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Should Value Investors Pick PennantPark Investment (PNNT) Stock?
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Value investing is easily one of the most popular ways to find great stocks in any market environment. After all, who wouldn’t want to find stocks that are either flying under the radar and are compelling buys, or offer up tantalizing discounts when compared to fair value?
One way to find these companies is by looking at several key metrics and financial ratios, many of which are crucial in the value stock selection process. Let’s put PennantPark Investment Corporation (PNNT - Free Report) stock into this equation and find out if it is a good choice for value-oriented investors right now, or if investors subscribing to this methodology should look elsewhere for top picks:
PE Ratio
A key metric that value investors always look at is the Price to Earnings Ratio, or PE for short. This shows us how much investors are willing to pay for each dollar of earnings in a given stock, and is easily one of the most popular financial ratios in the world. The best use of the PE ratio is to compare the stock’s current PE ratio with: a) where this ratio has been in the past; b) how it compares to the average for the industry/sector; and c) how it compares to the market as a whole.
On this front, PennantPark Investment has a trailing twelve months PE ratio of 9.34, as you can see in the chart below:
This level actually compares pretty favorably with the market at large, as the PE for the S&P 500 compares in at about 17.11. If we focus on the stock’s long-term PE trend, the current level puts PennantPark Investment’s current PE ratio slightly above its midpoint (which is 8.94) over the past five years.
Further, the stock’s PE also compares favorably with the Zacks Finance sector’s trailing twelve months PE ratio, which stands at 13.75. At the very least, this indicates that the stock is relatively undervalued right now, compared to its peers.
We should also point out that PennantPark Investment has a forward PE ratio (price relative to this year’s earnings) of just 8.71, so it is fair to say that a slightly more value-oriented path may be ahead for PennantPark Investment’s stock in the near term too.
PEG Ratio
While earnings are certainly important, it is essential to know how much you are paying for the growth of earnings as well. One can easily do that with the PEG ratio (ratio of the P/E to the expected future earnings growth rate). The PEG ratio gives a more complete picture of the valuation of a stock than the P/E ratio.
PennantPark Investment’s PEG ratio stands at just 4.21, compared with the Zacks Financial – SBIC & Commercial industry average of 3.67. This suggests an overvalued trading relative to its earnings growth potential right now.
Broad Value Outlook
In aggregate, PennantPark Investment currently has a Value Style Score of B, putting it into the top 40% of all stocks we cover from this look. This makes PNNT a solid choice for value investors, and some of its other key metrics make this pretty clear too.
For example, the P/CF ratio (another great indicator of value) comes in at 8.74, which is slightly better than the industry average of 9.54. Clearly, PNNT is a solid choice on the value front from multiple angles.
What About the Stock Overall?
Though PennantPark Investment might be a good choice for value investors, there are plenty of other factors to consider before investing in this name. In particular, it is worth noting that the company has a Growth grade of F and a Momentum score of B. This gives PNNT a VGM score—or its overarching fundamental grade—of C. (You can read more about the Zacks Style Scores here >>)
Meanwhile, the company’s recent earnings estimates have been disappointing. The current quarter has seen one estimate go lower in the past sixty days compared to none higher, while the full year estimate has seen four downward and one upward revisions in the same time period.
This has had a noticeable impact on the consensus estimate, as the current quarter consensus estimate has fallen 5% in the past two months, while the full year estimate has slipped 1.3%. You can see the consensus estimate trend and recent price action for the stock in the chart below:
PennantPark Investment Corporation Price and Consensus
This somewhat bearish trend is why the stock has just a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) and why we are looking for in-line performance from the company in the near term.
Bottom Line
PennantPark Investment is an inspired choice for value investors, as it is hard to beat its incredible lineup of statistics on this front. Moreover, a strong industry rank (top 39% out of more than 250 industries) further supports the growth potential of the stock. However, with a Zacks Rank #3, it is hard to get too excited about this company overall. In fact, over the past one year, the sector has clearly underperformed the broader market, as you can see below:
So, value investors might want to wait for estimates, analyst sentiment and industry trends to turn favorable in this name first, but once that happens, this stock could be a compelling pick.
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Would you like to see the updated picks from our best market-beating strategies? From 2017 through 2018, while the S&P 500 gained +15.8%, five of our screens returned +38.0%, +61.3%, +61.6%, +68.1%, and +98.3%.
This outperformance has not just been a recent phenomenon. From 2000 – 2018, while the S&P averaged +4.8% per year, our top strategies averaged up to +56.2% per year.
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Should Value Investors Pick PennantPark Investment (PNNT) Stock?
