Free Annual Reports
Lorillard and Other Consumer/Non-Cyclical Stocks Making Big Moves on September 11, 2012
The market is on the rise this morning. The Nasdaq is up 0.3%; the S&P 500 is trading up 0.6%; and the Dow has climbed 0.7%.
The biggest movers in an essentially flat Consumer/Non-Cyclical (XLP) sector are:
Broker Summary: Fidelity Online Brokerage
Shares of Central Garden (Nasdaq:CENTA) are currently trading at $11.52, a steep decline of 10.7%. With 632,843 shares changing hands so far today, the company's volume is 2.5 times the current three-month average. 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. Investors can use valuation ratios as tools to estimate what kind of deal a particular investment is. The price/book value ratio is calculated by dividing the current stock price by the company's book value per share. CENTA has a P/B ratio of 1.18 which shows that its share price is higher than its book value. This may be a sign that the company is overvalued. One problem with the P/B value ratio is that it can be difficult to calculate the true book value of a company, so investors should be aware that many measures of book value may provide only a rough estimate, and should be taken with a grain of salt. SEE: Using The Price-To-Book Ratio To Evaluate Companies
Central Garden (Nasdaq:CENT) has fallen 9.7% and is currently trading at $11.12 per share. So far today, 274,136 shares of the company's stock have changed hands. Yesterday's volume was only 43,301 shares. 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.
After a decline of 8.8%, United Natural Foods (Nasdaq:UNFI) has hit a share price of $55.12. So far today, the company's volume is 1.2 million shares, 3.7 times the average daily volume. High volume indicates a lot of investor interest while low volume indicates the opposite. A company's investment value can be estimated using valuation ratios such as 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. A simple P/E ratio can reveal the stock's real market value and show how the valuation compares to its industry group or a benchmark like the S&P 500 Index. The P/E ratio for UNFI is 35.5, above the industry average of 18.98. Generally speaking, the higher the P/E ratio, the higher the market expectations for a company's future performance. High P/E stocks could be "growth" stocks, while low PE stocks may be "value" stocks. SEE: Understanding The P/E Ratio
Green Mountain Coffee Roasters (Nasdaq:GMCR) has increased to a share price of $31.27, a 3% rise. The company's volume for the day so far is 9.5 million shares. The trading volume for a stock indicates the level of investor interest. 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 price/sales ratio measures a company's stock market value by its total revenues or alternatively, a company's price per share by its revenue per share. GMCR has a P/S ratio of 0.93, on the low end. Coupled with high relative strength in the previous twelve months, a low P/S ratio is one of the most potent combinations of investment criteria. 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.
At $120.75, Lorillard (NYSE:LO) has slipped 2.3%. At 697,079 shares, the company's volume so far today is one times its average over the past three months. Volume is used to evaluate how meaningful the price movement of a stock is. Valuation ratios include 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. The debt ratio measures the leverage of a company, and a company's leverage is a good way to assess risk. LO's debt ratio of 160.9% is fairly high. This means that the company's cash flow is significantly impacted by paying off principal and interest and that any negative change in performance or rise in interest rates could result in default. 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 2.2%, Hain Celestial Group (Nasdaq:HAIN) is currently trading at $69.97 per share. The company's volume for the day so far is 247,832 shares. If a stock price moves on high volume, this means that the change is a significant one. Investment valuation ratios can be very useful in estimating whether a stock price is too high, reasonable or a bargain investment opportunity. The debt-equity (D/E) ratio is a leverage ratio. The debt-equity ratio of 40% is relatively low. Companies with low D/E ratios are more attractive to investors because they are better able to protect their business interests in times of decline. The D/E ratio percentage provides a much more dramatic perspective on a company's leverage position than the debt ratio percentage.
Currently trading at $56.24 per share, Monster (Nasdaq:MNST) has fallen 1.7%. At 771,495 shares, the company's volume so far today is 0.4 times its current daily average. Volume is also used as a secondary indicator to help confirm what the price movement is suggesting. A company's investment value can be estimated using valuation ratios such as 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. The price/earnings to growth (PEG) ratio divides a company's P/E ratio by its growth rate of earnings-per-share. MNST has a PEG ratio of 1.6, which is consistent with the industry average. 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.
The Bottom Line The nature of the market is such that stocks will have good days and bad days. It is important to weigh current activity against historical performance when making any investment decisions. However, these fundamental metrics must be analyzed with historic data, industry information in addition to firm specific financial statements.
