The following are today's upgrades for Validea's P/E/Growth Investor model based on the published strategy of Peter Lynch. This strategy looks for stocks trading at a reasonable price relative to earnings growth that also possess strong balance sheets.
FRESH DEL MONTE PRODUCE INC (FDP) is a small-cap value stock in the Crops industry. The rating according to our strategy based on Peter Lynch changed from 0% to 91% 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: Fresh Del Monte Produce Inc. is a vertically integrated producer, marketer and distributor of fresh and fresh-cut fruit and vegetables. It also produces and distributes prepared food in Europe, Africa and the Middle East. It markets its products under the Del Monte brand, Mann brand and other related trademarks. It has three segments: fresh and value-added products, banana, and other products and services. Fresh and value-added products segment includes pineapples; fresh-cut fruit fresh-cut vegetables, which include fresh-cut salads; melons; vegetables; non-tropical fruit, which includes grapes, apples, citrus, blueberries, strawberries, pears, peaches, plums, nectarines, cherries and kiwis; other fruit and vegetables, avocados, and prepared foods, which includes prepared fruit and vegetables, juices, other beverages, and meals and snacks. Other products and services segment includes its third-party freight and logistic services business and its Jordanian poultry and meats business.
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.
| SALES: | PASS |
| INVENTORY TO SALES: | PASS |
| YIELD COMPARED TO THE S&P 500: | PASS |
| YIELD ADJUSTED P/E/GROWTH (PEG) RATIO: | PASS |
| TOTAL DEBT/EQUITY RATIO: | PASS |
| FREE CASH FLOW: | NEUTRAL |
| NET CASH POSITION: | NEUTRAL |
Detailed Analysis of FRESH DEL MONTE PRODUCE INC
KADANT INC. (KAI) is a mid-cap growth stock in the Misc. Capital Goods industry. The rating according to our strategy based on Peter Lynch changed from 87% to 91% 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: Kadant Inc. is a global supplier of technologies and engineered systems. The Company operates through three segments: Flow Control, Industrial Processing, and Material Handling. The Flow Control segment includes custom-engineered products, systems, and technologies that control the flow of fluids used in industrial and commercial applications. Its primary products include rotary sealing devices, steam systems, expansion joints, doctor systems, roll and fabric cleaning devices, and filtration and fiber recovery systems. The Industrial Processing segment includes equipment, machinery, and technologies used to recycle paper and paperboard and process timber for use in the packaging, tissue, wood products and alternative fuel industries, among others. The Material Handling segment includes products and engineered systems used to handle bulk and discrete materials for secondary processing or transport in the aggregates, mining, food, and waste management industries, among 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.
| P/E/GROWTH RATIO: | PASS |
| SALES AND P/E RATIO: | NEUTRAL |
| INVENTORY TO SALES: | PASS |
| EPS GROWTH RATE: | PASS |
| TOTAL DEBT/EQUITY RATIO: | PASS |
| FREE CASH FLOW: | NEUTRAL |
| NET CASH POSITION: | NEUTRAL |
Detailed Analysis of KADANT INC.
About Peter Lynch: Perhaps the greatest mutual fund manager of all-time, Lynch guided Fidelity Investment's Magellan Fund to a 29.2 percent average annual return from 1977 until his retirement in 1990, almost doubling the S&P 500's 15.8 percent yearly return over that time. Lynch's common sense approach and quick wit made him one of the most quoted investors on Wall Street. ("Go for a business that any idiot can run -- because sooner or later, any idiot probably is going to run it," is one of his many pearls of wisdom.) Lynch's bestseller One Up on Wall Street is something of a "stocks for the everyman/everywoman", breaking his approach down into easy-to-understand concepts.
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.