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Will Universal Stainless (USA Stocks:USAP) retail investors shift to Olympic (USA Stocks:ZEUS)?

July 22, 2024  By
In the world of steel, where giants often overshadow the smaller players, Universal Stainless (USAP) has been holding its own on the NASDAQ. However, with a recent change in cash flow from 2M to a mere 394K, the company's financial stability is under scrutiny. The question arises - should shareholders transition to Olympic Steel (ZEUS) for enhanced investment opportunities? Universal Stainless, a key player in the Metals & Mining service category, has been struggling with a significant loss in cash, which may be a red flag for potential investors. Despite a day typical price of $29.66, the company's profit margin stands at a modest 3.21%, and the return on equity is just 4.25%. The company's book value is $25.107, which is slightly below the typical price, indicating a possible overvaluation. On the other hand, Olympic Steel, another prominent player in the steel industry, presents a compelling case for investment. With a Wall Street target price of $36 and a possible upside price of $34.71, the company offers promising returns. The analyst overall consensus for Olympic Steel is a 'Strong Buy', further bolstering its investment appeal. In conclusion, while Universal Stainless has its merits, the current financial indicators suggest that shareholders might find more lucrative opportunities with Olympic Steel. However, as always in the world of finance, it's crucial to conduct thorough research and consider all factors before making any investment decisions. Olympic Steel appears to be recovering faster than Universal Stainless Alloy, with its share price surging 0.81% today compared to Universal's 1.08%. Many prudent traders are steering clear of the metals and mining sector, making it worthwhile to further analyze Universal Stainless Alloy's position relative to Olympic Steel and comparable firms. We will delve into some competitive aspects of both Universal and Olympic.
Published over three months ago
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Reviewed by Michael Smolkin

Despite Universal Stainless (USAP) having a substantial revenue per share of $32.65, the company's maximum drawdown of 16.78% may be a cause for concern for potential investors. The high drawdown, indicating a significant drop from a peak value, coupled with a moderate operating margin of 9.35%, suggests that shareholders may be considering a transition to Olympic Steel (ZEUS) for enhanced investment opportunities.

Main Points

Analyzing basic indicators between Universal Stainless and Olympic allows for a comparison of how market volatilities affect both companies' prices. It also helps determine if combining them in a portfolio can diversify away market risk. Pair trading strategies can be utilized, such as matching a long position in Olympic with a short position in Universal Stainless. For more information, refer to our pair correlation module. Let's examine the assets. The asset utilization indicator measures the revenue earned for every dollar of assets a company reports. Universal Stainless has an asset utilization ratio of 80.17 percent, meaning the company generates $0.8 for each dollar of assets. An increasing asset utilization indicates that Universal Stainless Alloy is becoming more efficient in using its assets for daily operations.
Out of tens of thousands of stocks, funds, and ETFs that trade on global exchanges each represent an individual company which you can analyze using comparative analysis. To determine which one of the two entities, such as Universal or Olympic is a better fit for your portfolio, analyzing a few basic fundamental indicators is a good first step.

How important is Universal Stainless's Liquidity

Universal Stainless financial leverage refers to using borrowed capital as a funding source to finance Universal Stainless Alloy ongoing operations. It is usually used to expand the firm's asset base and generate returns on borrowed capital. Universal Stainless financial leverage is typically calculated by taking the company's all interest-bearing debt and dividing it by total capital. So the higher the debt-to-capital ratio (i.e., financial leverage), the riskier the company. Financial leverage can amplify the potential profits to Universal Stainless' owners, but it also increases the potential losses and risk of financial distress, including bankruptcy, if the firm cannot cover its debt costs. The degree of Universal Stainless' financial leverage can be measured in several ways, including by ratios such as the debt-to-equity ratio (total debt / total equity), equity multiplier (total assets / total equity), or the debt ratio (total debt / total assets). Please check the breakdown between Universal Stainless's total debt and its cash.

