The following are today’s upgrades for Validea’s Price/Sales Investor model based on the published strategy of Kenneth Fisher. This value strategy rewards stocks with low P/S ratios, long-term profit growth, strong free cash flow and consistent profit margins.
VAALCO ENERGY, INC. (EGY) is a small-cap value stock in the Oil & Gas Operations industry. The rating according to our strategy based on Kenneth Fisher changed from 58% to 70% based on the firm’s underlying fundamentals and the stock’s valuation. A score of 80% or above typically indicates that the strategy has some interest in the stock and a score above 90% typically indicates strong interest.
Company Description: VAALCO Energy, Inc. is an independent energy company principally engaged in the acquisition, exploration, development and production of crude oil. The Company’s segments include segments Gabon and Equatorial Guinea. The Company is holding a 63.6% participating interest in the Etame Marin block, located offshore Gabon, which to date has produced over 125 million barrels of crude oil and of which the Company is the operator. The operations of all segments include exploration for and production of hydrocarbons where commercial reserves have been found and developed. The Company owns an interest in an undeveloped block offshore Equatorial Guinea, West Africa. Its subsidiaries include VAALCO Gabon (Etame), Inc., VAALCO Production (Gabon), Inc., VAALCO Gabon S.A., VAALCO Angola (Kwanza), Inc., VAALCO Energy (EG), Inc., VAALCO Energy Mauritius (EG) Limited, VAALCO Energy, Inc. (UK Branch) and VAALCO Energy (USA), Inc.
The following table summarizes whether the stock meets each of this strategy’s tests. Not all criteria in the below table receive equal weighting or are independent, but the table provides a brief overview of the strong and weak points of the security in the context of the strategy’s criteria.
| PRICE/SALES RATIO: | PASS |
| TOTAL DEBT/EQUITY RATIO: | PASS |
| PRICE/RESEARCH RATIO: | PASS |
| PRICE/SALES RATIO: | FAIL |
| LONG-TERM EPS GROWTH RATE: | FAIL |
| FREE CASH PER SHARE: | PASS |
| THREE YEAR AVERAGE NET PROFIT MARGIN: | FAIL |
Detailed Analysis of VAALCO ENERGY, INC.
PDC ENERGY INC (PDCE) is a mid-cap value stock in the Oil & Gas Operations industry. The rating according to our strategy based on Kenneth Fisher changed from 58% to 70% based on the firm’s underlying fundamentals and the stock’s valuation. A score of 80% or above typically indicates that the strategy has some interest in the stock and a score above 90% typically indicates strong interest.
Company Description: PDC Energy, Inc. is an exploration and production company. The Company acquires, explores and develops properties for the production of crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids (NGLs), with operations in the Wattenberg Field in Colorado and the Delaware Basin in west Texas. Its operations in the Wattenberg Field are focused on the horizontal Niobrara and Codell plays, and its Delaware Basin operations are primarily focused on the horizontal Wolfcamp zones. The Company owns an interest in approximately 3,500 gross productive wells. The Company’s wholly owned subsidiary is PDC Permian, Inc.
The following table summarizes whether the stock meets each of this strategy’s tests. Not all criteria in the below table receive equal weighting or are independent, but the table provides a brief overview of the strong and weak points of the security in the context of the strategy’s criteria.
| PRICE/SALES RATIO: | PASS |
| TOTAL DEBT/EQUITY RATIO: | PASS |
| PRICE/RESEARCH RATIO: | PASS |
| PRICE/SALES RATIO: | FAIL |
| LONG-TERM EPS GROWTH RATE: | FAIL |
| FREE CASH PER SHARE: | PASS |
| THREE YEAR AVERAGE NET PROFIT MARGIN: | FAIL |
Detailed Analysis of PDC ENERGY INC
ASTEC INDUSTRIES, INC. (ASTE) is a small-cap value stock in the Constr. & Agric. Machinery industry. The rating according to our strategy based on Kenneth Fisher changed from 40% to 70% based on the firm’s underlying fundamentals and the stock’s valuation. A score of 80% or above typically indicates that the strategy has some interest in the stock and a score above 90% typically indicates strong interest.
Company Description: Astec Industries, Inc. designs, engineers, manufactures and markets equipment and components used primarily in road building and related construction activities. The Company operates through two segments: Infrastructure Solutions and Materials Solutions. The Infrastructure Solutions segment consists of approximately 12 sites and designs, engineers, manufactures and markets a complete line of asphalt plants, concrete plants and their related components and ancillary equipment, as well as supplying other heavy equipment. The Materials Solutions segment consists of nine sites and designs and manufactures heavy processing equipment, in addition to servicing and supplying parts for the aggregate, metallic mining, recycling, ports and bulk handling markets. Its products are marketed both domestically and internationally primarily to asphalt producers; highway and heavy equipment contractors; utility contractors; construction, demolition, recycle and crushing contractors, and others.
The following table summarizes whether the stock meets each of this strategy’s tests. Not all criteria in the below table receive equal weighting or are independent, but the table provides a brief overview of the strong and weak points of the security in the context of the strategy’s criteria.
| PRICE/SALES RATIO: | PASS |
| TOTAL DEBT/EQUITY RATIO: | PASS |
| PRICE/RESEARCH RATIO: | PASS |
| PRICE/SALES RATIO: | PASS |
| LONG-TERM EPS GROWTH RATE: | FAIL |
| FREE CASH PER SHARE: | FAIL |
| THREE YEAR AVERAGE NET PROFIT MARGIN: | FAIL |
Detailed Analysis of ASTEC INDUSTRIES, INC.
More details on Validea’s Kenneth Fisher strategy
About Kenneth Fisher: The son of Philip Fisher, who is considered the “Father of Growth Investing”, Kenneth Fisher is a money manager, bestselling author, and longtime Forbes columnist. The younger Fisher wowed Wall Street in the mid-1980s when his book Super Stocks first popularized the idea of using the price/sales ratio (PSR) as a means of identifying attractive stocks. According to his alma mater, Humboldt State University, Fisher is also one of the world’s foremost experts on 19th century logging. Appropriately, Fisher’s firm, Fisher Investments, is located in a lush forest preserve in Woodside, California, where the contrarian-minded Fisher says he and his employees can get away from Wall Street groupthink.
About Validea: Validea is aninvestment researchservice that follows the published strategies of investment legends. Validea offers both stock analysis and model portfolios based on gurus who have outperformed the market over the long-term, including Warren Buffett, Benjamin Graham, Peter Lynch and Martin Zweig. For more information about Validea, click here
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
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