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5 Solid Reasons Why The Joint (JYNT) Looks Attractive Now

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If you want to reap strong returns for your investment portfolio, The Joint Corp. (JYNT - Free Report) is worth placing your bets on. This franchisor of chiropractic clinics witnessed an upward revision in analyst estimates for both 2021 and 2022.

Its consistent strong operating performance in the face of the pandemic and an increasing number of clinics is viewed positively by the analyst community. A day ago, it achieved another feat by qualifying for its addition to the S&P SmallCap 600 Index.

Year to date, this currently Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) stock has skyrocketed 160.9% compared with its industry’s growth of 17.4%. Despite its strong rally this year, there is a scope for further upside potential. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

 

Favorable Factors at Play

Northbound Estimates: The stock has seen the Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings being revised 52% upward over the past 30 days to 38 cents per share.

For 2022, the same has moved 3.8% north over the past 30 days to 54 cents per share.

Upward revision of earnings estimate reflects bullish sentiment surrounding the stock.

Rising Revenues and Earnings: The company’s top-line growth is expected to be 28% and 24.4% for 2021 and 2022, respectively. This double-digit revenue growth estimate looks pretty impressive.
The bottom-line improvement for 2021 and 2022 is likely to be 26.7% and 42.1%, respectively.

Resilient Business Set-Up: The company provides its chiropractic services via a membership model. Low pricing and no prior appointments make its services  attractive to patients. Also, its business model excludes insurance, which means insurance coverage is not required to avail its services.

The Joint Corp.  is expanding access to chiropractic care by opening clinics and wooing new patients. It is building its brand name and increasing awareness among people (only 50% of the US population knows what chiropractic care is).

One of the important pillars of the The Joint Corp.’s growth strategy is its emphasis on franchise-led operation, which accelerates expansion. Of the company’s total 592 clinics, 89% was reported to be franchise clinics until the end of the first quarter of 2021last quarter.

Historically, the company’s growth has been faster than the chiropractic market as a whole. From 2010 to 2020, its gross sales saw a CAGR of 70% compared with the industry’s CAGR of 1.4%. This is no mean feat and with the company equipping itself well on all sides, growth is sure to continue.

Strong Guidance for 2021: Management is upbeat about its current-year progress. Revenues are expected between $73.5 million and $77.5 million, indicating 28.6% growth from the year-ago reported figure. Adjusted EBITDA is projected in the range of $11-$12.5 million, suggesting 29% growth from the prior-year reported number while franchised clinic openings are anticipated between 80 and 100, implying 28.6% growth from the year-earlier reported figure. Besides; the company-owned or managed clinics through a combination of both greenfields and buybacks are projected to increase by between 20 and 30 from 4 recorded in 2020.

Long-Term Growth Potential a Tailwind: The Joint had 600 clinics in April 2021 and plans to expand its reach by unveiling 1000 clinics by the end of 2023.

The Joint accounts for only 1% of the chiropractic care market today and all chains including franchise systems represent only 3% of the market share. Given the high level of fragmentation among chiropractic care providers and the company’s wide expansion plans, there lies a significant opportunity to capture a higher market share.

Bottomline

The company’s price-to-earnings ratio of 154.3 makes its quite expensive. But investors looking at its long-term growth trajectory, backed by a resilient business model, planned new clinic openings, expansion of the company-owned clinics and current positive economic trends can surely expect some above-average returns.

Other Key Picks

Some other stocks worth considering in the medical space are Select Medical Holdings Corp. (SEM - Free Report) , HCA Healthcare, Inc. (HCA - Free Report) and Tenet Healthcare Corporation (THC - Free Report) , each presently carrying the same Zacks Rank as The Joint. Corp.

Estimates for 2021 and 2022 earnings of each of these stocks have been revised upward in the past 30 days.

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