Does Hooker Furniture (NASDAQ:HOFT) Have A Healthy Balance Sheet?
The external fund manager backed by Berkshire Hathaway's Charlie Munger, Li Lu, makes no bones about it when he says 'The biggest investment risk is not the volatility of prices, but whether you will suffer a permanent loss of capital.' When we think about how risky a company is, we always like to look at its use of debt, since debt overload can lead to ruin. We can see that Hooker Furniture Corporation (NASDAQ:HOFT) does use debt in its business. But the real question is whether this debt is making the company risky.
What Risk Does Debt Bring?
Generally speaking, debt only becomes a real problem when a company can't easily pay it off, either by raising capital or with its own cash flow. Part and parcel of capitalism is the process of 'creative destruction' where failed businesses are mercilessly liquidated by their bankers. While that is not too common, we often do see indebted companies permanently diluting shareholders because lenders force them to raise capital at a distressed price. Of course, the upside of debt is that it often represents cheap capital, especially when it replaces dilution in a company with the ability to reinvest at high rates of return. The first thing to do when considering how much debt a business uses is to look at its cash and debt together.
View our latest analysis for Hooker Furniture
What Is Hooker Furniture's Net Debt?
The image below, which you can click on for greater detail, shows that Hooker Furniture had debt of US$32.5m at the end of August 2019, a reduction from US$39.6m over a year. However, it does have US$13.3m in cash offsetting this, leading to net debt of about US$19.3m.
A Look At Hooker Furniture's Liabilities
The latest balance sheet data shows that Hooker Furniture had liabilities of US$59.4m due within a year, and liabilities of US$74.1m falling due after that. Offsetting these obligations, it had cash of US$13.3m as well as receivables valued at US$90.2m due within 12 months. So its liabilities total US$30.0m more than the combination of its cash and short-term receivables.
Since publicly traded Hooker Furniture shares are worth a total of US$247.8m, it seems unlikely that this level of liabilities would be a major threat. However, we do think it is worth keeping an eye on its balance sheet strength, as it may change over time.
We measure a company's debt load relative to its earnings power by looking at its net debt divided by its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) and by calculating how easily its earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) cover its interest expense (interest cover). This way, we consider both the absolute quantum of the debt, as well as the interest rates paid on it.
Hooker Furniture has a low net debt to EBITDA ratio of only 0.41. And its EBIT easily covers its interest expense, being 29.4 times the size. So you could argue it is no more threatened by its debt than an elephant is by a mouse. But the bad news is that Hooker Furniture has seen its EBIT plunge 16% in the last twelve months. If that rate of decline in earnings continues, the company could find itself in a tight spot. When analysing debt levels, the balance sheet is the obvious place to start. But ultimately the future profitability of the business will decide if Hooker Furniture can strengthen its balance sheet over time. So if you're focused on the future you can check out this free report showing analyst profit forecasts.
Finally, while the tax-man may adore accounting profits, lenders only accept cold hard cash. So the logical step is to look at the proportion of that EBIT that is matched by actual free cash flow. In the last three years, Hooker Furniture's free cash flow amounted to 31% of its EBIT, less than we'd expect. That weak cash conversion makes it more difficult to handle indebtedness.
Our View
On our analysis Hooker Furniture's interest cover should signal that it won't have too much trouble with its debt. However, our other observations weren't so heartening. In particular, EBIT growth rate gives us cold feet. Looking at all this data makes us feel a little cautious about Hooker Furniture's debt levels. While we appreciate debt can enhance returns on equity, we'd suggest that shareholders keep close watch on its debt levels, lest they increase. We'd be motivated to research the stock further if we found out that Hooker Furniture insiders have bought shares recently. If you would too, then you're in luck, since today we're sharing our list of reported insider transactions for free.
If you're interested in investing in businesses that can grow profits without the burden of debt, then check out this free list of growing businesses that have net cash on the balance sheet.
We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.
If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading.