Correlation Between Universal and Olympic Steel

In general, Stock analysis is a method for investors and traders to make individual buying and selling decisions. Stock correlation analysis is also essential because it can help investors realize that they may not be as diversified as they think. Risk management strategies are usually required to make sure all portfolios are properly aligned against their risk tolerance level. You can consider holding Universal Stainless together with similar or unrelated positions with a negative correlation. For example, you can also add Olympic Steel to your portfolio. If Olympic Steel is not perfectly correlated to Universal Stainless it will diversify some of the market risks out of the positively correlated stocks in your portfolio. However, the disadvantage of this sort of hedging is that it can potentially affect your investment returns throughout market cycles. When Universal Stainless, for example, performs excellent and delivers stable returns, the negatively correlated position you locked in as a hedge may drag your returns down.
Are you currently holding both Universal Stainless and Olympic Steel in your portfolio? Please note if you are using this as a pair-trade strategy between Universal Stainless and Olympic Steel, watch out for correlation discrepancy over time. Relying on the historical price correlations and assuming that it will not change may lead to short-term losses. Please check pair correlation details between USAP and ZEUS for more information.

Universal Stainless Gross Profit

Universal Stainless Gross Profit growth is one of the most critical measures in evaluating the company. The Gross Profit growth rate is calculated simply by comparing Universal Stainless previous period's values with its current period's values. Each time period you're measuring should be of equal lengths the increase or decrease, in a company's Gross Profit between two periods. Here we show Universal Stainless Gross Profit growth over the last 10 years. Please check Universal Stainless' gross profit and other fundamental indicators for more details.

Breaking down Universal Stainless Indicators

Revenue is income that a firm generates from business activities such us rendering services or selling goods to customers. It is a crucial part of a business and an essential item when evaluating a company's financial statements. Revenues from a firm's primary business operations can be reported on the income statement as sales revenue, net sales, or simply sales, depending on the industry in which a given company operates.
Revenue is typically recorded when cash or cash equivalents are exchanged for services or goods and can include products or services discounts, promotions, as well as early payments on invoices or services rendered in advance.

Revenue Breakdown

Lets now check Universal Stainless revenue. Based on the latest financial disclosure, Universal Stainless Alloy reported 285.94 M of revenue.
This is 96.36% lower than that of the Metals & Mining sector and 97.71% lower than that of the Materials industry. The revenue for all United States stocks is 96.97% higher than that of Universal Stainless. As for Olympic Steel we see revenue of 2.16 B, which is 82.73% lower than that of the Materials
Sector
7.9 B
ZEUS
2.2 B
USAP285.94 Million2.78
Sector7.86 Billion76.28
ZEUS2.16 Billion20.95
Every cloud has a silver lining, and for Universal Stainless (USAP) shareholders, that could be a transition to Olympic Steel (ZEUS). Despite a respectable current ratio of 4.70X and a net asset value of $356.69M, USAP's operating margin of just 0.09% and a high PEG ratio of 19.55 suggest limited growth potential. On the other hand, Olympic Steel's enhanced investment opportunities could provide a more lucrative avenue. However, investors should be cautious, as USAP's probability of bankruptcy stands at 15.86%. Ultimately, the decision to transition will depend on individual risk tolerance and investment objectives..

Will Universal pull back in August 2024?

Universal Stainless Alloy Stock's variance recently fell to 11.06, suggesting a possible decrease in volatility. This statistical measure, often used to predict price fluctuations, indicates the stock's returns are becoming less unpredictable. Consequently, a pullback for Universal Stainless Alloy may occur in August 2024. Investors should closely watch the stock and factor in this potential for reduced volatility when investing. As of July 22nd, Universal Stainless has a Coefficient Of Variation of 1082.79, a risk-adjusted performance of 0.0673, and a Semi Deviation of 2.64.
The technical analysis model allows for the evaluation of current technical drivers of Universal Stainless Alloy, as well as their interrelationships.In conclusion, despite the overall consensus of a strong buy for Universal Stainless Alloy Stock (USAP), the potential upside price of $34.71 may not be as promising as it seems. The valuation real value is currently at $22.42, which is significantly lower than the naive expected forecast value of $31.36 and the market value of $30.02. This discrepancy suggests that the stock may be overvalued. Furthermore, the lowest estimated target price by analysts is $15.47, indicating a possible downside risk. Therefore, while there is one strong buy recommendation, investors should exercise caution and thoroughly evaluate the potential risks before investing in USAP..

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Editorial Staff

Rifka Kats is a Member of Macroaxis Editorial Board. Rifka writes about retail product and service companies from the perspective of a regular consumer and sophisticated investor at the same time. She is passionate about corporate ethics and equality in the workforce. View Profile
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