The following are today's upgrades for Validea's Low PE Investor model based on the published strategy of John Neff. This strategy looks for firms with persistent earnings growth that trade at a discount relative to their earnings growth and dividend yield.
AMKOR TECHNOLOGY, INC. (AMKR) is a mid-cap value stock in the Semiconductors industry. The rating according to our strategy based on John Neff changed from 62% 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: Amkor Technology, Inc. is a providers of outsourced semiconductor packaging and test services. The Company's packaging and test services are designed to meet application and chip specific requirements, including the required type of interconnect technology; size; thickness; and electrical, mechanical and thermal performance. It provides turnkey packaging and test services, including semiconductor wafer bump, wafer probe, wafer back-grind, package design, packaging, system-level and final test and drop shipment services. The semiconductor manufacturing process consists of Integrated circuit (IC) design, wafer fabrication, wafer probe, packaging and final test. The Company provides its services to integrated device manufacturers (IDMs), fabless semiconductor companies, original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and contract foundries. IDMs generally design, manufacture, package and test semiconductors in their own facilities.
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 RATIO: | PASS |
| EPS GROWTH: | FAIL |
| FUTURE EPS GROWTH: | PASS |
| SALES GROWTH: | PASS |
| TOTAL RETURN/PE: | PASS |
| FREE CASH FLOW: | PASS |
| EPS PERSISTENCE: | PASS |
Detailed Analysis of AMKOR TECHNOLOGY, INC.
NORWOOD FINANCIAL CORPORATION (NWFL) is a small-cap value stock in the Regional Banks industry. The rating according to our strategy based on John Neff changed from 60% to 79% 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: Norwood Financial Corp. is a bank holding company that operates through its subsidiary, Wayne Bank (the Bank). The Bank is a registered bank and trust company. The Bank is an independent community bank with over 14 offices in Northeastern Pennsylvania and approximately 16 offices in Delaware, Sullivan, Ontario, Otsego and Yates Counties, New York. The Bank offers a range of personal and business credit services, trust and investment products, and real estate settlement services to the consumers, businesses, nonprofit organizations and municipalities in each of the communities that the Bank serves. The Bank primarily serves the northeastern Pennsylvania counties of Wayne, Pike, Monroe, Lackawanna and Luzerne, as well as the Susquehanna County. In addition, the Bank operates approximately 31 automated teller machines. The Bank operates a Wealth Management/Trust Department, which provides estate planning, investment management and financial planning to customers.
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 RATIO: | PASS |
| EPS GROWTH: | PASS |
| FUTURE EPS GROWTH: | FAIL |
| SALES GROWTH: | PASS |
| TOTAL RETURN/PE: | PASS |
| FREE CASH FLOW: | FAIL |
| EPS PERSISTENCE: | PASS |
Detailed Analysis of NORWOOD FINANCIAL CORPORATION
AMERICAN NATIONAL BANKSHARES INC (AMNB) is a small-cap value stock in the Regional Banks industry. The rating according to our strategy based on John Neff changed from 60% to 79% 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: American National Bankshares Inc. is a one-bank holding company. American National Bank and Trust Company (the Bank) is the only banking subsidiary of the Company. The Bank offers a range of retail, commercial, secondary market mortgage lending, and trust and investment services, which also include non-deposit products such as mutual funds and insurance policies. The Company operates through two segments: community banking, and trust and investment services. The community banking segment involves making loans to and generating deposits from individuals and businesses. The Company's assets and liabilities, and investment income from securities are allocated to community banking segment. The trust and investment services include estate planning, trust account administration, investment management and retail brokerage. The trust and investment services division receives fees for investment and administrative services.
