Is There Strength Behind the Numbers For The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX), The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:PNC)?

The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX) currently has a current ratio of 1.53. The current ratio, which is also known as the working capital ratio, is a liquidity ratio that displays the proportion of current assets of a business relative to the current liabilities. The ratio is simply calculated by dividing current liabilities by current assets. The ratio may be used to provide an idea of the ability of a certain company to pay back its liabilities with assets. Typically, the higher the current ratio the better, as the company may be more capable of paying back its obligations and in turn a more healthy balance sheet.

The stock investing process may seem intimidating to those just starting out. New investors may have a lot to learn, and they may be wondering where to start. Because there are so many different stock picking strategies, it can be hard to find one specific one to latch on to. Keeping things simple might be a good way to approach the market for beginners. The day to day market happenings can get overwhelming not only for amateurs but professional investors as well. Finding that first little advantage can make all the difference when picking stocks. Many new investors may have the tendency to make too many trades at first without doing the proper research. Easing in to the process may give some much needed perspective for attaining long-term success in the stock market.

Yield

The Q.i. Value of The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX) is 33.00000.  The Q.i. Value is a helpful tool in determining if a company is undervalued or not.  The Q.i. Value is calculated using the following ratios: EBITDA Yield, Earnings Yield, FCF Yield, and Liquidity.  The lower the Q.i. value, the more undervalued the company is thought to be.  The Value Composite One (VC1) is a method that investors use to determine a company’s value.  The VC1 of The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX) is 52.  A company with a value of 0 is thought to be an undervalued company, while a company with a value of 100 is considered an overvalued company.  The VC1 is calculated using the price to book value, price to sales, EBITDA to EV, price to cash flow, and price to earnings.  Similarly, the Value Composite Two (VC2) is calculated with the same ratios, but adds the Shareholder Yield.  The Value Composite Two of The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX) is 42.

Volatility & Price
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 The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX) is 24.960500.  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 The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX) is 15.484100.  The Volatility 6m is the same, except measured over the course of six months.  The Volatility 6m is 23.358200.

We can now take a quick look at some historical stock price index data. The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX) presently has a 10 month price index of 1.17162. 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 1.34721, the 24 month is 1.43971, and the 36 month is 1.49320. Narrowing in a bit closer, the 5 month price index is 1.20089, the 3 month is 1.13774, and the 1 month is currently 1.04546.

Key Metrics

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 The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX) is 6.  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.

The ERP5 Rank is an investment tool that analysts use to discover undervalued companies.  The ERP5 looks at the Price to Book ratio, Earnings Yield, ROIC and 5 year average ROIC.  The ERP5 of The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX) is 5316.  The lower the ERP5 rank, the more undervalued a company is thought to be. The MF Rank (aka the Magic Formula) is a formula that pinpoints a valuable company trading at a good price.  The formula is calculated by looking at companies that have a high earnings yield as well as a high return on invested capital.  The MF Rank of The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX) is 2944.  A company with a low rank is considered a good company to invest in.  The Magic Formula was introduced in a book written by Joel Greenblatt, entitled, “The Little Book that Beats the Market”.

The Leverage Ratio of The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX) is 0.174526.  Leverage ratio is the total debt of a company divided by total assets of the current and past year divided by two.  Companies take on debt to finance their day to day operations.  The leverage ratio can measure how much of a company’s capital comes from debt.  With this ratio, investors can better estimate how well a company will be able to pay their long and short term financial obligations.

C-Score
The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX) currently has a Montier C-score of 2.00000. This indicator was developed by James Montier in an attempt to identify firms that were cooking the books in order to appear better on paper. The score ranges from zero to six where a 0 would indicate no evidence of book cooking, and a 6 would indicate a high likelihood. A C-score of -1 would indicate that there is not enough information available to calculate the score. Montier used six inputs in the calculation. These inputs included a growing difference between net income and cash flow from operations, increasing receivable days, growing day’s sales of inventory, increasing other current assets, decrease in depreciation relative to gross property plant and equipment, and high total asset growth.

Many investors get into the stock market with unrealistic expectations. For whatever reason, they may have the mindset that snatching profits is easy. Thinking that profits can be doubled or tripled right away may lead the investor down the road of no return. Although the lucky few might hit some big winners right off the bat, these chances are quite low. Stocks tend to be volatile in the short-term. Unless investors have a game plan ready to capitalize on short-term movements, they may want to take a wider, longer-term approach. Trying to figure out which way the market will turn from one day to the next can be a highly frustrating procedure. Having the patience to thoroughly examine every trade can immensely boost the investor’s chances of surviving and thriving into the future.

