His recent article, World's Simplest
Stock Valuation Measure, put forth the idea that:
Not exact matches
Given that
valuations were already rich when the VIX, a commonly used
measure of S&P 500 volatility, was at 10, a doubling of volatility suggests
stocks should be trading closer to 16 or 17 times earnings, not 21.
Measuring shareholder value requires deep fundamental research that (1) translates reported accounting results into true cash flows and (2) quantifies the expectations for future cash flows that is embedded in
stock valuations.
It's common to object to the dividend yield as a
measure of
valuation, given that companies have devoted more of their earnings to
stock repurchases than dividend payments in recent years.
At Berkshire Hathaway's recent annual shareholders meeting, an investor asked Buffett about the relevance of two popular
measures of
stock market value: 1) market cap - to - GDP, which Buffett once heralded as «probably the best single
measure of where
valuations stand at any given moment» and 2) the cyclically - adjusted price - earnings ratio (CAPE), which was made famous by Nobel prize winner Robert Shiller and was seen as accurately predicting the dot - com bubble and the housing bubble.
Only with a real grasp on the true cash flows of the business can one get an accurate
measure of the future cash flow growth implied by the
stock's
valuation.
At the surface, when we look at
valuation measures and other fundamentals and compare them to historical precedents, there is a case to be made that
stocks (in particular in the US) are above fair value, if not rich.
Market - Implied Duration of Growth (Growth Appreciation Period)
measures the number of years of future profit growth required to justify the current
valuation of the
stock.
At this point, obscene equity
valuations are already baked in the cake on
valuation measures that are reliably correlated with actual subsequent
stock market returns.
By March 2000, on the basis of historically reliable
valuation measures, I projected that a retreat to normal
valuations would require an -83 % plunge in tech
stocks.
Finally, Chinese
stocks (
measured by the Shanghai
Stock Exchange Composite Index) have trailed their Brazilian counterparts (
measured by the Ibovespa Index) and moved in lock step with Russian equities (represented by the MICEX Index) since late January, based on Bloomberg data, and their low
valuations are poised to potentially rise in a risk - on environment.
The most reliable
measures of individual
stock valuation we've found are based on formal discounted cash flow considerations, but among publicly - available
measures we've evaluated, price / revenue ratios are better correlated with actual subsequent returns than price / earnings ratios (though normalized profit margins and other factors are obviously necessary to make cross-sectional comparisons).
For instance, as
measured by price - to - earnings (P / E) and price - to - book (P / B)
valuations metrics, EM
stocks continue to trade at a roughly 30 % discount to the broader global equity market (source: MSCI, as of 3/31/2015).
In conjunction with
stock valuation ratios like the price - to - earnings ratio and the price - to - earnings - growth ratio, a
stock's
measure of volatility known as beta can help investors build a diversified...
In an attempt to cast light on this issue, my colleagues at Plexus Asset Management have updated a previous multi-year comparison of the price - earnings (PE) ratios of the S&P 500 Index (as a
measure of
stock valuations) and the forward real returns (considering total returns, i.e. capital movements plus dividends).
The Importance of
Measuring Returns Peak - to - Peak
Stock returns equal income, plus growth in fundamentals, plus changes in
valuation By John P. Hussman, Ph.D..
Deep Value investors employ a more extreme version of value investing that is characterized by holding the
stocks of companies with extremely low
valuation measures.
Wall Street analysts love to
measure the
stock market based on various price metrics, performance metrics and
valuation metrics.
Nolte added that despite concerns about the
valuation of the FAANG
stocks, something he noted has persisted for years with little impact on the
stock prices, the group's prospects remained strong by many
measures.
With the top
stock analysis software behind you, you can leverage our DCF models to quickly and precisely
measure the impact of your forecasts on a
stock's
valuation.
As usual, I don't place too much emphasis on this sort of forecast, but to the extent that I make any comments at all about the outlook for 2006, the bottom line is this: 1) we can't rule out modest potential for
stock appreciation, which would require the maintenance or expansion of already high price / peak earnings multiples; 2) we also should recognize an uncomfortably large potential for market losses, particularly given that the current bull market has now outlived the median and average bull, yet at higher
valuations than most bulls have achieved, a flat yield curve with rising interest rate pressures, an extended period of internal divergence as
measured by breadth and other market action, and complacency at best and excessive bullishness at worst, as
measured by various sentiment indicators; 3) there is a moderate but still not compelling risk of an oncoming recession, which would become more of a factor if we observe a substantial widening of credit spreads and weakness in the ISM Purchasing Managers Index in the months ahead, and; 4) there remains substantial potential for U.S. dollar weakness coupled with «unexpectedly» persistent inflation pressures, particularly if we do observe economic weakness.
