Investors considering positions in StoneMor Partners L.P. (NYSE:STON), might be interested in the Gross Margin Score of the company. The shares currently have a score of 2.00000. This score is derived from the Gross Margin (Marx) stability and growth over the previous eight years. The Gross Margin score lands on a scale from 1 to 100 where a score of 1 would be considered positive, and a score of 100 would be seen as negative. The low score of 2.00000 for StoneMor Partners L.P. indicates a top score for stability and growth.
Investors are often dealing with the decision of whether to sell a stock that has been a solid performer or hold on to it for more profit. This can be almost as trying as deciding when to buy a certain stock. Once investors have latched on to a certain stock, they may find it hard to let go. On the flip side, investors may also have to deal with cutting ties with a losing stock. With both scenarios, it may be important for investors to try to keep emotion out of the decision making process. Investors may feel that giving up on a losing stock can be admitting that a mistake was made. No matter what the circumstance, not letting go of a losing stock may lead to poor portfolio performance in the long run. Constantly keeping a close watching on fundamental and technical data can provide important information needed to stay afloat in the equity markets.
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 StoneMor Partners L.P. (NYSE:STON) is 2. 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.
Turning to valuation, StoneMor Partners L.P. (NYSE:STON) has a Value Composite score of 59. 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 61.
At the time of writing, StoneMor Partners L.P. (NYSE:STON) has a Piotroski F-Score of 2. 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.
StoneMor Partners L.P. (NYSE:STON) has a current ERP5 Rank of 13626 . The ERP5 Rank may assist investors with spotting companies that are undervalued. This ranking uses four ratios. These ratios are Earnings Yield, ROIC, Price to Book, and 5 year average ROIC. When looking at the ERP5 ranking, it is generally considered the lower the value, the better.
As the next earnings season comes into focus, investors will be keeping watch on the performance of companies that they own. A company that continually exceeds earnings projections is most likely on the right track. On the other end of the spectrum, a company that frequently misses earnings projections might provide some insight to the fact that something isn’t right. Although it is important to keep track of earnings estimates and results, it shouldn’t be the only thing that the investor is looking at regarding the stock. Just because a company misses or beats expectations for one quarter may not mean anything super special. Tracking performance over a longer period of time can help paint the bigger picture of what is going on with the company. Sharp investors often have the ability to look deeper into the numbers to see the actual causes of an earnings hit or miss. Of course estimates are just that, estimates, and some analysts may be more accurate than others.
Shifting gears, we can see that StoneMor Partners L.P. (NYSE:STON) has a Q.i. Value of 66.00000. 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.
PI & Volatility
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 StoneMor Partners L.P. (NYSE:STON) is 53.142200. 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 StoneMor Partners L.P. (NYSE:STON) is 47.451600. The Volatility 6m is the same, except measured over the course of six months. The Volatility 6m is 48.939400.
Successfully tackling the equity markets may involve owning a wide range of stocks. Some investors may prefer growth stocks while others may opt for value stocks. Having a good mix of both types may help build of solid foundation for the portfolio. Investors may choose stocks in a specific industry that is gaining strength. If the industry is on the rise, the portfolio may be more likely to succeed. Finding companies that are considered leaders in their field may also be on the investor checklist. A company that has a large presence may help ease investor worry, especially in a down market climate. Finding the perfect stocks to add to the portfolio may not always be easy, and in fact it may be quite difficult. Investors may have to lay out goals to help keep things on track for both the short-term and the long haul.
We can now take a quick look at some historical stock price index data. StoneMor Partners L.P. (NYSE:STON) presently has a 10 month price index of 0.69963. 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 0.54494, the 24 month is 0.43411, and the 36 month is 0.23422. Narrowing in a bit closer, the 5 month price index is 0.61514, the 3 month is 0.83043, and the 1 month is currently 0.70872.
Investors are constantly looking to find winning stocks that have been largely overlooked. With markets still riding high, this may not be the easiest thing in the world right now. Finding those perfect stocks before they become household names may take a lot of research and homework. Many investors will apply various strategies for picking stocks. If there was one that worked for everybody, it would make things super easy. Of course, this is not the case. Obviously, there are no guarantees in the stock market. Some investors may only focus on the fundamentals of a company and completely ignore the technicals. Others may choose to only watch technicals and never take a look at the underlying company information. Combining both areas of research may help give a better feel of what is going on with the stock in the long term and the short term. Individual investors who manage their own portfolios may need to put in a lot more time than those who don’t. Successful investors often have an uncanny way of filtering out the noise and keeping their focus on the right information.