VMware, Inc. (VMW) Quant in Focus as ERP5 Reaches 3233

Source: fosterbusinessjournal.com

Mware, Inc. (VMW) of the Information Technology sector has an ERP5 rank of 3233. The ERP5 Rank is an investment tool that analysts use to discover undervalued companies.  The ERP5 looks at the Price to Book ratio, Earnings Yield, ROIC and 5 year average ROIC.  The lower the ERP5 rank, the more undervalued a company is thought to be.

Investing in the stock market can sometimes draw intense emotion from individual investors. When the market slips into a chaotic state, some investors may let their emotions get the best of them which can lead to impulsive decisions. On the other side of the coin, market chaos may cause certain investors to freeze in a panic. This may mean that the investor becomes shaken to the point that they are unable to make any decisions let alone an educated one. Discipline is a quality shared by many successful traders and investors. Staying committed to the plan, whether short-term or long-term, can help investors make it through those times of extreme market uncertainty. 

FCF Yield 5yr Avg

The FCF Yield 5yr Average is calculated by taking the five year average free cash flow of a company, and dividing it by the current enterprise value. Enterprise Value is calculated by taking the market capitalization plus debt, minority interest and preferred shares, minus total cash and cash equivalents. The average FCF of a company is determined by looking at the cash generated by operations of the company. The Free Cash Flow Yield 5 Year Average of VMware, Inc. (VMW) is 0.039626.

Technicals & Ratios

The EBITDA Yield is a great way to determine a company’s profitability. This number is calculated by dividing a company’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization by the company’s enterprise value. Enterprise Value is calculated by taking the market capitalization plus debt, minority interest and preferred shares, minus total cash and cash equivalents. The EBITDA/EV for VMware, Inc. (VMW) is stands at 0.040938. This multiple is similar to Earnings Yield, but here we use Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization (EBITDA) as Nominator). By doing this, we can compare companies with a different capital structure and capital expenditures. This way it gives a much better idea of the value of a company compared to the popular P/E ratio. As O’Shaughnessy explaines:

“Stocks that have very high debt levels often have low PE ratios, but this does not necessarily mean that they are cheap in relation to other securities. Stocks that are highly leveraged tend to have far more volatile PE ratios than those that are not. A stock’s PE ratio is greatly affected by debt levels and tax rates, whereas EBITDA/EV is not. To compare valuations on a level playing field, you need to account for how a company is financing itself and then compare how relatively cheap or expensive it is after accounting for all balance sheet items.” – James P. O’Shaugnessy in What works on Wall Street.

Quant Scores

The M-Score, conceived by accounting professor Messod Beneish, is a model for detecting whether a company has manipulated their earnings numbers or not. VMware, Inc. (VMW) has an M-Score of -3.960451. The M-Score is based on 8 different variables: Days’ sales in receivables index, Gross Margin Index, Asset Quality Index, Sales Growth Index, Depreciation Index, Sales, General and Administrative expenses Index, Leverage Index and Total Accruals to Total Assets. A score higher than -1.78 is an indicator that the company might be manipulating their numbers.

The Value Composite One (VC1) is a method that investors use to determine a company’s value. The VC1 of VMware, Inc. (VMW) is 65. A company with a value of 0 is thought to be an undervalued company, while a company with a value of 100 is considered an overvalued company. The VC1 is calculated using the price to book value, price to sales, EBITDA to EV, price to cash flow, and price to earnings. Similarly, the Value Composite Two (VC2) is calculated with the same ratios, but adds the Shareholder Yield. The Value Composite Two of VMware, Inc. (VMW) is 66. Value Composite Three (VC3) is another adaptation of O’Shaughnessy’s value composite but here he combines the factors used in VC1 with buyback yield. This factor is interesting for investors who’re looking for stocks with the best value characteristics, but are indifferent to whether these companies pay a dividend. VMware, Inc. (VMW) has a VC3 score of 66.

Investors may be interested in viewing the Gross Margin score on shares of VMware, Inc. (VMW). Robert Novy-Marx, a professor at the university of Rochester, discovered that gross profitability – a quality factor – has as much power predicting stock returns as traditional value metrics. He found that while other quality measures had some predictive power, especially on small caps and in conjunction with value measures, gross profitability generates significant excess returns as a stand alone strategy, especially on large cap stocks.

Investors may also be following some quality ratios for VMware, Inc. (VMW). Robert Novy-Marx, a professor at the university of Rochester, discovered that gross profitability – a quality factor – has as much power predicting stock returns as traditional value metrics. He found that while other quality measures had some predictive power, especially on small caps and in conjunction with value measures, gross profitability generates significant excess returns as a stand alone strategy, especially on large cap stocks.The Gross profitability for (VMW) is 0.528819.

At the time of writing, VMware, Inc. (VMW) has a Piotroski F-Score of 4. The F-Score may help discover companies with strengthening balance sheets. The score may also be used to spot the weak performers. Joseph Piotroski developed the F-Score which employs nine different variables based on the company financial statement. A single point is assigned to each test that a stock passes. Typically, a stock scoring an 8 or 9 would be seen as strong. On the other end, a stock with a score from 0-2 would be viewed as weak.

Keeping an eye on the all the day to day happenings in the stock market can be quite a task. Investors may need to try to focus in on the most important information when attempting to examine stocks to add to the portfolio. As earnings reports continue to roll in, investors may be taking a deeper look at some of the names that they have on their shortlist. Investors may also be taking a look at future estimates and guidance provided by companies in order to get a feel of how the stock price may be affected in the future. With the equity market still trading at super high levels, investors may be wondering how much higher some stocks in the portfolio can go. Maybe there are a few winners that look like they have peaked, and investors may have to decide whether to cash in or hold out for more gains. Maybe there are a few losers that have been underperforming and need to be cut loose.