Equity Analysts – How to Value Stuff

Drowning in Data

If you agree with the proposition that more information leads to more efficiency in pricing in the markets, that should probably lead to the conclusion that markets have never been as efficient. We’ve simply never had this much data and data has never been as accessible as it is now.

Gone are the days when Warren Buffett could comb through Moody’s manuals to find net-nets. Now, data-rich stock screeners are readily available to anyone. On top of that, there are armies of hedge funds other quantitative investment shops out there, crunching data and trying to advantage of any arbitrage opportunity they can find.

A Valuable Lesson of VAR

Had you argued this to me about a year ago, I would have wholeheartedly agreed. Today I’m not so sure. And here’s the reason why.

You see, I’m a football fan (soccer) and recently they have implemented something called VAR into the game. VAR stands for Video Assistant Referee. It basically means that during a game there is now an additional assistant referee who reviews decisions made by the head referee with the use of video footage and analytical technology in real-time. He is then able to communicate with the head referee during the game.

The objective of the VAR implementation is to minimize human errors causing substantial influence on match results. Previously, the referee had to make split second decisions on incidents. Now he or she can utilize VAR, which means better data. The VAR can analyse incidents by replaying it from different vantage points and use graphics to determine rulings such as offside. Sounds great, doesn’t it.

The Interpretation of Data

The really interesting thing about VAR, is that after its implementation there is still a fair amount of dispute regarding key referee decisions. Even with the additional data provided by VAR, pundits are still arguing whether decisions on offsides, penalties and such where correct or not.

It seems that more accurate data by itself doesn’t necessary lead to better decision making. The data still needs to be interpreted. In that sense, it’s not just a question of decision being subject to human error or not. Sometimes, different people will perceive the same data differently. It is in some way a matter of opinion.

Financial Data and Insights

If we apply this to the investing world, it is safe to say the following:

If you would show two analysts the same financial and operational data two competing companies, it is entirely plausible that the conclusions that those two analysts might draw from the data would be diametrically opposed.

The interpretation of the data will be subject to frameworks the analysts used to draw insights out of the data. Insight, per definition, is the power or act of seeing into a situation. But insight, is in the analyst, not insight the data.

The Efficient Market Paradox

Two economists are walking down a street, discussing the Efficient Market Hypothesis, when one of them suddenly stops in his tracks. He points to the street and says “look, there’s a $10 bill!”

The other economist looks at him with a mixture of amazement and disgust as he replies in a reprimanding tone: “Obviously, if there was a $10 bill there, someone would have already picked it up.”

What this joke illustrates is the inherent paradox of the Efficient Market Hypothesis. For markets to be efficient, they are active participants. For participants to be active in a market, there needs to be an arbitrage. In a perfectly efficient market, the arbitrage is competent away by the activity of the participants.

The Markets are Mostly Efficient

No market is perfectly efficient. New information is constantly entering the collective perception of the market. Once information becomes obvious, it will obviously be priced in, when markets are efficient.

WIth the internet and other technological advancement in data gathering, analytics and distribution, markets have undoubtedly become more efficient. In the early value investing days of Warren Buffett, he would read through Standard and Poor’s manuals, making mental calculations of stock’s intrinsic valuation. Nowadays, this information is readily available and calculated, practically in real time.

In a podcast interview on the Invest with the Best Podcast, Michael Mauboussin, presented a fascinating statistic:

“I think that one of my other favorite statistics in the paper is that in 1976, there were less than 1 CFA charter holder, for every public company in the United States, and today there are 27 CFA charter holders for every public company in the United States. So a lot more eyeballs on the companies that are out there. And maybe there is clearly more dispersion in smaller midcap companies. But look, the world is just a super dynamic place. You see these value changes are quite dramatic. You think about 2020 and hardly anybody had any idea what was going to go on. It was really hard.”

Degrees of Market Efficiency

It goes without saying that there are different degrees of efficiency. When you invest in big S&P 500 stocks such as Apple, Amazon or Netflix, you should be aware that there are hundreds of analysts that cover those stocks. You have to ask yourself what kind of an edge you have over those market participants.

