This week I want to focus on Sales Growth and Profit Margins.
While everybody understands sales, margins might bring up a few
question marks.
With earnings season only a few weeks away, now is the perfect time
to look at this.
So let's start at the beginning: first and foremost, sales are THE
most important thing to a company. Everything else stems from that.
Without sales, there really wouldn't be anything else to analyze.
And Sales Growth numbers show you how that company is growing.
However, just because sales are increasing doesn't always mean that
profits are increasing too. Sales at the expense of profits does
not work. So paying attention to Profit Margins is the next thing
we're going to want to look at.
Margin is simply a ratio and the calculation is:
Net Income divided by Sales
So if a company's margin is 15% for instance, that means its net
income is 15 cents for every $1 dollar of sales it makes.
But if a company's expenses are growing faster than their sales,
this will reduce their margins.
In general, a company with increasing margins is becoming more
profitable and is better managed, i.e., their costs are under
control.
So continue to look at their sales numbers. And of course, look at
their earnings too. But take a look at their profit margins as
well. Are they going up or down? In other words, are they making
more money on each dollar of sales they make, or less? This is
important stuff to know, and can make a huge difference in your
portfolio's bottom line.
Parameters for this week's screen:
-
12 Month Trailing Sales Growth (Current / 1 Quarter Ago)
greater than their relevant Industry median
(Looking for the top companies in their industries.)
-
Current Net Margin greater than or equal to 5 Yr. Avg.
Net Margin
(Steady to increasing Net Profits is what we're after.)
-
Current Net Margin greater than or equal to Net Margin
from 1 Quarter Ago
(If a company's profit margin fell last quarter, there's a chance
it might fall yet again. So we're excluding those companies whose
margins fell in the previous quarter.)
-
Zacks Rank equal to 1 (Strong Buy)
(Only the top Zacks Ranked stocks can get thru.)
Here are 5 stocks that passed this screen this week:
ALGN
Align Technology Inc.
LF
LeapFrog Enterprises Inc.
TDG
TransDigm Group Inc.
ULTA
Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance, Inc.
WFM
Whole Foods Market, Inc.
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Disclosure: Officers, directors and/or employees of Zacks
Investment Research may own or have sold short securities and/or
hold long and/or short positions in options that are mentioned in
this material. An affiliated investment advisory firm may own or
have sold short securities and/or hold long and/or short positions
in options that are mentioned in this material.
Disclosure: Performance information for Zacks' portfolios and
strategies are available at:
http://www.zacks.com/performance
.
ALIGN TECH INC (ALGN): Free Stock Analysis
Report
ALIGN TECH INC (ALGN): Free Stock Analysis
Report
ALIGN TECH INC (ALGN): Free Stock Analysis
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LEAPFROG ENTRPS (LF): Free Stock Analysis
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LEAPFROG ENTRPS (LF): Free Stock Analysis
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LEAPFROG ENTRPS (LF): Free Stock Analysis
Report
TRANSDIGM GROUP (TDG): Free Stock Analysis
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TRANSDIGM GROUP (TDG): Free Stock Analysis
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TRANSDIGM GROUP (TDG): Free Stock Analysis
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ULTA SALON COSM (ULTA): Free Stock Analysis
Report
ULTA SALON COSM (ULTA): Free Stock Analysis
Report
ULTA SALON COSM (ULTA): Free Stock Analysis
Report
WHOLE FOODS MKT (WFM): Free Stock Analysis
Report
WHOLE FOODS MKT (WFM): Free Stock Analysis
Report
WHOLE FOODS MKT (WFM): Free Stock Analysis
Report
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