The Cato Corporation Stock Price and Value Analysis
Should you buy The Cato Corporation stock? (NYSE:CATO). Let's see how it does in our
automated value investing analysis system.
Advantages | Disadvantages |
- This company has a large dividend yield!
- This stock is available at a great discount!
- This company has stable growth.
- This company is solid.
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- This company is making money at a modest rate.
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Inside the CATO Numbers
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CATO Price (The Cato Corporation stock price per share) |
$8.89 |
The intrinsic value of
a company is how much cash it can generate over its lifespan. If a business
lasts for ten years and produces a million dollars of free cash profit every
year, its intrinsic value is ten million dollars.
The present value of an
investment is the price you must pay right now to earn that intrinsic value in
however many years you want to wait. This of course depends on the rate of
return you want for your investment.
You can't predict what a company will make in the future with perfect
accuracy, but a company with a history of increasing its free cash flow every
year is likely to do so over time. By projecting free cash flow into the
future, you can calculate a fair price for the stock right now.
While most stocks are priced fairly, sometimes they go on sale. This
calculation will help you decide that. You still have to figure out if it's a
good investment, but bargains exist.
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CATO Fair Price (based on intrinsic value) |
$36.98
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The safety margin of a
stock helps you avoid risk.
Why? Because the discounted free cash flow analysis relies on estimates,
discounting the fair price by a further safety margin gives you some wiggle
room to be wrong about those estimates. Established companies with stable free
cash flow growth need a small safety margin. Smaller and newer and riskier
companies need a larger safety margin. A company with a lot of debt needs a
larger safety margin and a company with a lot of equity needs less.
By investing in multiple companies and keeping a sensible safety margin, you
can be pleasantly surprised by great companies outperforming your expectations
and minimize the possibility of stagnation (or even loss) by companies which
underperform.
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CATO Safety Price (based on a variable margin of safety) |
$24.04
|
The PE ratio measures the
reported earnings of a company to its current stock price. While earnings are
easy to manipulate on the balance sheet, this ratio gives you a sense of what
buyers are willing to pay for the stock—what they believe it will do in
the future.
Comparing a stock's PE to the average PE of companies in its industry gives
you a sense of market sentiment about the stock and how well it fares
financially. It's not the only number, nor the most important, but comparing
similar companies is valuable. A ratio far above or below that of its peers is
significant.
Industries are more specific than sectors, so companies within most
industries are more similar than are companies within an industry. Be aware
that the size and customers of companies are important to their prospects.
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PE Ratio versus Sector |
47% higher than other Consumer Goods stocks |
The PE ratio measures the
reported earnings of a company to its current stock price. While earnings are
easy to manipulate on the balance sheet, this ratio gives you a sense of what
buyers are willing to pay for the stock—what they believe it will do in
the future.
Comparing a stock's PE to the average PE of companies in its sector gives
you a sense of market sentiment about the stock and how well it fares
financially. It's not the only number, nor the most important, but comparing
similar companies is valuable. A ratio far above or below that of its peers is
significant.
Be aware that sectors are very broad, with many types of companies in the
same sector.
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PE Ratio versus Industry |
34% lower than other Unknown stocks |
The cash yield of a stock is
the ratio of free cash per share—real dollars available after bringing in
revenue and paying bills—to the current price of the stock. It's similar
to the PE ratio, but it's less prone to manipulation through accounting
practices.
In general, the less you have to pay to make more money, the better.
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Cash Yield |
38.20% |
The free cash flow
jitter of a stock measures how much the company's free cash flow varies
from its historical trend, on average. While it's always nice to make more
money than you expected, a company with predictable free cash flow is stable
and good. A company with wild swings in its free cash flow warrants further
research.
In general, the lower this number, the better.
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Free Cash Flow Jitter |
25% |
The dividend yield of a
stock is the amount of money paid out in dividends every year divided by the
stock's current price. While not every stock pays a dividend, many solid
companies pay good dividends. In general, the higher this calculation, the
better—think of it like an interest rate of an investment—if the
company pays dividends consistently.
A high dividend payout rate may indicate that the share price has fallen
recently. Be sure that the company is worth investing in before you chase high
dividend yields!
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Dividend Yield |
6% |
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Shares Shorted |
1,263,545 |
This stock has short interest! This means that people have shorted it.
Why does that matter? They've made a bet that price will decrease from where
they bought it. Maybe there are financial problems, or maybe there's a value
play.
As of the latest analysis, there are 1,263,545 shares shorted. With 16,311,114 shares available for purchase and an average trading
volume over the past 10 trading days of 303,840, it would take at least 4.159 days for all of the short holders to cover their
shorts.
Is The Cato Corporation Stock on Sale?
We believe that The Cato Corporation may be worth examining further. It's
making money, which is a very positive sign. Is it on sale?
Even better, The Cato Corporation looks like a stock on sale. Based on our
analysis—if the company keeps making money the way it has been—you
may be looking at a bargain. Keep this stock in mind as you put together your
portfolio! See Before You Buy for
your next steps (and read our disclaimer about
investing risk).
Should You Buy CATO Stock?
Does The Cato Corporation have a coherent story? Does it have a plan to
continue to make money? Is it worth your time? Only you can decide where to go
from here. Our investment guide helps you ask the
right questions, including how to buy stocks.
Use these research links for more information.