There are many different tools to determine whether a company is profitable or not. One of the most popular ratios is the “Return on Assets” (aka ROA). This score indicates how profitable a company is relative to its total assets. The Return on Assets for HSBC Holdings plc (LSE:HSBA) is 0.005347. This number is calculated by dividing net income after tax by the company’s total assets. A company that manages their assets well will have a higher return, while a company that manages their assets poorly will have a lower return.

Investors who are new to picking stocks may find themselves tempted to buy shares that have been recently rising the most. Although the traditional advice is to buy low and sell high, novice investors often do just the opposite. Buying a particular stock just because it has been rising recently may end up leaving the investor shaking their head down the road. Expecting that a stock will continue to ride the wave higher can lead to disappointment when momentum suddenly shifts. Studying the fundamentals of a certain company can help the investor gauge if the stock is a worthy buy at current levels.

Taking a step further we can take a look at various other valuation metrics.  HSBC Holdings plc (LSE:HSBA) has a Price to Book ratio of 0.940673. This ratio is calculated by dividing the current share price by the book value per share. Investors may use Price to Book to display how the market portrays the value of a stock. Checking in on some other ratios, the company has a Price to Cash Flow ratio of 3.556637, and a current Price to Earnings ratio of 11.490832. The P/E ratio is one of the most common ratios used for figuring out whether a company is overvalued or undervalued.

The Free Cash Flor Yield 5yr Average is calculated by taking the five year average free cash flow of a company, and dividing it by the current enterprise value.  Enterprise Value is calculated by taking the market capitalization plus debt, minority interest and preferred shares, minus total cash and cash equivalents.  The average FCF of a company is determined by looking at the cash generated by operations of the company.  The Free Cash Flow Yield 5 Year Average of HSBC Holdings plc (LSE:HSBA) is -0.005287. 

The Return on Invested Capital (aka ROIC) for HSBC Holdings plc (LSE:HSBA) is 0.012182.  The Return on Invested Capital is a ratio that determines whether a company is profitable or not.  It tells investors how well a company is turning their capital into profits.  The ROIC is calculated by dividing the net operating profit (or EBIT) by the employed capital.  The employed capital is calculated by subrating current liabilities from total assets.  Similarly, the Return on Invested Capital Quality ratio is a tool in evaluating the quality of a company’s ROIC over the course of five years.  The ROIC Quality of HSBC Holdings plc (LSE:HSBA) is -32.269927.  This is calculated by dividing the five year average ROIC by the Standard Deviation of the 5 year ROIC.  The ROIC 5 year average is calculated using the five year average EBIT, five year average (net working capital and net fixed assets).  The ROIC 5 year average of HSBC Holdings plc (LSE:HSBA) is 0.011158.

When examining current stock market levels, investors who have been staying on the sidelines may be wondering if now is a good time to get back into the ring. Nobody can say for sure if momentum will continue to push to the upside, and investors may be overly cautious at this stage. Studying company financials and paying attention to pertinent economic data can help the investor make more educated decisions when it comes to the stock market. It is obviously very hard for a new investor to become highly successful in the stock market right out of the gate. Doing all the homework and dedicating the proper amount of time can help the investor get on the right track to accumulating profits down the road.

HSBC Holdings plc (LSE:HSBA) presently has a current ratio of 0.00. The current ratio, also known as the working capital ratio, is a liquidity ratio that displays the proportion of current assets of a business relative to the current liabilities. The ratio is simply calculated by dividing current liabilities by current assets. The ratio may be used to provide an idea of the ability of a certain company to pay back its liabilities with assets. Typically, the higher the current ratio the better, as the company may be more capable of paying back its obligations.

In terms of value, HSBC Holdings plc (LSE:HSBA) has a Value Composite score of 41. Developed by James O’Shaughnessy, the VC score uses five valuation ratios. These ratios are price to earnings, price to cash flow, EBITDA to EV, price to book value, and price to sales. The VC is displayed as a number between 1 and 100. In general, a company with a score closer to 0 would be seen as undervalued, and a score closer to 100 would indicate an overvalued company. Adding a sixth ratio, shareholder yield, we can view the Value Composite 2 score which is currently sitting at 32.

Quant Ranks (ERP5, Gross Margin, F Score)

The ERP5 Rank is an investment tool that analysts use to discover undervalued companies.  The ERP5 looks at the Price to Book ratio, Earnings Yield, ROIC and 5 year average ROIC.  The ERP5 of HSBC Holdings plc (LSE:HSBA) is 10135.  The lower the ERP5 rank, the more undervalued a company is thought to be.

The Piotroski F-Score is a scoring system between 1-9 that determines a firm’s financial strength.  The score helps determine if a company’s stock is valuable or not.  The Piotroski F-Score of HSBC Holdings plc (LSE:HSBA) is 4.  A score of nine indicates a high value stock, while a score of one indicates a low value stock.  The score is calculated by the return on assets (ROA), Cash flow return on assets (CFROA), change in return of assets, and quality of earnings.  It is also calculated by a change in gearing or leverage, liquidity, and change in shares in issue.  The score is also determined by change in gross margin and change in asset turnover.

Investors may be interested in viewing the Gross Margin score on shares of HSBC Holdings plc (LSE:HSBA). The name currently has a score of 10.00000. This score is derived from the Gross Margin (Marx) stability and growth over the previous eight years. The Gross Margin score lands on a scale from 1 to 100 where a score of 1 would be considered positive, and a score of 100 would be seen as negative.

Price Index

The Price Index is a ratio that indicates the return of a share price over a past period. The price index of HSBC Holdings plc (LSE:HSBA) for last month was 1.00206. This is calculated by taking the current share price and dividing by the share price one month ago. If the ratio is greater than 1, then that means there has been an increase in price over the month. If the ratio is less than 1, then we can determine that there has been a decrease in price. Similarly, investors look up the share price over 12 month periods. The Price Index 12m for HSBC Holdings plc (LSE:HSBA) is 1.03772.
Price Range 52 Weeks

Some of the best financial predictions are formed by using a variety of financial tools. The Price Range 52 Weeks is one of the tools that investors use to determine the lowest and highest price at which a stock has traded in the previous 52 weeks. The Price Range of HSBC Holdings plc (LSE:HSBA) over the past 52 weeks is 0.907000. The 52-week range can be found in the stock’s quote summary.

As we move closer to the close of the year, investors will be closely watching the next round of company earnings results. Investors may choose to closely follow Wall Street analyst projections around earnings periods. Analysts will typically make adjustments to estimates as the earnings date approaches. Many investors will look to see which way the estimate revisions are trending heading into the earnings report. Once the release is published, analysts have the ability to make further updates based on actual information that the company provides.