At the same time, there are plenty of markets and asset classes that are less efficient. There are many publicly traded stocks that don’t have a single analyst covering them. Outside of the stock markets there are all sorts of asset classes and markets where an individual can develop expertise and investment edge. Internet domains, for example, is an asset class that has a very vibrant secondary market and dedicated investors.

There are plenty of $10 bills out there, waiting to be picked up.

The Columbo Method of Equity Research

Remember detective Columbo? He was a phenomenal character played by Peter Falk in a 1970s TV series called…you guessed it…Columbo. Detective Columbo was a scruffy and simplistic character, dressed in his signature beige raincoat and crumpy white shirt with a loosely knotted tie.

Colombo is no normal detective series, though. As is you would expect, Columbo’s job is to solve murder mysteries. However, the episodes don’t play out with Columbo delving into each case and eventually discovering who is the murderer, in a sharp twist near the end. Columbo is a detective series without the mystery.

In the case of Columbo, each of the 69 episodes begins with the scene of the murder. So, as a viewer, you know from the beginning who the doer is. The rest of the episode is a mental wrestling match between the murderer and lieutenant Columbo.

The Colombo Technique of Investigation

In each Columbo case, the murder is committed by someone close to the victim. This allows Columbo to approach the suspect as a witness or someone who can help Colombo in piecing together the pieces of the puzzle.

To the assailant, Columbo seems totally incompetent. The scruffiness of his hair and clothing give the impression that he slept in his clothes. He constantly scratches his head and he asks the assailant for help. His questions are simplistic and make him look like he’s totally out of his dept.

But Columbo is playing a part. He’s playing dumb. The perpetrator grows confident and starts to get comfortable, even annoyed. The trap is set. In the final minutes of a Columbo episode, the perpetrator has made a mistake and Columbo wrestles him down for the tap-out.

Stock Research and Colombo

So, how does this relate to equity analysis? In stock research, there is no crime, there is no murderer. As an analyst, you have a stock and you build your opinion based on fundamental analysis.

But therein lies the caveat. You see, it is you who is the perpetrator because once you start your analysis, you start to for opinions. You will start subjecting your mind to all forms of mental biases. You become overly optimistic. You get anchored. You will start to look for confirmation in the data.

“But that’s me, I’m paranoic. Every time I see a dead body I think it’s murdered. Can’t imagine anyone murdering themselves.”
– Lieutenant Columbo

As an analyst, you have to put on your mental raincoat and find your inner Columbo. You have to take a step back and start to ask yourself the simple question. The overly naive and borderline stupid questions. You have to confront yourself and find start to look for loopholes in your story.

Just One More Thing…

Lieutenant Columbo bombards his suspects with questions. He’s relentless. He keeps coming back with a question. He’s apologetic, he excuses himself. He just can’t help himself, he says. But he keeps coming back for “just one more thing.”

Copying Top Investors and Their Portfolios

When it comes to investing, being a small fish in a big pond isn’t all that bad. Consider the following:

All institutional investors need to file a so-called Form 13F. They basically have to tell the Securities and Exchange Commission what they are investing in. Better yet, all this information is made public.
What makes an institutional investor institutional, is that fact that they have clients. An institutional investor manages and invests money on behalf of their clients. And how do they get money from others to manage? Just like any other regular company…by selling. They literally tell how they invest and how they plan to invest.
Some investors, like Carl Ichan, Bill Ackman and Dan Loeb are activist investors. How do they get active? By publishing to the public detailed reports on what they think the value is of the companies that they turn active on and how they think the company needs to do in order to achieve those valuations.

All of this information is readily available for you as an investor. Big investors with small armies of stock researchers and equity analysts are publishing research in droves and filing disclosures on their positions every day.

All of this information is available to you for free.

Stock Report | OTC Markets (OTCM)

OTC Markets (OTCM) is an American Financial market providing price and liquidity information for Over-The-Counter securities. The company was founded in 1913 as the National Quotation Bureau since the company has changed many names. The company operates in the Financial Services space.

