A Look at Hecla Mining Company (NYSE:HL), SPX FLOW, Inc. (NYSE:FLOW) : Earnings Yield & Data Deep Dive

The Earnings to Price yield of Hecla Mining Company (NYSE:HL) is -0.020516.  This is calculated by taking the earnings per share and dividing it by the last closing share price.  This is one of the most popular methods investors use to evaluate a company’s financial performance.  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 Hecla Mining Company NYSE:HL is 0.044016.  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 Hecla Mining Company (NYSE:HL) is 0.025394.

Investors are always looking to gain any possible advantage in the stock market. Knowing the various risk and return possibilities for various types of stocks can be critical to positive performance. Creating a balanced equity portfolio may be the essential first step when thinking about diving into the equity markets. Investors may come from all different types of backgrounds, and they may face completely different situations. Each investor may need to identify their objectives and try to figure out what’s best for their specific situation. Investors may want to take a conservative approach to the markets. Others will be looking to go in full throttle with a very aggressive plan. Whatever the choice, it is important to note that picking stocks based on previous returns will never guarantee future returns. Investors have many choices they can make when looking to purchase stocks. Figuring out levels of risk, expectations of returns, and the overall investment time horizon can all play a big part in crafting the initial plan.

Quant Scores/Key Ratios

Now we’ll turn to some key quant data and ratios. The Current Ratio of Hecla Mining Company (NYSE:HL) is 1.50. The Current Ratio is used by investors to determine whether a company can pay short term and long term debts. The current ratio looks at all the liquid and non-liquid assets compared to the company’s total current liabilities. A high current ratio indicates that the company might have trouble managing their working capital. A low current ratio (when the current liabilities are higher than the current assets) indicates that the company may have trouble paying their short term obligations.

Hecla Mining Company (NYSE:HL)’s Leverage Ratio was recently noted as 0.214934. This ratio is calculated by dividing total debt by total assets plus total assets previous year, divided by two. The leverage of a company is relative to the amount of debt on the balance sheet. This ratio is often viewed as one measure of the financial health of a firm.

The Gross Margin Score is calculated by looking at the Gross Margin and the overall stability of the company over the course of 8 years. The score is a number between one and one hundred (1 being best and 100 being the worst). The Gross Margin Score of Hecla Mining Company (NYSE:HL) is 46.00000. The more stable the company, the lower the score. If a company is less stable over the course of time, they will have a higher score.

At the time of writing, Hecla Mining Company (NYSE:HL) 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.

Hecla Mining Company (NYSE:HL) has an M-score Beneish of -2.454134. This M-score model is a little known investment tool that was developed by Messod Beneish in order to detect manipulation of financial statements. The score uses a combination of eight different variables. The specifics of the variables and formula can be found in the Beneish paper “The Detection of Earnings Manipulation”.

The Value Composite One (VC1) is a method that investors use to determine a company’s value.  The VC1 of Hecla Mining Company (NYSE:HL) is 36.  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 Hecla Mining Company (NYSE:HL) is 48.

The MF Rank (aka the Magic Formula) is a formula that pinpoints a valuable company trading at a good price.  The formula is calculated by looking at companies that have a high earnings yield as well as a high return on invested capital.  The MF Rank of Hecla Mining Company (NYSE:HL) is 9502.  A company with a low rank is considered a good company to invest in.  The Magic Formula was introduced in a book written by Joel Greenblatt, entitled, “The Little Book that Beats the Market”.

Shifting gears, we can see that Hecla Mining Company (NYSE:HL) has a Q.i. Value of 40.00000. The Q.i. Value ranks companies using four ratios. These ratios consist of EBITDA Yield, FCF Yield, Liquidity, and Earnings Yield. The purpose of the Q.i. Value is to help identify companies that are the most undervalued. Typically, the lower the value, the more undervalued the company tends to be.

Price Index/Share Movement

We can now take a quick look at some historical stock price index data. Hecla Mining Company (NYSE:HL) presently has a 10 month price index of 0.72591. The price index is calculated by dividing the current share price by the share price ten months ago. A ratio over one indicates an increase in share price over the period. A ratio lower than one shows that the price has decreased over that time period. Looking at some alternate time periods, the 12 month price index is 0.69059, the 24 month is 0.49470, and the 36 month is 1.55249. Narrowing in a bit closer, the 5 month price index is 0.89550, the 3 month is 0.98322, and the 1 month is currently 1.17797.

Stock volatility is a percentage that indicates whether a stock is a desirable purchase.  Investors look at the Volatility 12m to determine if a company has a low volatility percentage or not over the course of a year.  The Volatility 12m of Hecla Mining Company (NYSE:HL) is 42.073900.  This is calculated by taking weekly log normal returns and standard deviation of the share price over one year annualized.  The lower the number, a company is thought to have low volatility.  The Volatility 3m is a similar percentage determined by the daily log normal returns and standard deviation of the share price over 3 months.  The Volatility 3m of Hecla Mining Company (NYSE:HL) is 58.581200.  The Volatility 6m is the same, except measured over the course of six months.  The Volatility 6m is 56.607900.

Investors may be wondering which way stock market momentum will shift in the second half of the year. If the economic landscape shifts and markets start to go south, investors may need to have an action plan in place. Keeping the bigger picture in mind may help investors when markets are struggling. Short-term developments may cause the investor to lose confidence in certain holdings. Keeping the focus on stock analysis and the overall economic picture may help investors see through the trees. Sometimes the calm, cool, and collected approach will help settle the mind during turbulent market conditions. Being able to stay emotionally unattached to a stock or sector may assist the investor with making tricky buying or selling decisions. Being disciplined is an attribute that many successful investors share. Being prepared for many different scenarios can help ease the burden when those tough portfolio decisions have to be made.

