May 18, 2023
Top 10 Stock Kier 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: Kier – Top 10 Stock in SDG 14: Life Below Water
Kier is listed as a top 10 stock on May 18, 2023 in the market index SDG 14 because of its high performance in at least one of the Obermatt investment strategies. While half the consolidated Obermatt Ranks are above-average, investor sentiment is below average and thus a signal for caution. Based on the Obermatt 360° View of 62 (high 62% performer), Obermatt assesses an overall buy recommendation for Kier on May 18, 2023.
Snapshot: Obermatt Ranks
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Industry | Construction & Engineering |
| Index | FTSE All Shares, Customer Focus EU, SDG 13, SDG 14, SDG 15 |
| Size class | X-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° Assessment Kier Buy
| 360 METRICS | May 18, 2023 | |||||||
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| VALUE | ||||||||
| VALUE | 85 |
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| GROWTH | ||||||||
| GROWTH | 81 |
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| SAFETY | ||||||||
| SAFETY | 8 |
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| SENTIMENT | ||||||||
| SENTIMENT | 49 |
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| 360° VIEW | ||||||||
| 360° VIEW | 62 |
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ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt 360° View of 62 (better than 62% compared with alternatives), overall professional sentiment and engagement for the stock Kier are above average. The 360° View is based on consolidating four consolidated indicators, with half of the metrics below and half above average for Kier. The consolidated Value Rank has an attractive rank of 85, which means that the share price of Kier is on the lower side compared with typical size in indicators such as revenues, profits, and invested capital. This means the stock price is lower than for 85% of alternative stocks in the same industry. The consolidated Growth Rank has a good rank of 81, 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. But the professional market sentiment is below average compared with other stock investment alternatives with a Sentiment Rank of 49. Professional investors are more confident in 51% other stocks. Worryingly, the company has risky financing, with a Safety rank of 8. This means 92% of comparable companies have a safer financing structure than Kier. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: With a 360° View of 62, Kier is better than 62% of all alternative stock investment opportunities based on the Obermatt Method. Even though half of the consolidated Obermatt Ranks are above-average, namely the Value Rank at 85 and the Growth Rank above-average at 81, the picture is still mixed. The professional investor community is skeptical, with the Sentiment Rank below-average at 49. In addition, the company financing structure is on the riskier side (Safety Rank of 8). While everybody wants to buy at low stock prices (good value), there may be a good reason why Kier's share price is low, namely because professionals are skeptical. One may be tempted by above-average growth, but that could also change quickly, as past performance is not a good indicator of future performance. Since the financing structure is on the risky side, investors should be careful with this decision and conduct further research if they are serious about investing in this company. ...read more
Sentiment Strategy: Professional Market Sentiment for Kier only reserved
ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Sentiment Rank of 49 (better than 49% compared with alternatives), overall professional sentiment and engagement for the stock Kier is below industry average. The Sentiment Rank is based on consolidating four sentiment indicators, with three out of four metrics below average for Kier. Analyst Opinions are at a rank of 96 (better than 96% of alternative investments), which means that, currently, stock research analysts tend to recommend a stock investment in the company. This is a good sign, were it not for Analyst Opinions Change with a low rank of 30, which means that currently, stock research experts are changing their opinions for the worse. In other words, they are getting more critical of a stock investment in Kier. The Professional Investors rank is also low at 33, meaning that professional investors hold less stock in this company than in 67% of alternative investment opportunities. Pros tend to invest in other companies. Even worse, Market Pulse has a low rank of 35, which means that the current professional news and professional social networks are critical of this company (more negative news than for 65% of competitors). ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: With an Obermatt Sentiment Rank of 49 (less encouraging than 51% compared with investment alternatives), Kier has a reputation among professional investors that is below that of its competitors. There are several negative sentiment signals, with only the Analyst Opinions Rank above average. This could be a stock with a long reputation for being positive but where things are worsening. Most analysts may not see it yet, but some have, and the professionals are already quite pessimistic. Proceed with caution when investing in this stock. ...read more
Value Strategy: Kier Stock Price Value at the top
ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Value Rank of 85 (better than 85% compared with alternatives) for 2023, Kier shares are significantly less expensive than comparable stocks. The Value Rank is based on consolidating four value indicators, with three out of four indicators above average for Kier. Price-to-Sales (P/S) is 93, which means that the stock price compared with what market professionals expect for future sales is lower than for 93% of comparable companies, indicating a good value regarding Kier's revenue size. The same is valid for expected Price to Profits (or Price / Earnings, P/E), more favorable than for 100% of alternatives, and it's also true for the Price-to-Book Capital ratio (also referred to as market-to-book ratio) with a Price-to-Capital Rank of 84. But, compared with other companies in the same industry, dividend yields are expected to be lower than average; only 41% of all competitors have even lower dividend yields than Kier (an Dividend Yield Rank of 41). 59% alternative investments in the same business provide a higher dividend yield. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: The overall picture with a consolidated Value Rank of 85, is a strong buy recommendation based on Kier's stock price compared with the company's operational size and dividend yields. The below-average dividend yield may be a good sign, as it could mean the company has more attractive investment opportunities for the generated cash than to pay it out as dividends. A low dividend yield can also indicate a growth phase. ...read more
