May 25, 2023
Top 10 Stock Paychex 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: Paychex – Top 10 Stock in Employee Satisfaction Leaders in the United States
Paychex is listed as a top 10 stock on May 25, 2023 in the market index Employee Focus US 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 79 (top 79% performer), Obermatt assesses an overall strong buy recommendation for Paychex on May 25, 2023.
Snapshot: Obermatt Ranks
| Country | USA |
| Industry | Data Processing & Outsourcing |
| Index | Dividends USA, Employee Focus US, SDG 1, SDG 3, SDG 4, SDG 8, NASDAQ 100, NASDAQ, S&P 500 |
| 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 Paychex Strong Buy
| 360 METRICS | May 25, 2023 | |||||||
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| VALUE | ||||||||
| VALUE | 26 |
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| GROWTH | ||||||||
| GROWTH | 55 |
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| SAFETY | ||||||||
| SAFETY | 84 |
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| SENTIMENT | ||||||||
| SENTIMENT | 76 |
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| 360° VIEW | ||||||||
| 360° VIEW | 79 |
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ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt 360° View of 79 (better than 79% compared with alternatives) for 2023, overall professional sentiment and engagement for the stock Paychex are very positive. The 360° View is based on consolidating four consolidated indicators, with all but one indicator above average for Paychex. The consolidated Growth Rank has a good rank of 55, 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 55% of competitors in the same industry. The consolidated Safety Rank at 84 means that the company has a financing structure that is safer than 84 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 76, which means that professional investors are more optimistic about the stock than for 76% of alternative investment opportunities. But the consolidated Value Rank is less desirable at 26, meaning that the share price of Paychex is on the higher side compared with indicators such as revenues, profits, and invested capital. This means the stock price is higher than for 74% of alternative stocks in the same industry. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: With a 360° View of 79, Paychex is better than 79% 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 55), a safe financing structure (Safety Rank of 84), and positive professional market sentiment (Sentiment Rank of 76), 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 Paychex compared with alternatives? You can use the following rule of dumb: The growth rank reflects where the growth momentum of the company is (55% better than peers). The value rank could be the reverse reflection of that (45%). A Value Rank below that level may be assessed as expensive, a rank above that is still good value. Sometimes market sentiment just extrapolates the past, but sometimes they are right. You pay more than the market average for this stock, but it may be worth it. ...read more
Sentiment Strategy: Professional Market Sentiment for Paychex very positive
ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Sentiment Rank of 76 (better than 76% compared with alternatives) for 2023, overall professional sentiment and engagement for the stock Paychex is very positive. The Sentiment Rank is based on consolidating four sentiment indicators, with all but one indicator above average for Paychex. Analyst Opinions are at a rank of 15 (worse than 85% 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 52, which indicates a shift in stock research experts opinions for the better. In other words, they are getting more optimistic about stock investments in Paychex. Even better, the Professional Investors rank is 98, meaning that professional investors hold more stock in this company than in 98% of alternative investment opportunities. Pros tend to favor investing in this company. Furthermore, Market Pulse has a rank of 89, which means that the current professional news and professional social networks are upbeat when discussing this company (more positive news than for 89% of competitors). ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: With an Obermatt Sentiment Rank of 76 (more positive than 76% compared with investment alternatives), Paychex 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: Paychex Stock Price Value below-average critical
ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Value Rank of 26 (worse than 74% compared with alternatives), Paychex 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 Paychex. Only the metric dividend yield has an above-average rank, reflecting that dividend practices are expected to be higher than 98% 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 7 which means that the stock price compared with what market professionals expect for future profits is higher than 93% of comparable companies, indicating a low value concerning Paychex's sales levels. The same is valid for Price-to-Profit (also referred to as price-earnings, P/E) with a rank of 24 which means that the stock price compared with what market professionals expect for future profit levels is higher than 76% of comparable companies. In addition, Price-to-Book Capital (also referred to as market-to-book ratio) with an Price-to-Book Rank of 6 is also low. Compared with invested capital, the stock price is higher than for 94% of comparable investments. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: The overall picture with a consolidated Value Rank of 26, is a HOLD recommendation based on Paychex's stock price compared with the company's operational size and dividend yields. Should dividend investors pick Paychex? 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 Paychex only if they reasonably expect the low current profit levels to be transitory. ...read more