Value investing is easily one of the most popular ways to find great stocks in any market environment. After all, who wouldn’t want to find stocks that are either flying under the radar and are compelling buys, or offer up tantalizing discounts when compared to fair value?
One way to find these companies is by looking at several key metrics and financial ratios, many of which are crucial in the value stock selection process. Let’s put PennantPark Investment Corporation (PNNT - Free Report) stock into this equation and find out if it is a good choice for value-oriented investors right now, or if investors subscribing to this methodology should look elsewhere for top picks:
PE Ratio
A key metric that value investors always look at is the Price to Earnings Ratio, or PE for short. This shows us how much investors are willing to pay for each dollar of earnings in a given stock, and is easily one of the most popular financial ratios in the world. The best use of the PE ratio is to compare the stock’s current PE ratio with: a) where this ratio has been in the past; b) how it compares to the average for the industry/sector; and c) how it compares to the market as a whole.
On this front, PennantPark Investment has a trailing twelve months PE ratio of 9.34, as you can see in the chart below:
This level actually compares pretty favorably with the market at large, as the PE for the S&P 500 compares in at about 17.11. If we focus on the stock’s long-term PE trend, the current level puts PennantPark Investment’s current PE ratio slightly above its midpoint (which is 8.94) over the past five years.
Further, the stock’s PE also compares favorably with the Zacks Finance sector’s trailing twelve months PE ratio, which stands at 13.75. At the very least, this indicates that the stock is relatively undervalued right now, compared to its peers.
We should also point out that PennantPark Investment has a forward PE ratio (price relative to this year’s earnings) of just 8.71, so it is fair to say that a slightly more value-oriented path may be ahead for PennantPark Investment’s stock in the near term too.
PEG Ratio
While earnings are certainly important, it is essential to know how much you are paying for the growth of earnings as well. One can easily do that with the PEG ratio (ratio of the P/E to the expected future earnings growth rate). The PEG ratio gives a more complete picture of the valuation of a stock than the P/E ratio.
PennantPark Investment’s PEG ratio stands at just 4.21, compared with the Zacks Financial – SBIC & Commercial industry average of 3.67. This suggests an overvalued trading relative to its earnings growth potential right now.
Broad Value Outlook
In aggregate, PennantPark Investment currently has a Value Style Score of B, putting it into the top 40% of all stocks we cover from this look. This makes PNNT a solid choice for value investors, and some of its other key metrics make this pretty clear too.
For example, the P/CF ratio (another great indicator of value) comes in at 8.74, which is slightly better than the industry average of 9.54. Clearly, PNNT is a solid choice on the value front from multiple angles.
What About the Stock Overall?
Though PennantPark Investment might be a good choice for value investors, there are plenty of other factors to consider before investing in this name. In particular, it is worth noting that the company has a Growth grade of F and a Momentum score of B. This gives PNNT a VGM score—or its overarching fundamental grade—of C. (You can read more about the Zacks Style Scores here >>)
Meanwhile, the company’s recent earnings estimates have been disappointing. The current quarter has seen one estimate go lower in the past sixty days compared to none higher, while the full year estimate has seen four downward and one upward revisions in the same time period.
This has had a noticeable impact on the consensus estimate, as the current quarter consensus estimate has fallen 5% in the past two months, while the full year estimate has slipped 1.3%. You can see the consensus estimate trend and recent price action for the stock in the chart below:
PennantPark Investment Corporation Price and Consensus
PennantPark Investment Corporation price-consensus-chart | PennantPark Investment Corporation Quote
This somewhat bearish trend is why the stock has just a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) and why we are looking for in-line performance from the company in the near term.
Bottom Line
PennantPark Investment is an inspired choice for value investors, as it is hard to beat its incredible lineup of statistics on this front. Moreover, a strong industry rank (top 39% out of more than 250 industries) further supports the growth potential of the stock. However, with a Zacks Rank #3, it is hard to get too excited about this company overall. In fact, over the past one year, the sector has clearly underperformed the broader market, as you can see below:
So, value investors might want to wait for estimates, analyst sentiment and industry trends to turn favorable in this name first, but once that happens, this stock could be a compelling pick.
Today's Best Stocks from Zacks
Would you like to see the updated picks from our best market-beating strategies? From 2017 through 2018, while the S&P 500 gained +15.8%, five of our screens returned +38.0%, +61.3%, +61.6%, +68.1%, and +98.3%.
This outperformance has not just been a recent phenomenon. From 2000 – 2018, while the S&P averaged +4.8% per year, our top strategies averaged up to +56.2% per year.
See their latest picks free >>