CVS Health Corp Valuation – March 2019 #CVS

Company Profile (excerpt from Reuters): CVS Health Corporation, incorporated on August 22, 1996, together with its subsidiaries, is an integrated pharmacy healthcare company. The Company provides pharmacy care for the senior community through Omnicare, Inc. (Omnicare) and Omnicare’s long-term care (LTC) operations, which include distribution of pharmaceuticals, related pharmacy consulting and other ancillary services to chronic care facilities and other care settings. It operates through three segments: Pharmacy Services, Retail/LTC and Corporate. The Company delivers products and services by advising patients on their medications at its CVS Pharmacy locations; introducing programs for clients at CVS Caremark; delivering care to patients with complex conditions through CVS Specialty, and providing access to care at CVS MinuteClinic. As of December 31, 2016, the Company had more than 9,700 retail locations and more than 1,100 walk-in healthcare clinics.

 

Downloadable PDF version of this valuation:

ModernGraham Valuation of CVS – March 2019

Stage 1: Is this company suitable for the Defensive Investor or the Enterprising Investor?

What kind of Intelligent Investor are you?

Defensive Investor; must pass 6 out of the following 7 tests.
1. Adequate Size of the Enterprise Market Cap > $2Bil $74,484,932,860 Pass
2. Sufficiently Strong Financial Condition Current Ratio > 2 1.03 Fail
3. Earnings Stability Positive EPS for 10 years prior Fail
4. Dividend Record Dividend Payments for 10 years prior Pass
5. Earnings Growth Increase of 33% in EPS in past 10 years using 3 year averages at beginning and end 55.69% Pass
6. Moderate PEmg Ratio PEmg < 20 13.21 Pass
7. Moderate Price to Assets PB Ratio < 2.5 OR PB*PEmg < 50 1.10 Pass
Enterprising Investor; must pass 4 out of the following 5 tests, or be suitable for the Defensive Investor.
1. Sufficiently Strong Financial Condition Current Ratio > 1.5 1.03 Fail
2. Sufficiently Strong Financial Condition Debt to NCA < 1.1 57.90 Fail
3. Earnings Stability Positive EPS for 5 years prior Fail
4. Dividend Record Currently Pays Dividend Pass
5. Earnings Growth EPSmg greater than 5 years ago Pass

 

Stage 2: Determination of Intrinsic Value

EPSmg $4.33
MG Growth Estimate 1.58%
MG Value $50.55
Opinion Overvalued
MG Grade C
MG Value based on 3% Growth $62.85
MG Value based on 0% Growth $36.84
Market Implied Growth Rate 2.35%
Current Price $57.26
% of Intrinsic Value 113.27%

CVS Health Corp does not satisfy the requirements of either the Enterprising Investor or the more conservative Defensive Investor. The Defensive Investor is concerned with the low current ratio, insufficient earnings stability over the last ten years. The Enterprising Investor has concerns regarding the level of debt relative to the current assets, and the lack of earnings stability over the last five years. As a result, all value investors following the ModernGraham approach should explore other opportunities at this time or proceed cautiously with a speculative attitude.

As for a valuation, the company appears to be Overvalued after growing its EPSmg (normalized earnings) from $3.92 in 2015 to an estimated $4.33 for 2019. This level of demonstrated earnings growth does not support the market’s implied estimate of 2.35% annual earnings growth over the next 7-10 years. As a result, the ModernGraham valuation model, based on the Benjamin Graham value investing formula, returns an estimate of intrinsic value below the price.

At the time of valuation, further research into CVS Health Corp revealed the company was trading below its Graham Number of $82.45. The company pays a dividend of $2 per share, for a yield of 3.5%, putting it among the best dividend paying stocks today. Its PEmg (price over earnings per share – ModernGraham) was 13.21, which was below the industry average of 27.69, which by some methods of valuation makes it one of the most undervalued stocks in its industry. Finally, the company was trading above its Net Current Asset Value (NCAV) of $-82.59.

CVS Health Corp receives an average overall rating in the ModernGraham grading system, scoring a C.

Stage 3: Information for Further Research

Net Current Asset Value (NCAV) -$82.59
Graham Number $82.45
PEmg 13.21
Current Ratio 1.03
PB Ratio 1.10
Current Dividend $2.00
Dividend Yield 3.49%
Number of Consecutive Years of Dividend Growth 15

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Most Recent Balance Sheet Figures

Balance Sheet Information 12/1/2018
Total Current Assets $45,243,000,000
Total Current Liabilities $44,009,000,000
Long-Term Debt $71,444,000,000
Total Assets $196,456,000,000
Intangible Assets $115,202,000,000
Total Liabilities $137,913,000,000
Shares Outstanding (Diluted Average) 1,122,000,000

Earnings Per Share History

EPS History
Next Fiscal Year Estimate $6.71
Dec2018 -$0.57
Dec2017 $6.44
Dec2016 $4.90
Dec2015 $4.63
Dec2014 $3.96
Dec2013 $3.74
Dec2012 $3.02
Dec2011 $2.57
Dec2010 $2.49
Dec2009 $2.55
Dec2008 $2.18
Dec2007 $1.92
Dec2006 $1.60
Dec2005 $1.45
Dec2004 $1.10
Dec2003 $1.03
Dec2002 $0.88
Dec2001 $0.50
Dec2000 $0.92
Dec1999 $0.78

Earnings Per Share – ModernGraham History

EPSmg History
Next Fiscal Year Estimate $4.33
Dec2018 $3.39
Dec2017 $5.16
Dec2016 $4.36
Dec2015 $3.92
Dec2014 $3.43
Dec2013 $3.07
Dec2012 $2.68
Dec2011 $2.45
Dec2010 $2.31
Dec2009 $2.13
Dec2008 $1.83
Dec2007 $1.57
Dec2006 $1.34
Dec2005 $1.13
Dec2004 $0.94
Dec2003 $0.85

Recommended Reading:

Other ModernGraham posts about the company

10 Low PE Stock Picks for the Defensive Investor – August 2018
10 Undervalued Companies for the Defensive Dividend Stock Investor – June 2018
CVS Health Corp Valuation – June 2018 $CVS
6 Best Stocks for Value Investors This Week – 3/26/17
CVS Health Corp Valuation – March 2017 $CVS

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Disclaimer:

The author did not hold a position in any company mentioned in this article at the time of publication and had no intention of changing that position within the next 72 hours.  See my current holdings here.  This article is not investment advice; any reader should speak to a registered investment adviser prior to making any investment decisions.  ModernGraham is not affiliated with the company in any manner.  Please be sure to review our detailed disclaimer.

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