Financial Ratios and value Investing
I obtain these measures from an online broker’s site that is free. Value investing relies on the use of these ratios together with other ways of measuring the intrinsic value of companies. As your portfolio increases in value, you may consider paying for additional information - as I do. The most important financial ratios that I use to assess value and to choose the best stocks are discussed briefly below in terms of their major usefulness. I do not rely on any one of these measures in isolation. I use it in conjunction with other measures.
A measure of the size of a company is market capitalization (stock cap). Smaller companies are generally considered to be more risky as they are less able to recover from potential shocks.
The most common of financial ratios to provide a valuation of a company is the price to earnings ratio. This is a 'relative' measure as it uses the market price of the company and allows comparison to other companies in the same sector, and to a lesser extent, to the market as a whole. Price to book value is another relative measure of the value of a company popularised by Benjamin Graham. It measures the value of the shareholders ownership in the company.
A common measure of profitability which is often mis-represented is earnings per share. While it is nice to see earnings per share increase over time, it does not necessarily mean the the company is more profitable. A decreasing earnings per share requires further investigation as to the cause. Another earnings measure of the ongoing performance of a company is the earnings stability. This measures how consistently the company grows its earnings over time. If the increase in earnings growth is 'stable', then I can be more confident about any forecasts of the company's future earnings.
An 'absolute' measure of the company's value is the return on equity. 'Absolute' because it does not use the share price to determine value but uses the ratio of the net profit to the shareholders' equity held in the company. This is my preferred measure of the performance or profitability of a company, and the measure I look for first.
The commonly used financial ratio of a company's debt management is the debt to equity ratio. I prefer companies that have low debt or zero debt compared to its equity. A related measure is interest coverage ratio which measures the ability of the company to meet its fixed interest obligations.
The above measures are quantitative measures as they all use numerical data for their calculation. However, qualitative information may be as important or more important in some instances to judge the future performance of a company. This is information that can't be expressed in numbers but relates to the nature of the company itself and to the quality of its management. Financial ratios analysis is important for value investing in order to choose the best stock to buy at the right price. The related articles below examine the importance of each of the measures in more detail.
Related ArticlesMarket capitalisation (stock cap) - Provides me with a measure of company size - and how survivable it might be!Earnings per share - allows me to check for how the company's earnings are growing over time! Price to earnings ratio helps me to decide to buy when a company's P/E is low - and to sell when it's high! Price to book value - An easy to use guide to fair value if the price to book is less than one! Return on equity - is the measure I like best to identify well managed companies! Earnings stability - helps me to have confidence in forecasts of a company's future earnings! Debt management - is important to keep my eye on using the key measures of the debt to equity ratio and the interest coverage ratio. Qualitative information - is essential for me to take into account as it relates to the quality of the management and the competitiveness of the company. Return from Financial Ratios to Home Page
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