Gibraltar Industries, Inc. (ROCK) Stock Update & Valuation Review As ERP5 Touches 1714

Gibraltar Industries, Inc. (ROCK) has an ERP5 rank of 1714. The ERP5 score was designed by the MFIE Capital team. It combines the Greenblatt Magic formula with ideas developed by Graham & Dodd, who advocated the use of 5 to 10 year smoothed earnings to cover full economic business cycles and dampen the effect of expansions and recessions. Finally it adds the book-to-market ratio into the mix.

When looking at technical analysis, one of the leading concepts is that of the trend. Chartists are constantly looking to identify trends to help determine which way a stock price is moving. Trends may not always be easy to spot, but they can be highly useful when identified. When looking at the stock market, an example of an upward trend is generally classified as a stock price that over time keeps reaching higher highs and higher lows. On the flip side, a downward trend is usually identified by spotting a stock that has been hitting lower lows and lower highs. Defining trends may take the novice trader some time to figure out, but learning how to properly study charts may help bring in steady profits in the future. 

NCAV-to-Market

Benjamin Graham, professor and founder of value investing principles, was one of the first to consistently screen the market looking for bargain companies based on value factors. He didn’t have databases such as ValueSignals at his disposal, but used people like his apprentice Warren Buffet to fill out stock sheets with the most important data.

Graham was always on the watch for firms that were so discounted, that if the company went into liquidation, the proceeds of the assets would still return a profit.

The ratio he used to identify these companies was Net Current Asset Value or NCAV. This ratio is much more stringent compared to book value (total assets – total liabilities) and is calculated as follows:

NCAV = Current Assets − Total Liabilities
Current Assets = Cash & ST Investments + Inventories + Accounts Receivable
Graham was only happy if he could buy the company at 2/3 of the NCAV. That’s the sort of margin of safety he was looking for.

This strategy was very successful during the years after Graham published it in his book ‘Security analysis’ in 1934 and also in more recent studies it has proven to provide superior results. A study done by the State University of New York to prove the effectiveness of this strategy showed that from the period of 1970 to 1983 an investor could have earned an average return of 29.4%, by purchasing stocks that fulfilled Graham’s requirement and holding them for one year. Nowadays it’s very difficult to find companies that meet Graham’s criteria.

We calculate NCAV to Market as follows:

NCAV-to-Market Ratio = NCAV divided by Market Cap

Gibraltar Industries, Inc. (ROCK) has an NCAV to Market value of 0.060959.

Technicals
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 Yield for Gibraltar Industries, Inc. (ROCK) is 89480.457.

 Earnings Yield is calculated by taking the operating income or earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) and dividing it by the Enterprise Value of the company.  The Earnings Yield for Gibraltar Industries, Inc. (ROCK) is 0.08237.  Earnings Yield helps investors measure the return on investment for a given company.  Similarly, the Earnings Yield Five Year Average is the five year average operating income or EBIT divided by the current enterprise value.  The Earnings Yield Five Year average for Gibraltar Industries, Inc. is 0.064652.

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 Gibraltar Industries, Inc. (ROCK) is 0.055655.

Ratios

Market watchers may also be following some quality ratios for Gibraltar Industries, Inc. (ROCK). 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 (ROCK) is 0.230083.

A ratio used to find the value of a company by comparing the book value of a firm to its market value. Book value is calculated by looking at the firm’s historical cost, or accounting value. Market value is determined in the stock market through its market capitalization.

Formula:

Book-to-Market Ratio = Common Shareholders Equity Divided by Market Cap.

The book to market ratio for Gibraltar Industries, Inc. (ROCK) is 0.45695. 

Adding it All Up

The Piotroski F-Score is a scoring system between 1-9 that determines a firm’s financial strength.  The score helps determine if a company’s stock is valuable or not.  The Piotroski F-Score of Gibraltar Industries, Inc. (ROCK) is 5.  A score of nine indicates a high value stock, while a score of one indicates a low value stock.  The score is calculated by the return on assets (ROA), Cash flow return on assets (CFROA), change in return of assets, and quality of earnings.  It is also calculated by a change in gearing or leverage, liquidity, and change in shares in issue.  The score is also determined by change in gross margin and change in asset turnover.

Investors might be searching high and low for the next great stock to trade. Professional investors may have their game plans honed and ready to roll, but amateurs may be fighting to stay above water in the markets. Leaping into the equity markets without any preparation may lead to quick losses. Keeping track of all the ins and outs of daily market activity can be exhausting, and investors may be best served if they are able to focus on the essentials and rise above the noise. Although successful trading might be measured differently from one person to another, the general principles of winners are generally the same. Snatching profits from the market may seem like an easy task when stocks are soaring, but things can always snap back in the blink of an eye. Investors who are able to prepare for any situation may find themselves ahead of the game when the inevitable bear market scenario rears its head.