Growth Strategy: Kier Growth Momentum high
ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Growth Rank of 81 (better than 81% compared with alternatives) for 2023, Kier 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 half of the indicators below and half above average for Kier. Sales Growth has a rank of 90, which means that, currently, professionals expect the company to grow more than 90% of its competitors. Profit Growth with a rank of 65 is also above average. But Capital Growth has only a rank of 43, and Stock Returns with 39 are also below-average. Stock returns for Kier have recently been below 61% of alternative investments. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: The overall picture with a consolidated Growth Rank of 81, is a BUY recommendation for growth and momentum investors. Are investors forecasting troubles based on the lack of operating investment activity at the company? This could be one explanation as to why stock returns are low. But stock returns can also be the result of correcting an error in the past, in this case, an overly optimistic outlook on the future, which is now more realistic. The Value Ranks may confirm such a picture. The more important growth indicators are revenues and profits, which are both above average for Kier. This is a positive sign from the company's operational side and may give investors courage, despite the poor recent stock price performance. ...read more
Safety Strategy: Kier Debt Financing Safety risky
| SAFETY METRICS | May 18, 2023 | |||||||
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| LEVERAGE | ||||||||
| LEVERAGE | 40 |
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| REFINANCING | ||||||||
| REFINANCING | 3 |
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| LIQUIDITY | ||||||||
| LIQUIDITY | 24 |
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| CONSOLIDATED RANK: SAFETY | ||||||||
| CONSOLIDATED RANK: SAFETY | 8 |
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ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Safety Rank of 8 (better than 8% compared with alternatives), the company Kier has much riskier financing practices than comparable other companies, which means that their overall debt burden is significantly above the industry average. This doesn't mean that the business of Kier is also risky, it only means that the company is on the riskier side in respect to bankruptcy in case things turn sour, assuming that public reporting is correct. The Safety Rank is based on consolidating three financing indicators, with all three metrics below average for Kier. Liquidity is at 24, meaning that the company generates less profit to service its debt than 76% of its competitors. This indicates that the company is on the riskier side when it comes to debt service. Even worse, Leverage is at a rank of 40, meaning the company has an above-average debt-to-equity ratio. It has more debt than 60% of its competitors. Finally, Refinancing is at a rank of 3 which means that the portion of the debt about to be refinanced is above average. It has more debt in the refinancing stage than 97% of its competitors. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: With an Obermatt Safety Rank of 8 (worse than 92% compared with alternatives), Kier has a financing structure that is significantly riskier than that of its competitors. This combination is rather dangerous in most situations. Only very promising companies with bright future outlooks and stellar reputations can operate with such risky financing. ...read more
Combined financial peformance: Kier Above-Average Financial Performance
| COMBINED PERFORMANCE | May 18, 2023 | |||||||
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| VALUE | ||||||||
| VALUE | 85 |
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| GROWTH | ||||||||
| GROWTH | 81 |
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| SAFETY | ||||||||
| SAFETY | 24 |
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| COMBINED | ||||||||
| COMBINED | 64 |
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ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Combined Rank of 64 (better than 64% compared with investment alternatives), Kier (Construction & Engineering, United Kingdom) shares have above-average financial characteristics compared with similar stocks. Shares of Kier are a good value (attractively priced) with a consolidated Obermatt Value Rank of 85 (better than 85% of alternatives), show above-average growth (Growth Rank of 81) but are riskily financed (Safety Rank of 8), which means above-average debt burdens. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: An Obermatt Combined Rank of 64, is a buy recommendation based on Kier's financial characteristics. As the company Kier's key financial metrics exhibit excellent performance in two areas, such as good value (Obermatt Value Rank of 85) and above-average growth (Obermatt Growth Rank of 81), it could be argued that the risk-taking in financing (Obermatt Safety Rank of only 8) indicates that the company is optimistic about the future and sees debt as an opportunity to boost returns. More debt means more shareholder returns if everything goes well. However, higher debt burdens are risky when interest rates rise or the business deteriorates in a crisis. If you believe the company's future is market-typical or even better, this could be an argument for a share purchase. ...read more
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