September 28, 2023
Top 10 Stock Swiss Life Hold 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: Swiss Life – Top 10 Stock in Swiss Market Index SMI
Swiss Life is listed as a top 10 stock on September 28, 2023 in the market index SMI 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 45 (45% performer), Obermatt assesses an overall hold recommendation for Swiss Life on September 28, 2023.
Snapshot: Obermatt Ranks
| Country | Switzerland |
| Industry | Life & Health Insurance |
| Index | Renewables Users, SPI, SMI |
| 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 Swiss Life Hold
| 360 METRICS | September 28, 2023 | |||||||
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| VALUE | ||||||||
| VALUE | 37 |
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| GROWTH | ||||||||
| GROWTH | 23 |
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| SAFETY | ||||||||
| SAFETY | 96 |
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| SENTIMENT | ||||||||
| SENTIMENT | 66 |
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| 360° VIEW | ||||||||
| 360° VIEW | 45 |
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ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt 360° View of 45 (better than 45% compared with alternatives), overall professional sentiment and financial characteristics for the stock Swiss Life are below the industry average. The 360° View is based on consolidating four consolidated indicators, with half below and half above average for Swiss Life. The consolidated Sentiment Rank has a good rank of 66, which means that professional investors are more optimistic about the stock than for 66% of alternative investment opportunities. It also rates well regarding its financing structure, with the consolidated Safety Rank at 96 or better than 96% 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 37, meaning that the share price of Swiss Life 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 23. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: With a consolidated 360° View of 45, Swiss Life is worse than 55% 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 66) and safe financing practices (Safety Rank of 96), 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 Swiss Lifẹ 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 Swiss Life positive
ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Sentiment Rank of 66 (better than 66% compared with alternatives), overall professional sentiment and engagement for the stock Swiss Life is above average. The Sentiment Rank is based on consolidating four sentiment indicators, with half of the metrics below and half above average for Swiss Life. Analyst Opinions are at a rank of 29 (worse than 71% of alternative investments), which means that currently, stock research analysts tend to warn against investing in the stock of the company. Worse, Analyst Opinions Change has a rank of 29, which means that stock research experts are getting even more pessimistic. Other sentiment indicators are positive: The Professional Investors rank is 65, which means that professional investors hold more stock in this company than in 65% of alternative investment opportunities. So, pros tend to favor investing in this company. In addition, Market Pulse has a rank of 83, which means that the current professional news and professional social networks tend to be positive when discussing this company (more positive news than for 83% of competitors). While stock research analysts are getting ever more critical, many professional investors are committed to Swiss Life and the professional news channels are on the positive side. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: With a consolidated Sentiment Rank of 66 (more positive than 66% compared with investment alternatives), Swiss Life has a reputation among professional investors that is above-average compared with that of its competitors. This is an ambiguous picture: analysts are negative and getting even more critical, while the news in the market is positive. Who should investors believe? This is a difficult question in such a situation. Investors should proceed cautiously and verify not only the financial performance in the Obermatt Value, Growth and Safety Ranks but also independent news coverage of the company. ...read more
Value Strategy: Swiss Life Stock Price Value below-average critical
ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Value Rank of 37 (worse than 63% compared with alternatives), Swiss Life 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 Swiss Life. Price-to-Sales is 49 which means that the stock price compared with what market professionals expect for future profits is higher than 51% of comparable companies, indicating a low value concerning Swiss Life's sales levels. Price-to-Book Capital (also referred to as market-to-book ratio) also has a low Price-to-Book Rank of 38, which means that both reliable company size indicators, sales, and invested capital cannot explain the high stock price of Swiss Life. In addition, the two profit-related value indicators, Price-to-Profit (also referred to as price-earnings, P/E) with a low rank of 24 and Dividend Yield, which is lower than 52% 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 37, is a hold recommendation based on Swiss Life's stock price compared with the company's operational size and dividend yields. How can market participants pay such a high price for Swiss Life? 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 Swiss Life? 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. Swiss Life 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: Swiss Life Growth Momentum negative
