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Financial Sector's Biggest Movers for July 13, 2012
The morning has been good for the market. The Nasdaq has climbed 1%; the S&P 500 is up 1.3%; and the Dow has risen 1.3%. The financial sector is the category of stocks containing firms that provide financial services to commercial and retail customers. This sector includes banks, investment funds, insurance companies and real estate. Financial services perform best in low interest rate environments. A large portion of this sector generates revenue from mortgages and loans, which gain value as interest rates drop. Furthermore, when the business cycle is in an upswing, the financial sector benefits from additional investments. Improved economic conditions usually lead to more capital projects and increased personal investing. New projects require financing, which usually leads to a larger number of loans.
Outperforming the market overall, the Financial sector (XLF) is up 2.1% and its biggest movers so far today are:
Software Summary: Finviz.com Stock Screener
Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) has risen 3.1% to hit a current price of $96.94 per share. With 1.8 million shares changing hands so far today, the company's volume is 0.5 times its current three-month average. The trading volume for a stock indicates the level of investor interest. A wide array of ratios can be used by investors to estimate the attractiveness of a potential or existing investment and get an idea of its valuation. The price/earnings to growth (PEG) ratio can reveal value what price/earnings (P/E) ratios alone may not so that if a company has a high P/E ratio (an indication that its stock is overpriced) but its earnings are growing very quickly, the PEG ratio may reveal that the company is actually fairly valued, or perhaps even a bargain. PEG ratio for GS is consistent with the industry average at 0.59. While P/E ratios are important indicators of market value, a high P/E in and of itself is not bad because it may indicate a company whose earnings are growing very rapidly, so many investors look at the PEG ratio in order to get an idea of whether or not a particular P/E ratio is justified by underlying earnings growth.
Affiliated Managers Group (NYSE:AMG) has risen 2.5% and is currently trading at $108.95 per share. So far today, the company's volume is 72,306 shares. This is 0.2 times the average daily volume. As a stock moves up or down, it is important to pay attention to the trading volume. This indicates the level of interest: the higher the volume, the more the interest. Calculating the profit margin is a great way to gain insight into aspects of how well a company generates and retains money. Instead of measuring how much managers earn from assets, equity or invested capital, profit-margin ratios measure how far a company stretches its total revenue or total sales. AMG has a gross profit margin of 58%. The operating profit margin indicates how much EBIT is generated per dollar of sales. AMG's operating profit margin is 26%. Net profit margin is calculated by dividing net income by sales. Net profit margin for the company is 9.6%.
It is important for an investor to estimate the value of any potential or existing investment; valuation ratios make this easier. While measuring a price/earnings ratio (P/E ratio) is a popular valuation technique, the measure cannot be calculated for companies without earnings, so some investors analyze the price/sales ratio. The P/S ratio for AMG is a high 3.41. This could be a good sign if the share price increases. A limitation of the P/S ratio is that the price component measures only stock market captialization, while sales are a function of the entire capital structure, potentially leading to wide differences between levered and unlevered companies.
After rising 2.5%, Franklin (NYSE:BEN) is currently trading at a share price of $111.71. At 165,918 shares, the company's volume so far today is below yesterday's volume of 696,658 shares. If a stock is trading on low volume, then there is not much interest in the stock. On the other hand, if a stock is trading on high volume, then there is a lot of interest in the stock. Investment valuation ratios can be very useful in estimating whether a stock price is too high, reasonable or a bargain investment opportunity. The easy-to-calculate debt ratio is helpful to investors looking for a quick take on the leverage for a company. The debt ratio for BEN is a low 36.4%. In other words, the company is less sensitive to changes in business or interest rates since less of its cash flow is dedicated to paying off loan expenses. However, one thing to note with this ratio: it isn't a pure measure of a company's debt (or indebtedness), as it also includes operational liabilities, such as accounts payable and taxes payable.
Slipping 1.6%, Deutsche (NYSE:DB) is currently trading at $31.34 per share. The company is currently trading a volume of 1.1 million shares. Volume indicates the level of interest that investors have in a company at its current price. Looking at a company's valuation ratios is a good way of getting a basic idea as to its value as an investment. The debt-equity (D/E) ratio is a measurement of how much suppliers, lenders, creditors and obligors have committed to the company versus what the shareholders have committed. The D/E ratio for DB is 488%. This shows that the company's assets are financed primarily through debt. This easy-to-calculate ratio provides a general indication of a company's equity-liability relationship and is helpful to investors looking for a quick take on a company's leverage.
