Yahoo Finance 4 Must-Buy Efficient Stocks to Enrich Your Portfolio
Irrespective of market conditions, companies with favorable efficiency levels are more likely to be investors’ choices. The reason is that a company with a favorable efficiency level is expected to offer impressive returns as it is believed to be positively correlated to its price performance.
Efficiency ratio is an indication of a company’s financial health. It analyzes how efficiently a company uses its assets and liabilities internally.
However, at times it becomes difficult to measure the efficiency level of a company. This is why one must consider the popular efficiency ratios listed below while selecting stocks.
Receivables Turnover: This is the ratio of 12-month sales to four-quarter average receivables. It shows a company’s potential to extend its credit and collect debt in terms of that credit. A high receivables turnover ratio or the “accounts receivable turnover ratio” or “debtor’s turnover ratio” is desirable as it shows that the company is capable of collecting its accounts receivables or that it has quality customers.
Asset Utilization: This ratio indicates a company’s capability to convert assets into output and is thus a widely known measure of efficiency level. It is calculated by dividing total sales over the past 12 months by the last four-quarter average of total assets. Like the above ratios, high asset utilization may indicate that a company is efficient.
Inventory Turnover: The ratio of the 12-month cost of goods sold (COGS) to a four-quarter average inventory is considered one of the most popular efficiency ratios. It indicates a company’s ability to maintain a suitable inventory position. While a high value indicates that the company has a relatively low level of inventory compared to COGS, a low value indicates that the company is facing declining sales, which has resulted in excess inventory.
Operating Margin: This efficiency measure is the ratio of operating income over the past 12 months to sales over the same period. It measures a company’s ability to control operating expenses. Hence, a high value of the ratio may indicate that the company manages its operating expenses more efficiently than its peers.
Screening Criteria
In addition to the above-mentioned ratios, we have added a favorable Zacks Rank — Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) — to the screen to make this strategy more profitable. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Inventory Turnover, Receivables Turnover, Asset Utilization, and Operating Margin greater than the industry average
(Values of these ratios higher than industry averages may indicate that the efficiency level of the company is higher than its peers.)
The use of these few criteria narrowed down the universe of over 7,906 stocks to eight.
Here are the top four stocks that made it through the screen:
Veracyte VCYT is a global diagnostics company that provides clinicians with valuable insights to diagnose and treat cancer. VCYT has an average four-quarter positive earnings surprise of nearly 59.7%.
Signet Jewelers SIG is a retailer of diamond jewelry, watches and other products. The company operates in the United States, Canada, the U.K., the Republic of Ireland and the Channel Islands. SIG has an average four-quarter positive earnings surprise of 26.4%.
UMB Financial UMBF provides banking services and asset servicing in the United States. UMBF has an average four-quarter positive earnings surprise of 18.8%.
NVIDIA NVDA is the worldwide leader in visual computing technologies and the inventor of the graphic processing unit, or GPU. NVDA has an average four-quarter positive earnings surprise of 18.4%.
You can get the rest of the stocks on this list by signing up now for your 2-week free trial to the Research Wizard and start using this screen in your own trading. Further, you can also create your own strategies and test them first before taking the investment plunge.
The Research Wizard is a great place to begin. It's easy to use. Everything is in plain language. And it's very intuitive. Start your Research Wizard trial today. And the next time you read an economic report, open up the Research Wizard, plug your finds in, and see what gems come out.
Click here to sign up for a free trial to the Research Wizard today.
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
Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report
NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Signet Jewelers Limited (SIG) : Free Stock Analysis Report
UMB Financial Corporation (UMBF) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Veracyte, Inc. (VCYT) : Free Stock Analysis Report