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 RATIO: | PASS |
| EPS GROWTH: | PASS |
| FUTURE EPS GROWTH: | FAIL |
| SALES GROWTH: | PASS |
| TOTAL RETURN/PE: | PASS |
| FREE CASH FLOW: | FAIL |
| EPS PERSISTENCE: | PASS |
Detailed Analysis of AMERICAN NATIONAL BANKSHARES INC
WSFS FINANCIAL CORPORATION (WSFS) is a mid-cap value stock in the Regional Banks industry. The rating according to our strategy based on John Neff changed from 58% to 77% 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: WSFS Financial Corporation is a savings and loan holding company. The Company operates through its subsidiary, Wilmington Savings Fund Society, FSB (the Bank), which is the bank and trust company. It operates in three segments: WSFS Bank, Cash Connect and Wealth Management. The WSFS Bank segment provides loans and leases and other financial products to commercial and retail customers. Cash Connect segment provides automated teller machine (ATM) vault cash, smart safe and other cash logistics services in the United States through partnerships with a range of the networks, manufacturers and service providers in the cash logistics industry. The Wealth Management segment provides an array of planning and advisory services, investment management, personal and institutional trust services, credit and deposit products to individuals, corporate and institutional clients. Its NewLane Finance originates small business leases and provides commercial financing to businesses nationwide.
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 RATIO: | PASS |
| EPS GROWTH: | PASS |
| FUTURE EPS GROWTH: | FAIL |
| SALES GROWTH: | PASS |
| TOTAL RETURN/PE: | PASS |
| FREE CASH FLOW: | FAIL |
| EPS PERSISTENCE: | FAIL |
Detailed Analysis of WSFS FINANCIAL CORPORATION
SANDY SPRING BANCORP INC. (SASR) is a mid-cap value stock in the Regional Banks industry. The rating according to our strategy based on John Neff changed from 58% to 77% 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: Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc. is the bank holding company for Sandy Spring Bank (the Bank). The Company operates through three segments: Community Banking, Insurance and Investment Management. The Company's Community Banking segment operates through Sandy Spring Bank and involves delivering a range of financial products and services, including various loan and deposit products, to both individuals and businesses. The Insurance segment operates through Sandy Spring Insurance Corporation, a subsidiary of the Bank, which operates a general insurance agency located in Annapolis, Maryland, and Neff and Associates, located in Ocean City, Maryland. The Investment Management segment operates through West Financial Services, Inc. and Rembert Pendleton Jackson (RPJ), a subsidiary of the Bank, which provides investment management and financial planning services to individuals, families, small businesses and associations.
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 RATIO: | PASS |
| EPS GROWTH: | PASS |
| FUTURE EPS GROWTH: | FAIL |
| SALES GROWTH: | PASS |
| TOTAL RETURN/PE: | PASS |
| FREE CASH FLOW: | FAIL |
| EPS PERSISTENCE: | FAIL |
Detailed Analysis of SANDY SPRING BANCORP INC.
SIERRA BANCORP (BSRR) is a small-cap value stock in the Regional Banks industry. The rating according to our strategy based on John Neff changed from 60% to 79% 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: Sierra Bancorp is a bank holding company for Bank of the Sierra (the Bank). The Bank is a community-centric regional bank, which offers a range of retail and commercial banking services through full-service branches located within the counties of Tulare, Kern, Kings, Fresno, Ventura, San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara. It also maintains an online branch and provides specialized lending services through an agricultural credit center. Its Internet branch provides the ability to open deposit accounts online; an online banking option with bill-pay and mobile banking capabilities, including mobile check deposit; a customer service center that is accessible by toll-free telephone during business hours, and an automated telephone banking system. It offers a range of other banking products and services to complement and support its lending and deposit products, including remote deposit capture and automated payroll services for business customers.