SPDR S&P MidCap 400 (NYSE:MDY) is up 1.4% to reach a current price of $171.24 per share. At 448,326 shares, the company's volume so far today is 0.2 times its average over the past three months. Price change alone is not enough to know how a stock is doing. Volume is an important secondary indicator used to confirm trends suggested by price movement. Valuation ratios allow the investor to make a quick determination as to a company's investment value. Dividend yield measures the income that a stock will generate for an investor. MDY has a low dividend yield of 1.2%. A company with a low dividend yield may be a safer investment in the long run. High dividend yields are generally more important to value investors, investors in larger companies, and income oriented investors than they are to growth investors, investors in small cap stocks, and investors in new or emerging companies. SEE: Dividend Yield For The Downturn
CME (Nasdaq:CME) is currently trading at $263.39 per share, a 1% increase. So far this morning, 123,253 shares have changed hands. This is 0.3 times its average daily volume. A stock's volume conveys how excited investors are about it. There are many tools investors can use to evaluate a stock, including margins. Margins, quite simply, are earnings expressed as a ratio, or a percentage of sales, and this allows investors to compare the profitability of different companies, while net earnings, which are presented as an absolute number, cannot. CME's gross profit margin of 77.6% is on the high side. This means that the company will have a lot of money left over to spend on other business operations, such as research and development or marketing. The operating margin ratio can vary widely across industries, so investors should focus on comparing companies from similar industries or with similar business models. The operating margin for CME is 58.2%, which is low compared its gross profit margin. Net profit margin comes as close as possible to summing-up in a single figure how effectively managers run the business. Net margin is 51%.
In making a decision about a potential or existing investment, valuation ratios are useful as a basis for seeing whether the stock price is too high, reasonable, or a bargain. In a nutshell, the price/sales ratio shows how much Wall Street values every dollar of the company's sales. CME has a high P/S ratio of 6.04. In young companies, a high P/S ratio is a sign of sales growth that is expected to turn into earnings and cash flow. All things being equal, a low P/S ratio is good news for investors, while a very high one can be a warning sign.
After an increase of 1%, MasterCard (NYSE:MA) has reached a current price of $428.55. So far today, 231,985 shares have changed hands, which is less activity than yesterday's volume of 764,540 shares. Volume is an important indicator because it indicates how significant a price shift is. Valuation ratios like the price to earnings (P/E) ratio, the price to earnings growth (PEG) ratio, the price to sales (P/S) ratio, the price to book (P/B) ratio, and the dividend yield are useful in determining how attractive a potential or existing investment is. The debt ratio measures the leverage of a company, and a company's leverage is a good way to assess risk. MA has a debt ratio of 42.8%, which is fairly low. A low debt ratio means the company has more available cash flow. As with all financial ratios, a company's debt ratio should be compared with the industry average or similar companies.
The Bottom Line The nature of the market is such that stocks will have good days and bad days. Daily stock performance should be weighed against historical performance and put in context of the market overall. Keep in mind that all these ratios should be compared against historical numbers and industry information in order to get a more complete picture.
Outperforming the market overall, the Financial sector (XLF) is up 2.1% and its biggest movers so far today are:
| Company | Market Cap | Percentage Change |
| Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) | $46.25 billion | +3.1% |
| Affiliated Managers Group, Inc. (NYSE:AMG) | $5.46 billion | +2.5% |
| Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) | $23.45 billion | +2.5% |
| Deutsche Bank (NYSE:DB) | $28.64 billion | -1.6% |
| SPDR S&P MidCap 400 ETF (NYSE:MDY) | $9.3 billion | +1.4% |
| CME Group (Nasdaq:CME) | $17.33 billion | +1% |
| MasterCard (NYSE:MA) | $51.44 billion | +1% |
Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) has risen 3.1% to hit a current price of $96.94 per share. With 1.8 million shares changing hands so far today, the company's volume is 0.5 times its current three-month average. The trading volume for a stock indicates the level of investor interest. A wide array of ratios can be used by investors to estimate the attractiveness of a potential or existing investment and get an idea of its valuation. The price/earnings to growth (PEG) ratio can reveal value what price/earnings (P/E) ratios alone may not so that if a company has a high P/E ratio (an indication that its stock is overpriced) but its earnings are growing very quickly, the PEG ratio may reveal that the company is actually fairly valued, or perhaps even a bargain. PEG ratio for GS is consistent with the industry average at 0.59. While P/E ratios are important indicators of market value, a high P/E in and of itself is not bad because it may indicate a company whose earnings are growing very rapidly, so many investors look at the PEG ratio in order to get an idea of whether or not a particular P/E ratio is justified by underlying earnings growth.
Affiliated Managers Group (NYSE:AMG) has risen 2.5% and is currently trading at $108.95 per share. So far today, the company's volume is 72,306 shares. This is 0.2 times the average daily volume. As a stock moves up or down, it is important to pay attention to the trading volume. This indicates the level of interest: the higher the volume, the more the interest. Calculating the profit margin is a great way to gain insight into aspects of how well a company generates and retains money. Instead of measuring how much managers earn from assets, equity or invested capital, profit-margin ratios measure how far a company stretches its total revenue or total sales. AMG has a gross profit margin of 58%. The operating profit margin indicates how much EBIT is generated per dollar of sales. AMG's operating profit margin is 26%. Net profit margin is calculated by dividing net income by sales. Net profit margin for the company is 9.6%.