The Current Ratio of The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:PNC) is 0.00.  The Current Ratio is used by investors to determine whether a company can pay short term and long term debts.  The current ratio looks at all the liquid and non-liquid assets compared to the company’s total current liabilities.  A high current ratio indicates that the company does not have trouble managing their working capital.  A low current ratio (when the current liabilities are higher than the current assets) indicates that the company may have trouble paying their short term obligations. It is wise to compare a company’s current ratio to that of other companies in the same industry. It would also be wise to look at the trend of the current ratio for a given company over a given time period.

On a typical market day there is no shortage of stock news. Investors are often tasked with trying to decipher which news is worth paying attention to and which isn’t. Not only is there plenty of swirling news, there are usually plenty of opinions that follow. Closely following market sentiment can be useful for some, but it may impede others when decisions need to be made. When it comes to dedicated stock research, taking shortcuts may result in disappointing portfolio performance. Investors have to be careful not to be tempted by the hot stocks of the day. Of course, maybe some of those stocks would fit well in the portfolio, but doing individual stock study can help confirm the addition.

F Score, ERP5 and Magic Formula

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 The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:PNC) is 6.  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.

The ERP5 Rank is an investment tool that analysts use to discover undervalued companies.  The ERP5 looks at the Price to Book ratio, Earnings Yield, ROIC and 5 year average ROIC.  The ERP5 of The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:PNC) is 10016.  The lower the ERP5 rank, the more undervalued a company is thought to be. The MF Rank (aka the Magic Formula) is a formula that pinpoints a valuable company trading at a good price.  The formula is calculated by looking at companies that have a high earnings yield as well as a high return on invested capital.  The MF Rank of The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:PNC) is 9255.  A company with a low rank is considered a good company to invest in.  The Magic Formula was introduced in a book written by Joel Greenblatt, entitled, “The Little Book that Beats the Market”.

Shareholder Yield

The Q.i. Value of The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:PNC) is 61.00000.  The Q.i. Value is a helpful tool in determining if a company is undervalued or not.  The Q.i. Value is calculated using the following ratios: EBITDA Yield, Earnings Yield, FCF Yield, and Liquidity.  The lower the Q.i. value, the more undervalued the company is thought to be.  The Value Composite One (VC1) is a method that investors use to determine a company’s value.  The VC1 of The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:PNC) is 49.  A company with a value of 0 is thought to be an undervalued company, while a company with a value of 100 is considered an overvalued company.  The VC1 is calculated using the price to book value, price to sales, EBITDA to EV, price to cash flow, and price to earnings.  Similarly, the Value Composite Two (VC2) is calculated with the same ratios, but adds the Shareholder Yield.  The Value Composite Two of The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:PNC) is 39.

The Leverage Ratio of The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:PNC) is 0.153278.  Leverage ratio is the total debt of a company divided by total assets of the current and past year divided by two.  Companies take on debt to finance their day to day operations.  The leverage ratio can measure how much of a company’s capital comes from debt.  With this ratio, investors can better estimate how well a company will be able to pay their long and short term financial obligations.

Volatility & Price

We can now take a quick look at some historical stock price index data. The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:PNC) presently has a 10 month price index of 0.99689. 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 0.95166, the 24 month is 1.16664, and the 36 month is 1.63265. Narrowing in a bit closer, the 5 month price index is 1.00406, the 3 month is 1.09159, and the 1 month is currently 1.13400.

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 The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:PNC) is 26.076800.  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 The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:PNC) is 20.265500.  The Volatility 6m is the same, except measured over the course of six months.  The Volatility 6m is 22.826900.

C-Score
The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:PNC) currently has a Montier C-score of -1.00000. This indicator was developed by James Montier in an attempt to identify firms that were cooking the books in order to appear better on paper. The score ranges from zero to six where a 0 would indicate no evidence of book cooking, and a 6 would indicate a high likelihood. A C-score of -1 would indicate that there is not enough information available to calculate the score. Montier used six inputs in the calculation. These inputs included a growing difference between net income and cash flow from operations, increasing receivable days, growing day’s sales of inventory, increasing other current assets, decrease in depreciation relative to gross property plant and equipment, and high total asset growth.

Serious investors are often looking for that next batch of quality stocks to add to the portfolio. Finding quality stocks at a discount can be a tough task, especially with the market trading at such high levels. Many investors will be patiently waiting for a dip to get in on some researched names. Being prepared for any situation may help the investor make those tricky decisions when opportunities present themselves. Nobody can say for sure which way momentum is likely to swing heading into the New Year. Staying on top of the key economic data can help provide a good baseline for stock investing decisions in the near future.