Agilent Technologies Inc (A): A Deep Dive into Financial Metrics and Competitive Strengths
Agilent Technologies Inc (NYSE:A) has recently been in the spotlight, drawing interest from investors and financial analysts due to its robust financial stance. With shares currently priced at $113.36, Agilent Technologies Inc has witnessed a daily loss of 2.2%, marked against a three-month change of -6.3%. A thorough analysis, underlined by the GuruFocus Score Rating, suggests that Agilent Technologies Inc is well-positioned for substantial growth in the near future.
Understanding the GF Score
The GF Score is a stock performance ranking system developed by GuruFocus using five aspects of valuation, which has been found to be closely correlated to the long-term performances of stocks by backtesting from 2006 to 2021. The stocks with a higher GF Score generally generate higher returns than those with a lower GF Score. Therefore, when picking stocks, investors should invest in companies with high GF Scores. The GF Score ranges from 0 to 100, with 100 as the highest rank.
Agilent Technologies Inc has been assigned the following ranks:
Financial strength rank: 7/10
Profitability rank: 9/10
Growth rank: 8/10
GF Value rank: 9/10
Momentum rank: 7/10
Each one of these components is ranked and the ranks also have positive correlation with the long term performances of stocks. The GF score is calculated using the five key aspects of analysis. Through backtesting, we know that each of these key aspects has a different impact on the stock price performance. Thus, they are weighted differently when calculating the total score. With high ranks in profitability and GF value, and slightly lower ranks in financial strength and momentum, GuruFocus assigned Agilent Technologies Inc the GF Score of 92 out of 100, which signals the highest outperformance potential.
Agilent Technologies Inc: A Snapshot
Originally spun out of Hewlett-Packard in 1999, Agilent Technologies Inc has evolved into a leading life sciences and diagnostics firm. Today, Agilent's measurement technologies serve a broad base of customers with its three operating segments: life science and applied tools, cross lab (consisting of consumables and services related to life science and applied tools), and diagnostics and genomics. Over half of its sales are generated from the biopharmaceutical, chemical, and advanced materials end markets, but it also supports clinical lab, environmental, forensics, food, academic, and government-related organizations. The company is geographically diverse, with operations in the U.S. and China representing the largest country concentrations.
Financial Strength Breakdown
According to the Financial Strength rating, Agilent Technologies Inc's robust balance sheet exhibits resilience against financial volatility, reflecting prudent management of capital structure.
The Interest Coverage ratio for Agilent Technologies Inc stands impressively at 14.72, underscoring its strong capability to cover its interest obligations. This robust financial position resonates with the wisdom of legendary investor Benjamin Graham, who favored companies with an interest coverage ratio of at least 5.
With an Altman Z-Score of 5.31, Agilent Technologies Inc exhibits a strong defense against financial distress, highlighting its robust financial stability.
With a favorable Debt-to-Revenue ratio of 0.4, Agilent Technologies Inc's strategic handling of debt solidifies its financial health.
Profitability Rank Breakdown
The Profitability Rank shows Agilent Technologies Inc's impressive standing among its peers in generating profit.
Agilent Technologies Inc Operating Margin has increased (28.43%) over the past five years, as shown by the following data: 2018: 18.40; 2019: 18.23; 2020: 15.85; 2021: 21.32; 2022: 23.63; .
The Piotroski F-Score confirms Agilent Technologies Inc's solid financial situation based on Joseph Piotroski's nine-point scale, which measures a company's profitability, funding and operating efficiency.
Growth Rank Breakdown
Ranked highly in Growth, Agilent Technologies Inc demonstrates a strong commitment to expanding its business.
The company's 3-Year Revenue Growth Rate is 12%, which outperforms better than 54.15% of 205 companies in the Medical Diagnostics & Research industry
Moreover, Agilent Technologies Inc has seen a robust increase in its earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) over the past few years. Specifically, the three-year growth rate stands at 17.9, and the rate over the past five years is 13.6. This trend accentuates the company's continued capability to drive growth.
Conclusion
Given the company's strong financial strength, profitability, and growth metrics, the GuruFocus Score Rating highlights Agilent Technologies Inc's unparalleled position for potential outperformance. This makes it a compelling choice for investors seeking robust returns.
GuruFocus Premium members can find more companies with strong GF Scores using the following screener link: GF Score Screen
This article first appeared on GuruFocus.