It is important for an investor to estimate the value of any potential or existing investment; valuation ratios make this easier. While measuring a price/earnings ratio (P/E ratio) is a popular valuation technique, the measure cannot be calculated for companies without earnings, so some investors analyze the price/sales ratio. The P/S ratio for AMG is a high 3.41. This could be a good sign if the share price increases. A limitation of the P/S ratio is that the price component measures only stock market captialization, while sales are a function of the entire capital structure, potentially leading to wide differences between levered and unlevered companies.
After rising 2.5%, Franklin (NYSE:BEN) is currently trading at a share price of $111.71. At 165,918 shares, the company's volume so far today is below yesterday's volume of 696,658 shares. If a stock is trading on low volume, then there is not much interest in the stock. On the other hand, if a stock is trading on high volume, then there is a lot of interest in the stock. Investment valuation ratios can be very useful in estimating whether a stock price is too high, reasonable or a bargain investment opportunity. The easy-to-calculate debt ratio is helpful to investors looking for a quick take on the leverage for a company. The debt ratio for BEN is a low 36.4%. In other words, the company is less sensitive to changes in business or interest rates since less of its cash flow is dedicated to paying off loan expenses. However, one thing to note with this ratio: it isn't a pure measure of a company's debt (or indebtedness), as it also includes operational liabilities, such as accounts payable and taxes payable.
Slipping 1.6%, Deutsche (NYSE:DB) is currently trading at $31.34 per share. The company is currently trading a volume of 1.1 million shares. Volume indicates the level of interest that investors have in a company at its current price. Looking at a company's valuation ratios is a good way of getting a basic idea as to its value as an investment. The debt-equity (D/E) ratio is a measurement of how much suppliers, lenders, creditors and obligors have committed to the company versus what the shareholders have committed. The D/E ratio for DB is 488%. This shows that the company's assets are financed primarily through debt. This easy-to-calculate ratio provides a general indication of a company's equity-liability relationship and is helpful to investors looking for a quick take on a company's leverage.
SPDR S&P MidCap 400 (NYSE:MDY) is up 1.4% to reach a current price of $171.24 per share. At 448,326 shares, the company's volume so far today is 0.2 times its average over the past three months. Price change alone is not enough to know how a stock is doing. Volume is an important secondary indicator used to confirm trends suggested by price movement. Valuation ratios allow the investor to make a quick determination as to a company's investment value. Dividend yield measures the income that a stock will generate for an investor. MDY has a low dividend yield of 1.2%. A company with a low dividend yield may be a safer investment in the long run. High dividend yields are generally more important to value investors, investors in larger companies, and income oriented investors than they are to growth investors, investors in small cap stocks, and investors in new or emerging companies. SEE: Dividend Yield For The Downturn
CME (Nasdaq:CME) is currently trading at $263.39 per share, a 1% increase. So far this morning, 123,253 shares have changed hands. This is 0.3 times its average daily volume. A stock's volume conveys how excited investors are about it. There are many tools investors can use to evaluate a stock, including margins. Margins, quite simply, are earnings expressed as a ratio, or a percentage of sales, and this allows investors to compare the profitability of different companies, while net earnings, which are presented as an absolute number, cannot. CME's gross profit margin of 77.6% is on the high side. This means that the company will have a lot of money left over to spend on other business operations, such as research and development or marketing. The operating margin ratio can vary widely across industries, so investors should focus on comparing companies from similar industries or with similar business models. The operating margin for CME is 58.2%, which is low compared its gross profit margin. Net profit margin comes as close as possible to summing-up in a single figure how effectively managers run the business. Net margin is 51%.
In making a decision about a potential or existing investment, valuation ratios are useful as a basis for seeing whether the stock price is too high, reasonable, or a bargain. In a nutshell, the price/sales ratio shows how much Wall Street values every dollar of the company's sales. CME has a high P/S ratio of 6.04. In young companies, a high P/S ratio is a sign of sales growth that is expected to turn into earnings and cash flow. All things being equal, a low P/S ratio is good news for investors, while a very high one can be a warning sign.
After an increase of 1%, MasterCard (NYSE:MA) has reached a current price of $428.55. So far today, 231,985 shares have changed hands, which is less activity than yesterday's volume of 764,540 shares. Volume is an important indicator because it indicates how significant a price shift is. Valuation ratios like the price to earnings (P/E) ratio, the price to earnings growth (PEG) ratio, the price to sales (P/S) ratio, the price to book (P/B) ratio, and the dividend yield are useful in determining how attractive a potential or existing investment is. The debt ratio measures the leverage of a company, and a company's leverage is a good way to assess risk. MA has a debt ratio of 42.8%, which is fairly low. A low debt ratio means the company has more available cash flow. As with all financial ratios, a company's debt ratio should be compared with the industry average or similar companies.
The Bottom Line The nature of the market is such that stocks will have good days and bad days. Daily stock performance should be weighed against historical performance and put in context of the market overall. Keep in mind that all these ratios should be compared against historical numbers and industry information in order to get a more complete picture.
by
Investopedia Staff
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