Bet on These 5 Low-Leverage Stocks as Oil Prices Dip
A handful of major U.S. stock indices ended in the green on Sep 28, after incurring losses over the past few days. It seems like the latest drop in crude oil prices brought in the much-needed breather for investors, which, in turn, was reflected in the equity market’s performance.
This might encourage investors to buy some growth stocks. However, since the share market has lately been on edge, we recommend stocks like Lindsay Corp. LNN, Amalgamated Financial AMAL, GameStop GME, Steelcase SCS and Limbach LMB, which bear low leverage. Choosing them can shield investors from incurring huge losses in times of crisis.
Now, before selecting low-leverage stocks, let’s explore what leverage is and how choosing a low-leverage stock helps investors.
In finance, leverage is a term used to denote the practice of borrowing capital by companies to run their operations smoothly and expand the same. Such borrowings are done through debt financing. But there remains an option for equity finance. This is probably due to the cheap and easy availability of debt over equity financing.
However, debt financing has its share of drawbacks. Particularly, it is desirable only as long as it successfully generates a higher rate of return compared to the interest rate. So, to avoid considerable losses in your portfolio, one should always avoid companies that resort to exorbitant debt financing.
The crux of safe investment lies in choosing a company that is not burdened with debt, as a debt-free stock is almost impossible to find.
The equity market can be volatile at times and, as an investor, if you don’t want to lose big time, we suggest you invest in stocks, which bear low leverage and are hence less risky.
To identify such stocks, historically, several leverage ratios have been developed to measure the amount of debt a company bears and the debt-to-equity ratio is one of the most common ratios.
Analyzing Debt/Equity
Debt-to-Equity Ratio = Total Liabilities/Shareholders’ Equity
This metric is a liquidity ratio that indicates the amount of financial risk a company bears. A lower debt-to-equity ratio reflects improved solvency for a company.
With the third-quarter earnings cycle ahead of us, investors must be eyeing stocks that have exhibited solid earnings growth in the recent past. But if a stock bears a high debt-to-equity ratio in times of economic downturn, its so-called booming earnings picture might turn into a nightmare.
The Winning Strategy
Considering the aforementioned factors, it is prudent to choose stocks with a low debt-to-equity ratio to ensure steady returns.
Yet, an investment strategy based solely on the debt-to-equity ratio might not fetch the desired outcome. To choose stocks that have the potential to give you steady returns, we have expanded our screening criteria to include some other factors.
Here are the other parameters:
Debt/Equity less than X-Industry Median: Stocks that are less leveraged than their industry peers.
Current Price greater than or equal to 10: The stocks must be trading at a minimum of $10 or above.
Average 20-day Volume greater than or equal to 50000: A substantial trading volume ensures that the stock is easily tradable.
Percentage Change in EPS F(0)/F(-1) greater than X-Industry Median: Earnings growth adds to optimism, leading to a stock’s price appreciation.
VGM Score of A or B: Our research shows that stocks with a VGM Score of A or B, when combined with a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) or 2 (Buy), offer the best upside potential.
Estimated One-Year EPS Growth F(1)/F(0) greater than 5: This shows earnings growth expectation.
Zacks Rank #1 or 2: Irrespective of market conditions, stocks with a Zacks Rank #1 or 2 have a proven history of success.
Excluding stocks that have a negative or a zero debt-to-equity ratio, here we present our five picks out of the 21 stocks that made it through the screen.
Lindsay Corp.: The company provides a variety of proprietary water management and road infrastructure products and services. On Jul 31, 2023, Lindsay Corp. announced that it had acquired FieldWise, LLC, a market leader in agricultural technology products with a focus on subscription-based, precision irrigation solutions. The addition of FieldWise is projected to expand and strengthen Lindsay’s position in smart irrigation and other AgTech markets.
LNN delivered an earnings surprise of 3.38%, on average, in the trailing four quarters. It holds a Zacks Rank #2 currently. The company boasts a long-term earnings growth rate of 19%.
Amalgamated Financial: It provides commercial banking and trust services nationally and offers products and services to both commercial and retail customer. On Jul 27, 2023, the company reported its second-quarter 2023 results. Its earnings per share of 70 cents improved a solid 11.1% year over year.
AMAL currently carries a Zacks Rank #2. The company delivered an earnings surprise of 7.02% on average in the trailing four quarters. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2023 sales suggests a 7.6% improvement year over year.
GameStop: It is the world's largest video game retailer. The company offers the best selection of new and pre-owned video gaming consoles, accessories and video game titles, in both physical and digital formats. On Sep 6, 2023, GameStop announced its second-quarter fiscal 2023 results. Its net sales worth $1.16 billion improved 2.5% from the year-ago quarter’s sales.
GME currently carries a Zacks Rank #2. The company delivered an earnings surprise of 72.69% on average in the trailing four quarters. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for GME’s fiscal 2023 bottom line indicates a solid improvement from the fiscal 2022 reported figure. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Steelcase: It is a designer and manufacturer of products used to create high-performance work environments. Its product portfolio includes furniture systems, seating, storage, desks, casegoods, interior architectural products, technology products, and related products and services. On Sep 19, 2023, Steelcase announced that it has partnered with the online database Ecomedes to streamline how architects, designers and customers can access its product sustainability information to design workspaces with intention.
SCS currently carries a Zacks Rank #2. The company delivered an earnings surprise of 233.01% on average in the trailing four quarters. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for SCS’ fiscal 2024 sales suggests a 3.3% improvement from the fiscal 2023 reported figure.
Limbach: It provides building systems. The company engineers, constructs and services mechanical, plumbing, air conditioning, heating, building automation, electrical and control systems. On Aug 9, 2023, Limbach announced its second-quarter 2023 results. Its revenues increased 7.5% year over year, while gross profit improved a solid 33.7%.
LMB currently sports a Zacks Rank #1. The company boasts a long-term earnings growth rate of 12%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for LMB’s 2023 sales suggests a 0.8% improvement from the 2022 reported figure.
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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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Lindsay Corporation (LNN) : Free Stock Analysis Report
GameStop Corp. (GME) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Steelcase Inc. (SCS) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Limbach Holdings, Inc. (LMB) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Amalgamated Financial Corp. (AMAL) : Free Stock Analysis Report