Growth Strategy: Paychex Growth Momentum good
ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Growth Rank of 55 (better than 55% compared with alternatives), Paychex shows an above-average growth dynamic in its industry. Investors also speak of positive momentum. The Growth Rank is based on consolidating four value indicators, with half of the indicators below and half above average for Paychex. Profit Growth has a rank of 59, which means that currently professionals expect the company to grow its profits more than 59% of its competitors. This is a good sign for shareholders, which is confirmed by an above-average Stock Returns rank of 55 (above 55% of alternative investments). But Sales Growth has a below the median rank of 37, which means that, currently, professionals expect the company to grow less than 63% of its competitors, and Capital Growth also has a lower rank of 46. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: The overall picture with a consolidated Value Rank of 55, is a BUY recommendation for growth and momentum investors. Because revenues and invested capital are the more solid growth indicators, the positive development on the profit side is less relevant. It may have been caused by cost-cutting, which may be a negative growth indicator. Finally, the above-average stock returns recently are a thing of the past and not a good indicator of future returns. Investors should be confident that the cost-cutting initiative leading to higher profits is to benefit the company's future. If not, there is little growth momentum, and investment is only advisable if the Value Ranks suggest a good investment timing for Paychex. ...read more
Safety Strategy: Paychex Debt Financing Safety very solid
| SAFETY METRICS | May 25, 2023 | |||||||
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| LEVERAGE | ||||||||
| LEVERAGE | 80 |
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| REFINANCING | ||||||||
| REFINANCING | 25 |
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| LIQUIDITY | ||||||||
| LIQUIDITY | 98 |
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| CONSOLIDATED RANK: SAFETY | ||||||||
| CONSOLIDATED RANK: SAFETY | 84 |
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ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Safety Rank of 84 (better than 84% compared with alternatives) for 2023, the company Paychex has safe financing practices, which means that their overall debt burden is low. This doesn't mean that the business of Paychex 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 Paychex. Leverage is at a rank of 80, meaning the company has a below-average debt-to-equity ratio. It has less debt than 80% 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 25, 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 75% of its competitors. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: With an Obermatt Safety Rank of 84 (better than 84% compared with alternatives), Paychex 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 Paychex. 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. ...read more
Combined financial peformance: Paychex Above-Average Financial Performance
| COMBINED PERFORMANCE | May 25, 2023 | |||||||
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| VALUE | ||||||||
| VALUE | 26 |
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| GROWTH | ||||||||
| GROWTH | 55 |
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| SAFETY | ||||||||
| SAFETY | 98 |
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| COMBINED | ||||||||
| COMBINED | 52 |
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ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Combined Rank of 52 (better than 52% compared with investment alternatives), Paychex (Data Processing & Outsourcing, USA) shares have above-average financial characteristics compared with similar stocks. Shares of Paychex are low in value (priced high) with a consolidated Obermatt Value Rank of 26 (worse than 74% of alternatives). But they show above-average growth (Growth Rank of 55) and are safely financed (Safety Rank of 84, which means below-average debt burdens). ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: An Obermatt Combined Rank of 52, is a buy recommendation based on Paychex's financial characteristics. Investors looking for growth and low financial risk may find this stock attractive. While the company Paychex exhibits low value (Obermatt Value Rank of 26), which means that the stock price is rather high, it also demonstrates above-average growth (Obermatt Growth Rank of 55). This is a typical case, as high-growth companies are often expensive. Good financing practices (Obermatt Safety Rank of 84) 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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