The biggest movers in an essentially flat Consumer/Non-Cyclical (XLP) sector are:
| Company | Market Cap | Percentage Change |
| Central Garden (Nasdaq:CENTA) | $624.5 million | -10.7% |
| Central Garden (Nasdaq:CENT) | $595.9 million | -9.7% |
| United Natural Foods (Nasdaq:UNFI) | $2.95 billion | -8.8% |
| Green Mountain Coffee Roasters (Nasdaq:GMCR) | $4.72 billion | +3% |
| Lorillard (NYSE:LO) | $16.14 billion | -2.3% |
| Hain Celestial Group (Nasdaq:HAIN) | $3.22 billion | -2.2% |
| Monster (Nasdaq:MNST) | $10.1 billion | -1.7% |
Shares of Central Garden (Nasdaq:CENTA) are currently trading at $11.52, a steep decline of 10.7%. With 632,843 shares changing hands so far today, the company's volume is 2.5 times the current three-month average. 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. Investors can use valuation ratios as tools to estimate what kind of deal a particular investment is. The price/book value ratio is calculated by dividing the current stock price by the company's book value per share. CENTA has a P/B ratio of 1.18 which shows that its share price is higher than its book value. This may be a sign that the company is overvalued. One problem with the P/B value ratio is that it can be difficult to calculate the true book value of a company, so investors should be aware that many measures of book value may provide only a rough estimate, and should be taken with a grain of salt. SEE: Using The Price-To-Book Ratio To Evaluate Companies
Central Garden (Nasdaq:CENT) has fallen 9.7% and is currently trading at $11.12 per share. So far today, 274,136 shares of the company's stock have changed hands. Yesterday's volume was only 43,301 shares. 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.
After a decline of 8.8%, United Natural Foods (Nasdaq:UNFI) has hit a share price of $55.12. So far today, the company's volume is 1.2 million shares, 3.7 times the average daily volume. High volume indicates a lot of investor interest while low volume indicates the opposite. A company's investment value can be estimated using valuation ratios such as 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. A simple P/E ratio can reveal the stock's real market value and show how the valuation compares to its industry group or a benchmark like the S&P 500 Index. The P/E ratio for UNFI is 35.5, above the industry average of 18.98. Generally speaking, the higher the P/E ratio, the higher the market expectations for a company's future performance. High P/E stocks could be "growth" stocks, while low PE stocks may be "value" stocks. SEE: Understanding The P/E Ratio
At $120.75, Lorillard (NYSE:LO) has slipped 2.3%. At 697,079 shares, the company's volume so far today is one times its average over the past three months. Volume is used to evaluate how meaningful the price movement of a stock is. Valuation ratios include 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. The debt ratio measures the leverage of a company, and a company's leverage is a good way to assess risk. LO's debt ratio of 160.9% is fairly high. This means that the company's cash flow is significantly impacted by paying off principal and interest and that any negative change in performance or rise in interest rates could result in default. 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 2.2%, Hain Celestial Group (Nasdaq:HAIN) is currently trading at $69.97 per share. The company's volume for the day so far is 247,832 shares. If a stock price moves on high volume, this means that the change is a significant one. Investment valuation ratios can be very useful in estimating whether a stock price is too high, reasonable or a bargain investment opportunity. The debt-equity (D/E) ratio is a leverage ratio. The debt-equity ratio of 40% is relatively low. Companies with low D/E ratios are more attractive to investors because they are better able to protect their business interests in times of decline. The D/E ratio percentage provides a much more dramatic perspective on a company's leverage position than the debt ratio percentage.
Currently trading at $56.24 per share, Monster (Nasdaq:MNST) has fallen 1.7%. At 771,495 shares, the company's volume so far today is 0.4 times its current daily average. Volume is also used as a secondary indicator to help confirm what the price movement is suggesting. A company's investment value can be estimated using valuation ratios such as 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. The price/earnings to growth (PEG) ratio divides a company's P/E ratio by its growth rate of earnings-per-share. MNST has a PEG ratio of 1.6, which is consistent with the industry average. 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.
The Bottom Line The nature of the market is such that stocks will have good days and bad days. It is important to weigh current activity against historical performance when making any investment decisions. However, these fundamental metrics must be analyzed with historic data, industry information in addition to firm specific financial statements.
by
Investopedia Staff
Investopedia.com believes that individuals can excel at managing their financial affairs. As such, we strive to provide free educational content and tools to empower individual investors, including thousands of original and objective articles and tutorials on a wide variety of financial topics.
Free Annual Reports
