Here Are 4 Stocks With Remarkable Interest Coverage Ratio
An ill-informed investor can lose cash if he wagers on a stock only on the basis of the numbers flashing on a real-time stock screen. A critical analysis of the company’s financial background is always required for a better investment decision at a time when the stock market is juggling with myriad issues, such as soaring inflation, supply chain bottlenecks and a hawkish monetary policy.
Often, investors evaluate a company’s performance by simply looking at its sales and earnings, which sometimes do not reveal the real picture. To be more precise, they do not tell whether a company’s fundamentals are sound enough to meet its financial obligations. Here, the coverage ratio comes into play — the higher the metric, the more efficient an enterprise will be in meeting its financial obligations.
Why Interest Coverage Ratio?
Interest Coverage Ratio is used to determine how effectively a company can pay interest charges on its debt.
Debt, which is crucial to financing operations for the majority of companies, comes at a cost called interest. Interest expense has a direct bearing on the profitability of a company. The company’s creditworthiness depends on how effectively it meets its interest obligations. Therefore, Interest Coverage Ratio is one of the important criteria to factor in before making any investment decision.
Interest Coverage Ratio = Earnings before Interest & Taxes (EBIT) divided by Interest Expense.
Interest Coverage Ratio suggests how many times the interest could be paid from earnings and gauges the margin of safety a firm has for paying interest.
An interest coverage ratio lower than one suggests that the company is unable to fulfill its interest obligations and could default on repaying debt. A company capable of generating earnings well above its interest expense can withstand financial hardships. One should also
track the company’s past performance to determine whether the interest coverage ratio has improved or worsened over a period of time.
Dillard's, Inc. DDS, Avis Budget Group, Inc. CAR, Cadence Design Systems, Inc. CDNS and Univar Solutions Inc. UNVR boast an impressive interest coverage ratio.
The Winning Strategy
Apart from having an Interest Coverage ratio that is more than the industry average, adding a favorable Zacks Rank and a VGM Score of A or B to your search criteria should lead to better results.
Interest Coverage Ratio greater than X-Industry Median
Price greater than or equal to 5: The stocks must all be trading at a minimum of $5 or higher.
5-Year Historical EPS Growth (%) greater than X-Industry Median: Stocks with a strong EPS growth history.
Projected EPS Growth (%) greater than X-Industry Median: This is the projected EPS growth over the next three to five years. This shows that the stock has near-term earnings growth potential.
Average 20-Day Volume greater than 100,000: A substantial trading volume ensures that the stock is easily tradable.
Zacks Rank less than or equal to 2: Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) or 2 (Buy) stocks are known to outperform irrespective of the market environment.
VGM Score of less than or equal to B: Our research shows that stocks with a VGM Score of A or B, when combined with a Zacks Rank #1 or 2, offer the best upside potential.
Here are four of the 10 stocks that qualified the screening:
Dillard's, which operates retail department stores, sports a Zacks Rank #1 and has a VGM Score of A. Its expected EPS growth rate for three-five years is 14.6%. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Dillard's current financial year sales suggests growth of 6.1% from the year-ago period. DDS has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 224.1%, on average. The stock has zoomed 86.2% in the past year.
Avis Budget, a leading global provider of mobility solutions, which flaunts a Zacks Rank #1 and has a VGM Score of A. Its expected EPS growth rate for three-five years is 19.4%.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Avis Budget Group’s current financial year sales and EPS suggests growth of 22.1% and 70.7%, respectively, from the year-ago period. Avis Budget has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 102.1%, on average. The stock has rallied 83.4% in the past year.
Cadence Design Systems, which provides software, hardware, services, and reusable integrated circuit design blocks globally, carries a Zacks Rank #2 and has a VGM Score of B. The expected EPS growth rate for three-five years is 17%.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Cadence Design Systems’ current financial year sales and EPS suggests growth of 13.8% and 19.8%, respectively, from the year-ago period. CDNS has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 10.6%, on average. The stock has jumped 13.8% in the past year.
Univar Solutions, a leading global chemical and ingredient distributor and provider of value-added specialty services, carries a Zacks Rank #2 and has a VGM Score of B. Its expected EPS growth rate for three-five years is 15.8%.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Univar Solutions’ current financial year sales and EPS suggests growth of 16.7% and 46.9%, respectively, from the year-ago period. In the last reported quarter, UNVR’s bottom line outperformed the Zacks Consensus by a margin of 27.4%. The stock has risen 11.6% in the past year.
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Disclosure: Officers, directors and/or employees of Zacks Investment Research may own or have sold short securities and/or hold long and/or short positions in options that are mentioned in this material. An affiliated investment advisory firm may own or have sold short securities and/or hold long and/or short positions in options that are mentioned in this material.
Disclosure: Performance information for Zacks’ portfolios and strategies are available at: https://www.zacks.com/performance.
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