February 1, 2024
Top 10 Stock ABF 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: ABF – Top 10 Stock in FTSE 100 Index
ABF is listed as a top 10 stock on February 01, 2024 in the market index FTSE 100 because of its high performance in at least one of the Obermatt investment strategies. Three consolidated Obermatt Ranks are above-average. Only the Value Rank is below average. The investment rationale may be an investment in future growth, supported by professional market opinion. Based on the Obermatt 360° View of 96 (top 96% performer), Obermatt assesses an overall strong buy recommendation for ABF on February 01, 2024.
Snapshot: Obermatt Ranks
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Industry | Packaged Foods & Meats |
| Index | FTSE All Shares, FTSE 100, FTSE 350, Low Emissions, Energy Efficient, Human Rights, Water Efficiency |
| 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 ABF Strong Buy
| 360 METRICS | February 1, 2024 | |||||||
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| VALUE | ||||||||
| VALUE | 42 |
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| GROWTH | ||||||||
| GROWTH | 94 |
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| SAFETY | ||||||||
| SAFETY | 80 |
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| SENTIMENT | ||||||||
| SENTIMENT | 73 |
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| 360° VIEW | ||||||||
| 360° VIEW | 96 |
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ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt 360° View of 96 (better than 96% compared with alternatives) for 2024, overall professional sentiment and financial characteristics for the stock ABF are very positive. The 360° View is based on consolidating four consolidated indicators, with all but one indicator above average for ABF. The consolidated Growth Rank has a good rank of 94, 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. This means that growth is higher than for 94% of competitors in the same industry. The consolidated Safety Rank at 80 means that the company has a financing structure that is safer than 80% comparable companies when looking at the amount of its debt, its refinancing requirements, and its ability to service debt. Finally, the consolidated Sentiment Rank has a good rank of 73, which means that professional investors are more optimistic about the stock than for 73% of alternative investment opportunities. But the consolidated Value Rank is less desirable at 42, meaning that the share price of ABF is on the higher side compared with indicators such as revenues, profits, and invested capital. This means the stock price is higher than for 58% of alternative stocks in the same industry. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: With a consolidated 360° View of 96, ABF is better positioned than 96% of all alternative stock investment opportunities based on the Obermatt Method. As three out of four consolidated Obermatt Ranks exhibit excellent performance, such as above-average growth (Growth Rank of 94), a safe financing structure (Safety Rank of 80), and positive professional market sentiment (Sentiment Rank of 73), it is a solid stock investment where growth may be the strongest driver of the investment rationale, also reflected by institutional investors. It is typical for growth companies to have low value, as is the case here. Investors are willing to pay more for companies that outperform their competitors. So the question is, how much more do you pay for the stock of ABF compared with alternatives? You can use the following rule of thumb: The growth rank measures the growth momentum of the company (94% better than peers). The value rank could be the reverse reflection of that (6%). A Value Rank below that level may be assessed as expensive, a rank above that is still good value. Sometimes market sentiment just reflects the past, sometimes the reality. You pay more than the market average for this stock, but it may be worth it. ...read more
Sentiment Strategy: Professional Market Sentiment for ABF positive
ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Sentiment Rank of 73 (better than 73% compared with alternatives), overall professional sentiment and engagement for the stock ABF is above average. The Sentiment Rank is based on consolidating four sentiment indicators, with all but one indicator above average for ABF. Analyst Opinions are at a rank of 28 (worse than 72% of alternative investments), which means that currently, stock research analysts tend to warn against investing in the stock of the company. But they are changing their opinions! Analyst Opinions Change has a rank of 75, which indicates a shift in stock research experts opinions for the better. In other words, they are getting more optimistic about stock investments in ABF. Even better, the Professional Investors rank is 73, meaning that professional investors hold more stock in this company than in 73% of alternative investment opportunities. Pros tend to favor investing in this company. Furthermore, Market Pulse has a rank of 61, which means that the current professional news and professional social networks are upbeat when discussing this company (more positive news than for 61% of competitors). ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: With a consolidated Sentiment Rank of 73 (more positive than 73% compared with investment alternatives), ABF has a reputation among professional investors that is above-average compared with that of its competitors. While analysts are still critical of the company, some are changing their minds. In addition, the professional news channels are optimistic, and many institutional investors have already bought stock in the company. These are encouraging signals, despite the still lower level of analyst recommendations. They may be due to a problematic past, and about to change. The positive sentiment signals are stronger than the negative. ...read more
Value Strategy: ABF Stock Price Value below-average critical
ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Value Rank of 42 (worse than 58% compared with alternatives), ABF shares are more expensive than the average comparable stock. The Value Rank is based on consolidating four value indicators, with all four indicators below average for ABF. Price-to-Sales is 41 which means that the stock price compared with what market professionals expect for future profits is higher than 59% of comparable companies, indicating a low value concerning ABF's sales levels. Price-to-Book Capital (also referred to as market-to-book ratio) also has a low Price-to-Book Rank of 49, which means that both reliable company size indicators, sales, and invested capital cannot explain the high stock price of ABF. In addition, the two profit-related value indicators, Price-to-Profit (also referred to as price-earnings, P/E) with a low rank of 49 and Dividend Yield, which is lower than 56% 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 42, is a hold recommendation based on ABF's stock price compared with the company's operational size and dividend yields. How can market participants pay such a high price for ABF? 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 ABF? 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. ABF 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: ABF Growth Momentum high
ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Growth Rank of 94 (better than 94% compared with alternatives) for 2024, ABF shows one of the highest growth dynamics in its industry. Investors also speak of high momentum. The Growth Rank is based on consolidating four value indicators, with all but one indicator above average for ABF. Sales Growth has a rank of 78 which means that currently, professionals expect the company to grow more than 78% of its competitors. Both Profit Growth, with a rank of 78, and Stock Returns, with a rank of 82, are also above average. But Capital Growth only has a rank of 30, which means that, currently, professionals expect the company to grow its invested capital less than 70% of its competitors. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: The overall picture with a consolidated Growth Rank of 94, is a buy recommendation for growth and momentum investors. That may be a good sign if the company is already well positioned and doesn't require more investments at this time. They may focus on growing the top (revenues) and bottom (profits) lines, recently rewarded with above-average stock returns for shareholders. But it may also be a sign of danger as the company is falling back with capital investment activities concerning competition. This requires further analysis of corporate communications. ...read more
Safety Strategy: ABF Debt Financing Safety very solid
| SAFETY METRICS | February 1, 2024 | |||||||
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| LEVERAGE | ||||||||
| LEVERAGE | 83 |
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| REFINANCING | ||||||||
| REFINANCING | 56 |
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| LIQUIDITY | ||||||||
| LIQUIDITY | 62 |
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| CONSOLIDATED RANK: SAFETY | ||||||||
| CONSOLIDATED RANK: SAFETY | 80 |
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ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Safety Rank of 80 (better than 80% compared with alternatives) for 2024, the company ABF has safe financing practices, which means that their overall debt burden is low. This doesn't mean that the business of ABF 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, where all three are above average for ABF. Leverage is at 83, meaning the company has a below-average debt-to-equity ratio. It has less debt than 83% of its competitors. Refinancing is at a rank of 56, meaning that the portion of the debt about to be refinanced is below average. It has less debt in the refinancing stage than 56% of its competitors. Finally, Liquidity is also good at a rank of 62, which means that the company generates more profit to service its debt than 62% of its competitors. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: With a consolidated Safety Rank of 80 (better than 80% compared with alternatives), ABF has a financing structure that is significantly safer than that of its competitors. These three positive financing indicators signal that the company is less likely to default on its debt obligations. However, it also means that its shareholder returns will be more modest if things go well. A low safety means fewer troubles in downtimes and less upside in good times. ...read more
Combined financial peformance: ABF Top Financial Performance
| COMBINED PERFORMANCE | February 1, 2024 | |||||||
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| VALUE | ||||||||
| VALUE | 42 |
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| GROWTH | ||||||||
| GROWTH | 94 |
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| SAFETY | ||||||||
| SAFETY | 62 |
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| COMBINED | ||||||||
| COMBINED | 90 |
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ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Combined Rank of 90 (better than 90% compared with investment alternatives), ABF (Packaged Foods & Meats, United Kingdom) shares have much better financial characteristics than comparable stocks. Shares of ABF are low in value (priced high) with a consolidated Value Rank of 42 (worse than 58% of alternatives). But they show above-average growth (Growth Rank of 94) and are safely financed (Safety Rank of 80, which means below-average debt burdens). ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: A Combined Rank of 90, is a strong buy recommendation based on ABF's financial characteristics. Investors looking for growth and low financial risk may find this stock attractive. While the company ABF exhibits low value (Obermatt Value Rank of 42), which means that the stock price is rather high, it also demonstrates above-average growth (Obermatt Growth Rank of 94). This is a typical case, as high-growth companies are often expensive. Good financing practices (Obermatt Safety Rank of 80) are a double-edged sword: if the company continues growing, low debt limits shareholder returns. But if the company increases its debt, it will also increase risk. In other words, this is an investment on the safer side, despite the above-average price (low value). ...read more
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