Here will take a quick scan of Earnings Yield information on shares of SPX FLOW, Inc. (NYSE:FLOW). Currently, the Earnings to Price (Yield) is 0.076409, Earnings Yield is 0.084667, and Earnings Yield 5 year average is 0.094473. Earnings yield provides a way for investors to help measure returns. Investors may choose to compare the earnings yield of stocks to money market instruments, treasuries, or bonds. The firm will look to it’s next scheduled report date to try to improve on these numbers.

Investors often have to figure out how aggressive they want to be when getting into the stock market. There are individuals who may have had some initial success based on random luck, but diving without preparation can leave investors on the short end of the stick in the long run. Investors may be tempted by the next hot stock that is being talked about around the water cooler. Investors might not realize how risky a certain stock may be, and they may find out that the over performer has already made the run. Doing all the homework may involve tracking technicals, fundamentals, current economic data, and earnings releases. Putting in the time to do the proper research may help the investor see profits down the road.

Checking in on some valuation rankings, SPX FLOW, Inc. (NYSE:FLOW) has a Value Composite score of 22. Developed by James O’Shaughnessy, the VC score uses five valuation ratios. These ratios are price to earnings, price to cash flow, EBITDA to EV, price to book value, and price to sales. The VC is displayed as a number between 1 and 100. In general, a company with a score closer to 0 would be seen as undervalued, and a score closer to 100 would indicate an overvalued company. Adding a sixth ratio, shareholder yield, we can view the Value Composite 2 score which is currently sitting at 31.

FCF

Turning to Free Cash Flow Growth (FCF Growth) is the free cash flow of the current year minus the free cash flow from the previous year, divided by last year’s free cash flow.  The FCF Growth of SPX FLOW, Inc. (NYSE:FLOW) is 0.986250.  Free cash flow (FCF) is the cash produced by the company minus capital expenditure.  This cash is what a company uses to meet its financial obligations, such as making payments on debt or to pay out dividends.  The Free Cash Flow Score (FCF Score) is a helpful tool in calculating the free cash flow growth with free cash flow stability – this gives investors the overall quality of the free cash flow.  The FCF Score of SPX FLOW, Inc. (NYSE:FLOW) is 1.112591.  Experts say the higher the value, the better, as it means that the free cash flow is high, or the variability of free cash flow is low or both.

Watching some historical volatility numbers on shares of SPX FLOW, Inc. (NYSE:FLOW), we can see that the 12 month volatility is presently 36.462200. The 6 month volatility is 44.358800, and the 3 month is spotted at 52.217100. Following volatility data can help measure how much the stock price has fluctuated over the specified time period. Although past volatility action may help project future stock volatility, it may also be vastly different when taking into account other factors that may be driving price action during the measured time period.  Heading into earnings season investors often take close note of the volatility levels ahead of and immediately after the earnings report. 

Price Index

The Price Index is a ratio that indicates the return of a share price over a past period. The price index of SPX FLOW, Inc. (NYSE:FLOW) for last month was 0.95632. This is calculated by taking the current share price and dividing by the share price one month ago. If the ratio is greater than 1, then that means there has been an increase in price over the month. If the ratio is less than 1, then we can determine that there has been a decrease in price. Similarly, investors look up the share price over 12 month periods. The Price Index 12m for SPX FLOW, Inc. (NYSE:FLOW) is 0.66237.
Price Range 52 Weeks

Some of the best financial predictions are formed by using a variety of financial tools. The Price Range 52 Weeks is one of the tools that investors use to determine the lowest and highest price at which a stock has traded in the previous 52 weeks. The Price Range of SPX FLOW, Inc. (NYSE:FLOW) over the past 52 weeks is 0.575000. The 52-week range can be found in the stock’s quote summary.

Quant Data
Shifting gears, we can see that SPX FLOW, Inc. (NYSE:FLOW) has a Q.i. Value of 22.00000. The Q.i. Value ranks companies using four ratios. These ratios consist of EBITDA Yield, FCF Yield, Liquidity, and Earnings Yield. The purpose of the Q.i. Value is to help identify companies that are the most undervalued. Typically, the lower the value, the more undervalued the company tends to be.

Another signal that many company execs and investors don’t want to talk about is the C-Score. The C-Score is a system developed by James Montier that helps determine whether a company is involved in inflating their financial statements.  The C-Score is calculated by a variety of items, including a growing difference in net income verse cash flow, increasing days outstanding, growing days sales of inventory, increasing assets to sales, declines in depreciation, and high total asset growth.  The C-Score of SPX FLOW, Inc. (NYSE:FLOW) is 1.00000.  The score ranges on a scale of -1 to 6.  If the score is -1, then there is not enough information to determine the C-Score.  If the number is at zero (0) then there is no evidence of fraudulent book cooking, whereas a number of 6 indicates a high likelihood of unusual activity. The C-Score assists investors in assessing the validity of financials. 

F-Score

At the time of writing, SPX FLOW, Inc. (NYSE:FLOW) has a Piotroski F-Score of 7. 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.

Investors may be scouring the exchanges for the next breakout stock. With the next earnings season in focus, investors will be keeping their eyes open for names that have upside potential. Tracking earnings results can help the investor see how healthy the company is. Investors may choose to research companies that produce large earnings beats. Taking the time to fully research the fundamentals can help the investor start piecing together the puzzle. Although many investors may not feel comfortable making trades around earnings, they can prepare for the aftermath and set up a plan to proceed once the market settles.