Hump # 1 was a massive speculative surge that separated the
stock market from all reasonable
measures of fair
valuation.
In the early 1920s,
stock market
valuation was comparatively low, as
measured by the inflation - adjusted present value of future dividends.
Again, if our
measures of market internals were to improve, we would allow for the possibility that reliable
measures of market
valuations could surpass their 2000 extreme, and we would not place a «cap» on how high
stock prices could move.
On a wide range of historically reliable
measures (having a nearly 90 % correlation with actual subsequent S&P 500 total returns), we estimate current
valuations to be fully 118 % above levels associated with historically normal subsequent returns in
stocks.
That's fine, but understand that through most of the period prior to the 1960's, interest rates regularly visited levels similar to the present, yet these same
measures of
stock valuations typically resided at well below half of present levels.
Additionally, many blue chip foreign investments are more attractive investments with
stock prices cheaper by most
valuation measures: price to earnings, price to sales and price to book.
As of last week, the Market Climate for
stocks was mixed -
valuations remain unfavorable, technical action was mixed but tenuous, with various indices flirting with widely observed levels of support and resistance (e.g. the 1100 level on the S&P 500), while leading
measures of economic activity remain decidedly unfavorable.
c) Market - Implied Duration of Growth (Growth Appreciation Period)
measures the number of years of future profit growth required to justify the current
valuation of the
stocks in the fund.
The current
valuation of the S&P 500 is lofty by almost any
measure, both for the aggregate market as well as the median
stock: (1) The P / E ratio; (2) the current P / E expansion cycle; (3) EV / Sales; (4) EV / EBITDA; (5) Free Cash Flow yield; (6) Price / Book as well as the ROE and P / B relationship; and compared with the levels of (6) inflation; (7) nominal 10 - year Treasury yields; and (8) real interest rates.
Netflix's
stock valuation has been a constant source of debate for years, and currently is trading at a price - to - earnings (P / E) ratio of 123x, which is rich by almost every
measure — no matter what kind of business model it is.
A
stock certificate trading at high
valuation based on traditional
measures such as price earnings ratio.
Based on many
valuation measures,
stocks have been fairly expensive for several years.
As of last week, the Market Climate for
stocks was characterized by unusually unfavorable
valuations and unfavorable market action (a deterioration from the prior week, primarily on the basis of interest - sensitive securities such as bonds and utilities, as well as
measures of breadth and distribution).
As I've noted in recent weeks (see in particular the March 27 comment, my assertion that
stocks are about double their normal historical
valuations also applies to earnings - based
measures like P / E ratios.
UK
stocks (as
measured by the FTSE 100 Index) offer the highest dividend yield of any major region (as
measured by the MSCI World Index).1 UK
valuations are the cheapest relative to the rest of the world in 15 years.2 What's more, FTSE 100 Index companies with more than 70 % of their revenues from abroad stand to benefit from the weaker pound.
The Fund invests principally in common
stocks that are viewed by the Advisor to reflect favorable
valuations and / or
measures of financial stability.
On a
stock selection basis, favorable
valuation and market action on our
measures are certainly not always rewarded, but that's why we diversify across about 200 individual holdings.
Of particular interest are a host of debt and financing
measures as well as overheated
stock - market
valuations.
By pretty much all
measures, it offers access to higher growth rates at lower
valuations than the average European
stock fund does.
Given that
valuations were already rich when the VIX, a commonly used
measure of S&P 500 volatility, was at 10, a doubling of volatility suggests
stocks should be trading closer to 16 or 17 times earnings, not 21.
«Professor Shiller's P / E10
measure of
stock valuations tells us about the market as a whole.
Chinese
stocks trade for just 7 times earnings, less than half the
valuation of American
stocks as
measured by the S&P 500.
Stock Strategies The Importance of Book Value Why the price - to - book ratio is the most effective
measure of
valuation.
Valuation measures like Yale professor Robert Shiller's Cyclically Adjusted P / E Ratio (CAPE) also warn that
stocks are a bit pricey, which only heightens investors» concerns.
Varying
stock and bond allocations with
valuations (as
measured by P / E10) improves performance.
With occasional qualifiers as to whether examining All
Stocks or Large
Stocks, traditional
valuation measures work.
This, for us, is a critical requirement for investors, because there are dozens of garbage models that purport to
measure stock market
valuation, but have little (and sometimes zero or negative) correlation with subsequent market performance.
Valuation Summary: Miscellaneous Factors Beta Beta
measures a
stock's price volatility relative to the S&P 500.
Looking at other
valuation measures, the group of passing companies is priced more richly than the typical exchange - listed
stock.