Business Segments

The company primarily provides 3 services:

OTCQX

OTCQX is the trading platform that connects clients to broker-dealers, providing liquidity and execution solutions.

OTCQB

OTCQB is the new reporting and market data compiling service. It grants access to various channels like Bloomberg, Thomson Reuters, etc.

OTC Pink

This is the corporate services pack, which helps companies to better engage and inform investors.

OTCIQ

Apart from these primary services, OTCM provides a service to other businesses called OTCIQ. OTCIQ serves as an investor relation portal for the company to monitor security market activity and transmit information to investors.

Management

The top brass of OTCM is highly qualified and rich with experience. The CEO, president and director, Cromwell Coulson took over in 1997 when the private company was nothing more than a publisher of quotations. Coulson and his team have transformed OTC into a publicly-traded company, operating in 3 markets and seeing an annual trading volume of just under $200 billion.

CFO, Bea Ordonez, has over 20 years of experience in the financial services segment; she is also a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales. Jason Paltrowitz, Executive Vice president of Corporate Services, has served had held management positions in renowned companies like JP Morgan Chase and BNY Mellon.

The company’s management is more than qualified and has a great track record; OTCM has not received any warnings or penalties for non-compliance with rules and regulations in the past few years.

Market Statistics

Simple day moving averages 50 days: 33.72
Simple day moving averages 200 days: 32.1
52 week Range: 25.37 – 40
Lifetime high: 39.95

Valuations and Competitors

P/E – 25.32
EPS- 1.36
NOA- $13,972
NOPAT- $16,148.19
RNOA- 1.15

Business Model

OTCM lacks any direct competitors, and therefore enjoys an almost monopolistic operation. This makes it hard to determine the exact value of the business is the lack of comparison with other publicly traded stocks. News Corp-owned MarketWatch is a close rival of OTCM in the news and press segment. Both companies publish investor reports and function in the financial service space.

However, News Corp currently trading at 12.6 has been in losses for the past 2 years. Its share has shed nearly 22% over the past year and hence can’t be considered as a comparison. On the Exchange side of things, OTCM would be dealing with the likes of NYSE and Nasdaq. Both of these exchanges are considerably beyond OTCM’s reach as of now. Hence OTCM enjoys a niche that is unlikely to change in the near future. This while making OTCM harder to value could also be seen as the advantage of the business having a unique business model.

Key Financials

(all $ figures are in thousands)

EBIT: $19,645 (up 7.32% from 18,304, in 2017)
Net income from operations: $16,237 (up 28.8% from 12,599, in 2017)
Cash and Cash Equivalents: $28,813 (up 21.66% from 23,683)
Total Assets: $41,649 (up 14.6% from 36,317)
Total liabilities: $25,240 (up 12% from 22,526)
Net cash from operating activities: $22,590
Net cash from financial activities: -$15,882

Operating expenses for the company have grown at a steady rate signalling a steady expansion in the business. Net income from operations grew by 19.2% from 2016 to 2017. In 2018 it’s up 28.8%. However, that’s not the whole story because of a one-off item in the company’s gross revenue. In 2018 there was a one-off licensing deal with Bloomberg LP contributing to 10% of gross revenue from licensing, amounting to $2,338.

The model of the company allows it to be heavy on cash almost at all times. Therefore the cash and cash equivalents are larger than all other assets combined. Both the Cash and cash equivalents and the Total assets have increased. The total asset growth is faster than the total liability growth and there has been a sharp spike in the other liabilities item.

This is causing the growth rate difference between the 2 to seem close however this will not repeat in the next quarter causing the difference highlighted more clearly. One of the most important items to notice in the balance sheet of the company is that its short and long term debt is 0. Being debt-free is always a big positive for any company.

The net cash from investments has been low, signalling that profits are simply being reinvested in the core business. However, the company has stated that it would make further acquisitions in FY 2019. The financing activity in question has been dividend payout and the operating profit has increased by nearly 37% from the previous year.