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 RATIO: | PASS |
| EPS GROWTH: | PASS |
| FUTURE EPS GROWTH: | FAIL |
| SALES GROWTH: | PASS |
| TOTAL RETURN/PE: | PASS |
| FREE CASH FLOW: | FAIL |
| EPS PERSISTENCE: | PASS |
Detailed Analysis of SIERRA BANCORP
MOELIS & CO (MC) is a mid-cap value stock in the Investment Services industry. The rating according to our strategy based on John Neff changed from 62% 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: Moelis & Company is an investment bank. The Company provides strategic and financial advises to various client base, including corporations, governments, sovereign wealth funds and financial sponsors. The Company offers financial advisory services across various industry sectors. It advises clients on decisions, including mergers and acquisitions (M&A), recapitalizations and restructurings, capital markets transactions and other corporate finance matters. It offers advisory services in industries, including consumer and retail; energy, power and infrastructure; financial institutions; financial sponsors; general industrials; healthcare; real estate, gaming, lodging and leisure and technology, media and telecommunications. It also provides capital raising, secondary transaction and other advisory services to private fund sponsors and limited partners. It also acts as placement agent for clients on a range of capital raising mandates and provides general capital markets advise.
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 RATIO: | PASS |
| EPS GROWTH: | PASS |
| FUTURE EPS GROWTH: | FAIL |
| SALES GROWTH: | PASS |
| TOTAL RETURN/PE: | PASS |
| FREE CASH FLOW: | PASS |
| EPS PERSISTENCE: | PASS |
Detailed Analysis of MOELIS & CO
BANK OF PRINCETON (BPRN) is a small-cap value stock in the Regional Banks industry. The rating according to our strategy based on John Neff changed from 60% to 79% 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: The Bank of Princeton is a community bank. The Bank is a New Jersey state-chartered commercial bank with approximately 19 branches. It provides products, services and technology from personal banking and lending products, to a full range of business products. Its paycheck protection program is a loan designed to provide a direct incentive for small businesses and sole proprietors to keep their workers on the payroll. The Bank offers business checking, business savings, commercial lending, safe deposit boxes, business credit cards and many other services. It has branches in New Jersey, including three in Princeton and others in Bordentown, Browns Mills, Chesterfield, Cream Ridge, Deptford, Hamilton, Lakewood, Lambertville, Lawrenceville, Monroe, New Brunswick, Pennington, Piscataway, Princeton Junction, Quakerbridge and Sicklerville. The Bank also has approximately four branches in the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania area.
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 RATIO: | PASS |
| EPS GROWTH: | PASS |
| FUTURE EPS GROWTH: | FAIL |
| SALES GROWTH: | PASS |
| TOTAL RETURN/PE: | PASS |
| FREE CASH FLOW: | FAIL |
| EPS PERSISTENCE: | PASS |
Detailed Analysis of BANK OF PRINCETON
CIVISTA BANCSHARES INC (CIVB) is a small-cap value stock in the Regional Banks industry. The rating according to our strategy based on John Neff changed from 62% to 79% 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: Civista Bancshares, Inc. is a financial holding company. The Company, through the subsidiary bank, Civista Bank, is primarily engaged in the business of community banking. Civista Bank is located in the Ohio counties of Erie, Crawford, Champaign, Cuyahoga, Franklin, Huron, Logan, Madison, Montgomery, Ottawa, Richland and Summit, in the Indiana counties of Dearborn and Ripley and in the Kentucky county of Kenton. It conducts a general banking business that involves collecting customer deposits, making loans, purchasing securities, and offering Trust services. Its loan portfolio consists of commercial and agriculture, commercial real estate-owner occupied, commercial real estate non-owner occupied, residential real estate, real estate construction, farm real estate, consumer and other. Its deposits include non-interest and interest-bearing demand deposits; savings account, including money market deposit accounts, and certificates of deposit, including individual retirement accounts.
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 RATIO: | PASS |
| EPS GROWTH: | PASS |
| FUTURE EPS GROWTH: | FAIL |
| SALES GROWTH: | PASS |
| TOTAL RETURN/PE: | PASS |
| FREE CASH FLOW: | FAIL |
| EPS PERSISTENCE: | PASS |
Detailed Analysis of CIVISTA BANCSHARES INC
EQUITY BANCSHARES INC (EQBK) is a small-cap value stock in the Regional Banks industry. The rating according to our strategy based on John Neff changed from 58% to 77% 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: Equity Bancshares, Inc. is a bank holding company. The Company's subsidiary, Equity Bank, provides a range of financial services primarily to businesses and business owners as well as individuals through its network of branches located in Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma. The Company's operations involve the delivery of loan and deposit products to its customers. The Company's operations involve the delivery of loan and deposit products to its customers. The Company offers commercial banking products and other services, including lending activities, deposit products, and other products and services. It offers a suite of online banking solutions, including access to account balances, online transfers, online bill payment, and electronic delivery of customer statements and mobile banking solutions. In addition, the Company offers commercial treasury management services, wire transfer, automated clearing house (ACH) services.