| GROWTH METRICS | September 28, 2023 | |||||||
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| REVENUE GROWTH | ||||||||
| REVENUE GROWTH | 34 |
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| PROFIT GROWTH | ||||||||
| PROFIT GROWTH | 24 |
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| CAPITAL GROWTH | ||||||||
| CAPITAL GROWTH | 17 |
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| STOCK RETURNS | ||||||||
| STOCK RETURNS | 77 |
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| CONSOLIDATED RANK: GROWTH | ||||||||
| CONSOLIDATED RANK: GROWTH | 23 |
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ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Growth Rank of 23 (better than 23% compared with alternatives), Swiss Life 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 Swiss Life. Sales Growth has a below market rank of 34, which means that, currently, professionals expect the company to grow less than 66% of its competitors. The same is valid for Capital Growth, with a rank of 17, and Profit Growth, with a rank of 24. Currently, professionals expect the company to grow its profits less than 76% of its competitors). Only shareholders are optimistic. Stock Returns are above average at a rank of 77, which means that the stock returns have recently been above 77% of alternative investments. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: The overall picture with a consolidated Growth Rank of 23, is a sell recommendation for growth and momentum investors. That picture may be the result for a company that has reached the bottom. All went south for Swiss Life, and it still looks bad, but some investors already see light at the end of the tunnel, rewarding the stock with recent above-market stock returns. It could also mean that investors are correcting an overreaction to negative news. If that were the case, the positive stock returns are not yet a sign of recovery. Investors should look closely at the Value and Sentiment indicators before they make a stock purchasing decision, because growth is unlikely to be the driving argument behind this investment. ...read more
Safety Strategy: Swiss Life Debt Financing Safety very solid
| SAFETY METRICS | September 28, 2023 | |||||||
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| LEVERAGE | ||||||||
| LEVERAGE | 60 |
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| REFINANCING | ||||||||
| REFINANCING | 92 |
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| LIQUIDITY | ||||||||
| LIQUIDITY | 44 |
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| CONSOLIDATED RANK: SAFETY | ||||||||
| CONSOLIDATED RANK: SAFETY | 96 |
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ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Safety Rank of 96 (better than 96% compared with alternatives) for 2022, the company Swiss Life has safe financing practices, which means that their overall debt burden is low. This doesn't mean that the business of Swiss Life 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 two out of three are above average for Swiss Life.Leverage is at 60, meaning the company has a below-average debt-to-equity ratio. It has less debt than 60% of its competitors.Refinancing is at a rank of 92, meaning that the portion of the debt that is about to be refinanced is below average. It has less debt in the refinancing stage than 92% of its competitors. Liquidity is at 44, meaning that the company generates less profit to service its debt than 56% of its competitors. This indicates that the company is on the riskier side regarding debt service. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: With a consolidated Safety Rank of 96 (better than 96% compared with alternatives), Swiss Life has a financing structure that is significantly safer than that of its competitors. Low leverage and low refinancing risk mean a safer financing situation. However, low liquidity means that current company cash flows are low in relation to the level of debt. This is a sign of caution in case it is expected for profits to remain low. ...read more
Combined financial peformance: Swiss Life Top Financial Performance
| COMBINED PERFORMANCE | September 28, 2023 | |||||||
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| VALUE | ||||||||
| VALUE | 37 |
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| GROWTH | ||||||||
| GROWTH | 23 |
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| SAFETY | ||||||||
| SAFETY | 44 |
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| COMBINED | ||||||||
| COMBINED | 98 |
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ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Combined Rank of 98 (better than 98% compared with investment alternatives), Swiss Life (Life & Health Insurance, Switzerland) shares have much better financial characteristics than comparable stocks. Shares of Swiss Life are low in value (priced high) with a consolidated Value Rank of 37 (worse than 63% of alternatives) and show below-average growth (Growth Rank of 23) but are safely financed (Safety Rank of 96), which means low debt burdens. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: A Combined Rank of 98, is a strong buy recommendation based on Swiss Life's financial characteristics. As the company Swiss Life's critical financial metrics exhibit below-average performance, such as low value (Obermatt Value Rank of 37) and low growth (Obermatt Growth Rank of 23), 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 96) 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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