July 31, 2025
Top 10 Stock Howden 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: Howden – Top 10 Stock in FTSE 250 Index
Howden is listed as a top 10 stock on July 31, 2025 in the market index FTSE 250 because of its high performance in at least one of the Obermatt investment strategies. Two consolidated Obermatt Ranks are above-average. The company is safely financed and the professional investor sentiment is positive. Both are encouraging signals for a stock purchase decision, albeit at an above-average share price. Based on the Obermatt 360° View of 60 (high 60% performer), Obermatt assesses an overall buy recommendation for Howden on July 31, 2025.
Snapshot: Obermatt Ranks
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Industry | Trading & Distribution |
| Index | FTSE All Shares, FTSE 250, FTSE 350, SDG 12, SDG 13, SDG 15, SDG 8, Water Tech |
| Size class | Medium |
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 Howden Buy
| 360 METRICS | July 31, 2025 | |||||||
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| VALUE | ||||||||
| VALUE | 33 |
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| GROWTH | ||||||||
| GROWTH | 17 |
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| SAFETY | ||||||||
| SAFETY | 66 |
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| SENTIMENT | ||||||||
| SENTIMENT | 91 |
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| 360° VIEW | ||||||||
| 360° VIEW | 60 |
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ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt 360° View of 60 (better than 60% compared with alternatives), overall professional sentiment and financial characteristics for the stock Howden are above average. The 360° View is based on consolidating four consolidated indicators, with half below and half above average for Howden. The consolidated Sentiment Rank has a good rank of 91, which means that professional investors are more optimistic about the stock than for 91% of alternative investment opportunities. It also rates well regarding its financing structure, with the consolidated Safety Rank at 66 or better than 66% of its peers when looking at the amount of its debt, its refinancing requirements, and its ability to service debt. But the stock is expensive and expects low growth. The consolidated Value Rank is only 33, meaning that the share price of Howden is on the high side, compared with indicators such as revenues, profits, and invested capital. The company exhibits below-average growth momentum when looking at financial metrics such as revenue, profit, invested capital growth,and stock returns, with its Growth Rank at 17. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: With a consolidated 360° View of 60, Howden is better positioned than 60% of all alternative stock investment opportunities based on the Obermatt Method. As only half of the consolidated Obermatt Ranks exhibit excellent performance, namely the positive professional market sentiment (Sentiment Rank of 91) and safe financing practices (Safety Rank of 66), the case for investing in this stock needs further thought. The Value and the Safety Ranks are below average. The Safety Rank is the least critical of the four consolidated ranks, because it only reflects financing practices. So the question is: How to assess below-average value against above-average sentiment? This may be a case where growth is in the future, not yet reflected in current performance. Companies that might fall into this category are those with intellectual property, such as technology and pharmaceutical companies. In early phases, they are expensive relative to their size and have a lot of capital on their books, as is the case here. Investors expect a better future and are willing to pay a higher price than is warranted by the current company size. These higher prices drive stock price value down in the short term. In this case, future growth may be the strongest driver of the investment case, reflected by institutional investors' opinions. With a weak Value Rank, the question is how much to sacrifice value at the cost of positive sentiment. Sometimes market sentiment is just hype, but sometimes it is right. You pay more than market-average for this stock, but it may be worth it, if the future of Howdeṇ is bright. 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 Howden very positive
ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Sentiment Rank of 91 (better than 91% compared with alternatives) for 2025, overall professional sentiment and engagement for the stock Howden is very positive. The Sentiment Rank is based on consolidating four sentiment indicators, with all but one indicator above average for Howden. Analyst Opinions are at a rank of 46 (worse than 54% 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 91, which indicates a shift in stock research experts opinions for the better. In other words, they are getting more optimistic about stock investments in Howden. Even better, the Professional Investors rank is 96, meaning that professional investors hold more stock in this company than in 96% of alternative investment opportunities. Pros tend to favor investing in this company. Furthermore, Market Pulse has a rank of 75, which means that the current professional news and professional social networks are upbeat when discussing this company (more positive news than for 75% of competitors). ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: With a consolidated Sentiment Rank of 91 (more positive than 91% compared with investment alternatives), Howden has a reputation among professional investors that is significantly higher than 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: Howden Stock Price Value below-average critical
ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Value Rank of 33 (worse than 67% compared with alternatives), Howden shares are more expensive than the average comparable stock. The Value Rank is based on consolidating four value indicators, with three out of four indicators below average for Howden. Only the metric dividend yield has an above-average rank, reflecting that dividend practices are expected to be higher than 59% of comparable companies, making the stock an attractive buy for dividend investors. However, dividend investors may get disappointed because all other critical financial indicators are below the market median: Price-to-Sales is 27 which means that the stock price compared with what market professionals expect for future profits is higher than 73% of comparable companies, indicating a low value concerning Howden's sales levels. The same is valid for Price-to-Profit (also referred to as price-earnings, P/E) with a rank of 42 which means that the stock price compared with what market professionals expect for future profit levels is higher than 58% of comparable companies. In addition, Price-to-Book (also referred to as market-to-book ratio) with a Price-to-Book Rank of 27 is also low. Compared with invested capital, the stock price is higher than for 73% of comparable investments. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: The overall picture with a consolidated Value Rank of 33, is a hold recommendation based on Howden's stock price compared with the company's operational size and dividend yields. Should dividend investors pick Howden? The company-reported financials speak against it. The company is expensive compared with revenue and invested capital levels, two reliable company size indicators. In addition, it currently has a low level of profits. How can future dividends be paid in the case that profits remain low? Dividend investors should choose Howden only if they reasonably expect the low current profit levels to be transitory. ...read more
Growth Strategy: Howden Growth Momentum negative
ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Growth Rank of 17 (better than 17% compared with alternatives), Howden 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 Howden. While Sales Growth ranks at 61, professionals currently expect the company to grow more than 61% of its competitors, while all other growth ranks are below the market median. Profit Growth has a rank of 40, which means that, currently, professionals expect the company to grow its profits less than 60% of its competitors, and Capital Growth has a low rank of 7. Historic stock returns were also below average with a current Stock Returns rank of 41 which means that the stock returns have recently been below 59% of alternative investments. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: The overall picture with a consolidated Growth Rank of 17, 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. ...read more
Safety Strategy: Howden Debt Financing Safety above-average
| SAFETY METRICS | July 31, 2025 | |||||||
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| LEVERAGE | ||||||||
| LEVERAGE | 44 |
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| REFINANCING | ||||||||
| REFINANCING | 52 |
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| LIQUIDITY | ||||||||
| LIQUIDITY | 77 |
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| CONSOLIDATED RANK: SAFETY | ||||||||
| CONSOLIDATED RANK: SAFETY | 66 |
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ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Safety Rank of 66 (better than 66% compared with alternatives), the company Howden has financing practices on the safer side, which mean that their overall debt burden is lower than average. This doesn't mean that the business of Howden 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 Howden. Refinancing is at 52, meaning the portion of the debt that is about to be refinanced is below average. It has less debt in the refinancing stage than 52% of its competitors. Liquidity is also good at 77, meaning the company generates more profit to service its debt than 77% of its competitors. This indicates that the company is safer when it comes to debt service. However, Leverage is rather large at 44, which means the company has an above-average debt-to-equity ratio. It has more debt than 56% of its competitors. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: With a consolidated Safety Rank of 66 (better than 66% compared with alternatives), Howden has a financing structure that is 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 Howden 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: Howden Below-Average Financial Performance
| COMBINED PERFORMANCE | July 31, 2025 | |||||||
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| VALUE | ||||||||
| VALUE | 33 |
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| GROWTH | ||||||||
| GROWTH | 17 |
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| SAFETY | ||||||||
| SAFETY | 77 |
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| COMBINED | ||||||||
| COMBINED | 26 |
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ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Combined Rank of 26 (worse than 74% compared with investment alternatives), Howden (Trading & Distribution, United Kingdom) shares have somewhat below-average financial characteristics compared with similar stocks. Shares of Howden are low in value (priced high) with a consolidated Value Rank of 33 (worse than 67% of alternatives) and show below-average growth (Growth Rank of 17) but are safely financed (Safety Rank of 66), which means low debt burdens. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: A Combined Rank of 26, is a hold recommendation based on Howden's financial characteristics. As the company Howden's critical financial metrics exhibit below-average performance, such as low value (Obermatt Value Rank of 33) and low growth (Obermatt Growth Rank of 17), 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 66) 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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