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 RATIO: | PASS |
| EPS GROWTH: | PASS |
| FUTURE EPS GROWTH: | FAIL |
| SALES GROWTH: | PASS |
| TOTAL RETURN/PE: | PASS |
| FREE CASH FLOW: | FAIL |
| EPS PERSISTENCE: | FAIL |
Detailed Analysis of EQUITY BANCSHARES INC
JANUS HENDERSON GROUP PLC (JHG) is a mid-cap value stock in the Investment Services industry. The rating according to our strategy based on John Neff changed from 38% to 96% 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: Janus Henderson Group PLC is an independent global asset manager. The Company specializes in active investment across all asset classes. It operates through the investment management business segment. The Company manages a range of actively managed investment products for institutional and retail investors across five capabilities: Equities, Fixed Income, Multi-Asset, Quantitative Equities and Alternatives. It operates across various product lines, distribution channels and geographic regions. The Company conducts its operations in North America, the United Kingdom (UK), continental Europe, Latin America, Japan, Asia and Australia.
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 RATIO: | PASS |
| EPS GROWTH: | PASS |
| FUTURE EPS GROWTH: | PASS |
| SALES GROWTH: | PASS |
| TOTAL RETURN/PE: | PASS |
| FREE CASH FLOW: | FAIL |
| EPS PERSISTENCE: | FAIL |
Detailed Analysis of JANUS HENDERSON GROUP PLC
LINCOLN NATIONAL CORPORATION (LNC) is a large-cap value stock in the Insurance (Life) industry. The rating according to our strategy based on John Neff changed from 62% to 79% 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: Lincoln National Corporation is a holding company, which operates multiple insurance and retirement businesses through its subsidiary companies. The Company sells a range of wealth protection, accumulation, retirement income and group protection products and solutions. It operates through four segments: Annuities, Retirement Plan Services, Life Insurance and Group Protection. The Annuities segment provides tax-deferred investment growth and lifetime income opportunities for its clients by offering variable annuities, fixed (including indexed) annuities and indexed variable annuities. The Retirement Plan Services segment provides employers with retirement plan products and services, primarily in the defined contribution retirement plan marketplace. The Life Insurance segment provides life insurance products, including term insurance and other. The Group Protection segment offers group non-medical insurance products and services, including short- and long-term disability and other.
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 RATIO: | PASS |
| EPS GROWTH: | PASS |
| FUTURE EPS GROWTH: | PASS |
| SALES GROWTH: | FAIL |
| TOTAL RETURN/PE: | PASS |
| FREE CASH FLOW: | FAIL |
| EPS PERSISTENCE: | PASS |
Detailed Analysis of LINCOLN NATIONAL CORPORATION
More details on Validea's John Neff strategy
About John Neff: While known as the manager with whom many top managers entrusted their own money, Neff was far from the smooth-talking, high-profile Wall Streeter you might expect. He was mild-mannered and low-key, and the same might be said of the Windsor Fund that he managed for more than three decades. In fact, Neff himself described the fund as "relatively prosaic, dull, [and] conservative." There was nothing dull about his results, however. From 1964 to 1995, Neff guided Windsor to a 13.7 percent average annual return, easily outpacing the S&P 500's 10.6 percent return during that time. That 3.1 percentage point difference is huge over time -- a $10,000 investment in Windsor (with dividends reinvested) at the start of Neff's tenure would have ended up as more than $564,000 by the time he retired, more than twice what the same investment in the S&P would have yielded (about $233,000). Considering the length of his tenure, that track record may be the best ever for a manager of such a large fund.
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.
