This module uses fundamental data of AstroNova to approximate the value of its Beneish M Score. AstroNova M Score tells investors if the company management is likely to be manipulating earnings. The score is calculated using eight financial indicators that are adjusted by a specific multiplier. Please note, the M Score is a probabilistic model and cannot detect companies that manipulate their earnings with 100% accuracy. Check out AstroNova Piotroski F Score and AstroNova Altman Z Score analysis.
At this time, it appears that AstroNova is an unlikely manipulator. The earnings manipulation may begin if AstroNova's top management creates an artificial sense of financial success, forcing the stock price to be traded at a high price-earnings multiple than it should be. In general, excessive earnings management by AstroNova executives may lead to removing some of the operating profits from subsequent periods to inflate earnings in the following periods. This way, the manipulation of AstroNova's earnings can lead to misrepresentations of actual financial condition, taking the otherwise loyal stakeholders on to the path of questionable ethical practices and plain fraud.
The cure to earnings manipulation is the transparency of financial reporting. It will typically remove the temptation of the top executives to inflate earnings (i.e., to promote the idea of 'winning at any cost'). Because a healthy internal audit department can enhance transparency, the board should promote the auditors' access to all the record-keeping systems across the enterprise. For example, if AstroNova's auditors report directly to the board (not management), the managers will be reluctant to manipulate simply due to the fear of punishment. On the other hand, the auditors will be free to investigate the ledgers properly because they know that the board has their back.
One of the toughest challenges investors face today is learning how to quickly synthesize historical financial statements and information provided by the company, SEC reporting, and various external parties in order to detect the potential manipulation of earnings. Understanding the correlation between AstroNova's different financial indicators related to revenue, expenses, operating profit, and net earnings helps investors identify and prioritize their investing strategies towards AstroNova in a much-optimized way. Analyzing correlations between earnings drivers directly associated with dollar figures is the most effective way to find AstroNova's degree of accounting gimmicks and manipulations.
M-Score is one of many grading techniques for value stocks. It was developed by Professor M. Daniel Beneish of the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University and published in 1999 under the paper titled The Detection of Earnings Manipulation. The Beneish score is a multi-factor model that utilizes financial identifiers to compile eight variables used to classify whether a company has manipulated its reported earnings. The variables are built from the officially filed financial statements to create a final score call 'M Score.' The score helps to identify companies that are likely to manipulate their profits if they show deteriorating gross margins, operating expenses, and leverage against growing revenue.
Accumulated Depreciation
(31.3 Million)
At this time, AstroNova's Accumulated Depreciation is comparatively stable compared to the past year.
AstroNova Earnings Manipulation Drivers
Although earnings manipulation is typically not the result of intentional misconduct by the c-level executives, it is still a widespread practice by the senior management of public companies such as AstroNova. It is usually done by a series of misrepresentations of various accounting rules and operating activities across multiple financial cycles. The best way to spot the manipulation is to examine the historical financial statement to find inconsistencies in earning reports to find trends in assets or liabilities that are not sustainable in the future.
The Macroaxis Fundamental Analysis modules help investors analyze AstroNova's financials across various querterly and yearly statements, indicators and fundamental ratios. We help investors to determine the real value of AstroNova using virtually all public information available. We use both quantitative as well as qualitative analysis to arrive at the intrinsic value of AstroNova based on its fundamental data. In general, a quantitative approach, as applied to this company, focuses on analyzing financial statements comparatively, whereas a qaualitative method uses data that is important to a company's growth but cannot be measured and presented in a numerical way.
One of the main advantages of trading using pair correlations is that every trade hedges away some risk. Because there are two separate transactions required, even if AstroNova position performs unexpectedly, the other equity can make up some of the losses. Pair trading also minimizes risk from directional movements in the market. For example, if an entire industry or sector drops because of unexpected headlines, the short position in AstroNova will appreciate offsetting losses from the drop in the long position's value.
The ability to find closely correlated positions to AstroNova could be a great tool in your tax-loss harvesting strategies, allowing investors a quick way to find a similar-enough asset to replace AstroNova when you sell it. If you don't do this, your portfolio allocation will be skewed against your target asset allocation. So, investors can't just sell and buy back AstroNova - that would be a violation of the tax code under the "wash sale" rule, and this is why you need to find a similar enough asset and use the proceeds from selling AstroNova to buy it.
The correlation of AstroNova is a statistical measure of how it moves in relation to other instruments. This measure is expressed in what is known as the correlation coefficient, which ranges between -1 and +1. A perfect positive correlation (i.e., a correlation coefficient of +1) implies that as AstroNova moves, either up or down, the other security will move in the same direction. Alternatively, perfect negative correlation means that if AstroNova moves in either direction, the perfectly negatively correlated security will move in the opposite direction. If the correlation is 0, the equities are not correlated; they are entirely random. A correlation greater than 0.8 is generally described as strong, whereas a correlation less than 0.5 is generally considered weak.
Correlation analysis and pair trading evaluation for AstroNova can also be used as hedging techniques within a particular sector or industry or even over random equities to generate a better risk-adjusted return on your portfolios.
When determining whether AstroNova is a good investment, qualitative aspects like company management, corporate governance, and ethical practices play a significant role. A comparison with peer companies also provides context and helps to understand if AstroNova Stock is undervalued or overvalued. This multi-faceted approach, blending both quantitative and qualitative analysis, forms a solid foundation for making an informed investment decision about Astronova Stock. Highlighted below are key reports to facilitate an investment decision about Astronova Stock:
For more information on how to buy AstroNova Stock please use our How to Invest in AstroNova guide.You can also try the USA ETFs module to find actively traded Exchange Traded Funds (ETF) in USA.
Complementary Tools for AstroNova Stock analysis
When running AstroNova's price analysis, check to measure AstroNova's market volatility, profitability, liquidity, solvency, efficiency, growth potential, financial leverage, and other vital indicators. We have many different tools that can be utilized to determine how healthy AstroNova is operating at the current time. Most of AstroNova's value examination focuses on studying past and present price action to predict the probability of AstroNova's future price movements. You can analyze the entity against its peers and the financial market as a whole to determine factors that move AstroNova's price. Additionally, you may evaluate how the addition of AstroNova to your portfolios can decrease your overall portfolio volatility.
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Is AstroNova's industry expected to grow? Or is there an opportunity to expand the business' product line in the future? Factors like these will boost the valuation of AstroNova. If investors know AstroNova will grow in the future, the company's valuation will be higher. The financial industry is built on trying to define current growth potential and future valuation accurately. All the valuation information about AstroNova listed above have to be considered, but the key to understanding future value is determining which factors weigh more heavily than others.
Quarterly Earnings Growth
0.995
Earnings Share
0.63
Revenue Per Share
19.971
Quarterly Revenue Growth
(0.01)
Return On Assets
0.0522
The market value of AstroNova is measured differently than its book value, which is the value of AstroNova that is recorded on the company's balance sheet. Investors also form their own opinion of AstroNova's value that differs from its market value or its book value, called intrinsic value, which is AstroNova's true underlying value. Investors use various methods to calculate intrinsic value and buy a stock when its market value falls below its intrinsic value. Because AstroNova's market value can be influenced by many factors that don't directly affect AstroNova's underlying business (such as a pandemic or basic market pessimism), market value can vary widely from intrinsic value.
Please note, there is a significant difference between AstroNova's value and its price as these two are different measures arrived at by different means. Investors typically determine if AstroNova is a good investment by looking at such factors as earnings, sales, fundamental and technical indicators, competition as well as analyst projections. However, AstroNova's price is the amount at which it trades on the open market and represents the number that a seller and buyer find agreeable to each party.