The following are today’s upgrades for Validea’s Low PE Investor model based on the published strategy of John Neff. This strategy looks for firms with persistent earnings growth that trade at a discount relative to their earnings growth and dividend yield.
UNITED COMMUNITY BANKS, INC. (UCBI) is a mid-cap value stock in the Money Center Banks industry. The rating according to our strategy based on John Neff changed from 60% to 79% based on the firm’s underlying fundamentals and the stock’s valuation. A score of 80% or above typically indicates that the strategy has some interest in the stock and a score above 90% typically indicates strong interest.
Company Description: United Community Banks, Inc. is a bank holding company. It provides diversified financial services primarily through its principal subsidiary, United Community Bank. It provides a full range of banking, wealth management and mortgage services for relationship-oriented consumers and business owners. Its products and services include secured and unsecured loans, mortgage loans, payment and commerce solutions, equipment finance services, wealth management, trust services, private banking, investment advisory services, insurance services, and other related financial services. It also provides a full range of lending services, including real estate, consumer and commercial loans. It offers its financial products and services to the commercial, retail, governmental, educational, energy, health care and real estate sectors. Its products and services are delivered through a variety of channels, including its branches, other offices, the Internet, and mobile applications.
The following table summarizes whether the stock meets each of this strategy’s tests. Not all criteria in the below table receive equal weighting or are independent, but the table provides a brief overview of the strong and weak points of the security in the context of the strategy’s criteria.
| P/E RATIO: | PASS |
| EPS GROWTH: | PASS |
| FUTURE EPS GROWTH: | FAIL |
| SALES GROWTH: | PASS |
| TOTAL RETURN/PE: | PASS |
| FREE CASH FLOW: | PASS |
| EPS PERSISTENCE: | FAIL |
Detailed Analysis of UNITED COMMUNITY BANKS, INC.
UCBI Guru Analysis
UCBI Fundamental Analysis
OCEANFIRST FINANCIAL CORP. (OCFC) is a small-cap value stock in the Regional Banks industry. The rating according to our strategy based on John Neff changed from 60% to 79% based on the firm’s underlying fundamentals and the stock’s valuation. A score of 80% or above typically indicates that the strategy has some interest in the stock and a score above 90% typically indicates strong interest.
Company Description: OceanFirst Financial Corp. is a holding company for OceanFirst Bank N.A. (the Bank). The Bank is a full-service regional bank delivering financial products and services, which include commercial and consumer financing, deposit services, and wealth management products and services, throughout New Jersey and the major metropolitan markets of Philadelphia, New York, Baltimore, Washington D.C., and Boston. The Bank’s commercial loans include multi-family and commercial real estate loans, commercial construction loans, and commercial and industrial loans. The Bank also offers investment products for sale through its retail branch network. The Bank is focused on growth opportunities in areas, including derivative contracts, trust and asset management, digital product offerings, and equity investments in non-bank finance companies. It operates approximately 46 branch offices, and four deposit production facilities located throughout New Jersey, New York City and Philadelphia.
The following table summarizes whether the stock meets each of this strategy’s tests. Not all criteria in the below table receive equal weighting or are independent, but the table provides a brief overview of the strong and weak points of the security in the context of the strategy’s criteria.
| P/E RATIO: | PASS |
| EPS GROWTH: | PASS |
| FUTURE EPS GROWTH: | FAIL |
| SALES GROWTH: | PASS |
| TOTAL RETURN/PE: | PASS |
| FREE CASH FLOW: | PASS |
| EPS PERSISTENCE: | FAIL |
Detailed Analysis of OCEANFIRST FINANCIAL CORP.
OCFC Guru Analysis
OCFC Fundamental Analysis
MKS INSTRUMENTS INC (MKSI) is a mid-cap value stock in the Scientific & Technical Instr. industry. The rating according to our strategy based on John Neff changed from 60% to 79% based on the firm’s underlying fundamentals and the stock’s valuation. A score of 80% or above typically indicates that the strategy has some interest in the stock and a score above 90% typically indicates strong interest.
Company Description: MKS Instruments, Inc. is a provider of instruments, subsystems, systems, process control solutions, and specialty chemicals technology. The Company operates through three segments: Vacuum Solutions Division (VSD), Photonics Solutions Division (PSD), and Materials Solutions Division (MSD). VSD delivers foundational technology solutions to semiconductor manufacturing, advanced electronics, and specialty industrial applications. VSD products are derived from its competencies in pressure measurement and control, electronic control technology, reactive gas generation and delivery, and vacuum technology. PSD solutions include lasers, beam measurement and profiling, precision motion control, vibration isolation systems, and systems for printed circuit board (PCB) laser processing for high-density interconnect PCB and IC substrate manufacturing. MSD develops process and manufacturing technologies for advanced surface modification, electroless and electrolytic plating, and surface finishing.
The following table summarizes whether the stock meets each of this strategy’s tests. Not all criteria in the below table receive equal weighting or are independent, but the table provides a brief overview of the strong and weak points of the security in the context of the strategy’s criteria.
| P/E RATIO: | PASS |
| EPS GROWTH: | PASS |
| FUTURE EPS GROWTH: | FAIL |
| SALES GROWTH: | PASS |
| TOTAL RETURN/PE: | PASS |
| FREE CASH FLOW: | PASS |
| EPS PERSISTENCE: | FAIL |
Detailed Analysis of MKS INSTRUMENTS INC
MKSI Guru Analysis
MKSI Fundamental Analysis
John Neff Portfolio
About John Neff: While known as the manager with whom many top managers entrusted their own money, Neff was far from the smooth-talking, high-profile Wall Streeter you might expect. He was mild-mannered and low-key, and the same might be said of the Windsor Fund that he managed for more than three decades. In fact, Neff himself described the fund as “relatively prosaic, dull, [and] conservative.” There was nothing dull about his results, however. From 1964 to 1995, Neff guided Windsor to a 13.7 percent average annual return, easily outpacing the S&P 500’s 10.6 percent return during that time. That 3.1 percentage point difference is huge over time — a $10,000 investment in Windsor (with dividends reinvested) at the start of Neff’s tenure would have ended up as more than $564,000 by the time he retired, more than twice what the same investment in the S&P would have yielded (about $233,000). Considering the length of his tenure, that track record may be the best ever for a manager of such a large fund.
About Validea: Validea is aninvestment researchservice that follows the published strategies of investment legends. Validea offers both stock analysis and model portfolios based on gurus who have outperformed the market over the long-term, including Warren Buffett, Benjamin Graham, Peter Lynch and Martin Zweig. For more information about Validea, click here
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.