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.
PROASSURANCE CORP (PRA) is a small-cap growth stock in the Insurance (Prop. & Casualty) industry. The rating according to our strategy based on Peter Lynch changed from 63% to 81% 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: ProAssurance Corporation is a specialty insurer with expertise in medical professional liability, products liability for medical technology and life sciences, legal professional liability, and workers' compensation insurance. The Company's segments include Specialty P&C, Workers' Compensation Insurance, Segregated Portfolio Cell Reinsurance and Corporate. The Specialty Property and Casualty (Specialty P&C) segment is focused on professional liability insurance and medical technology liability insurance. Professional liability insurance is offered to healthcare providers and institutions and, to a lesser extent, to attorneys and their firms. The Workers' Compensation Insurance segment offers workers' compensation products in approximately 19 states in the East, South and Midwest regions of the continental United States. The Segregated Portfolio Cell Reinsurance segment includes the results of SPCs at Inova Re and Eastern Re, the Company's Cayman Islands SPC operations.
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: | PASS |
| EPS GROWTH RATE: | PASS |
| TOTAL DEBT/EQUITY RATIO: | NEUTRAL |
| EQUITY/ASSETS RATIO: | PASS |
| RETURN ON ASSETS: | FAIL |
| FREE CASH FLOW: | NEUTRAL |
| NET CASH POSITION: | NEUTRAL |
Detailed Analysis of PROASSURANCE CORP
IMPERIAL BRANDS PLC (ADR) (IMBBY) is a large-cap value stock in the Tobacco industry. The rating according to our strategy based on Peter Lynch changed from 72% to 74% 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: Imperial Brands PLC is a fast-moving consumer goods company. The Company operates through two businesses: Tobacco & NGP and Distribution. The Tobacco & NGP business manufactures, markets, and sells tobacco and next-generation products (NGP) and tobacco and NGP-related products, including sales to (but not by) the Distribution business. The Distribution business distributes tobacco and NGP products for tobacco and NGP product manufacturers, including Imperial Brands, as well as a range of non-tobacco and NGP products and services. Its segments include Europe, Americas, Africa, Asia, Australasia and Central and Eastern Europe (AAACE) and Distribution. It offers tobacco products and smoking accessories, such as Golden Virginia fine-cut tobacco, Rizla rolling paper, Backwoods cigars, oral nicotine offerings in the Nordics such as Skruf.
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.
| INVENTORY TO SALES: | PASS |
| YIELD ADJUSTED P/E TO GROWTH (PEG) RATIO: | PASS |
| EARNINGS PER SHARE: | PASS |
| TOTAL DEBT/EQUITY RATIO: | FAIL |
| FREE CASH FLOW: | NEUTRAL |
| NET CASH POSITION: | NEUTRAL |
Detailed Analysis of IMPERIAL BRANDS PLC (ADR)
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.
