financing practices, which means that their overall debt burden is low. This doesn't mean that the business of Victrex 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 Victrex. Leverage is at a rank of 91, meaning the company has a below-average debt-to-equity ratio. It has less debt than 91% of its competitors. Liquidity is also good at a rank of 98, meaning the company generates more profit to service its debt than 98% 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), Victrex 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 Victrex. 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 Victrex 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	68	95	93	91
REFINANCING
REFINANCING	38	36	36	45
LIQUIDITY
LIQUIDITY	67	96	97	98
CONSOLIDATED RANK: SAFETY
CONSOLIDATED RANK: SAFETY	64	94	96	100

Last update of Safety Rank: 14-Nov-2024. Stock analysis on safety metrics: The higher the rank, the lower the leverage of Victrex 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	42	34	^new
OPINIONS CHANGE
OPINIONS CHANGE	n/a	43	11	^new
PRO HOLDINGS
PRO HOLDINGS	n/a	35	80	^new
MARKET PULSE
MARKET PULSE	n/a	64	56	^new
CONSOLIDATED RANK: SENTIMENT
CONSOLIDATED RANK: SENTIMENT	n/a	47	46	^new

Last update of Sentiment Rank: 14-Nov-2024. Stock analysis on sentiment metrics: The higher the rank, the more positive the sentiment for Victrex.
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