* Disclaimer: This post is about how you can make use of ShareInvestor’s WebPro platform to conduct a quick research about a company (which can help you make a more informed investment decision.) If you sign up via the link here (and if you are a new signup), I will receive a small commission, which will go towards the funding of this website. Also, as a referrer of ShareInvestor’s WebPro platform, I was granted complimentary access to the platform.
After speaking to many readers of The Singaporean Investor, one of the things I often hear about is that, most do not have the time to go through a particular company’s annual reports to study about it due to time constraints (as many are working full-time and after a long day of work, many are just too tired to go through a company’s thick annual reports.) As such, most of them make their investment decisions based on ‘hearsay’ or recommendations from their brokers, which is something I do not recommend, as different people invest in a company for different reasons, and that a company may make a good investment for one person doesn’t mean it will make a good investment for another.
So, how can you learn more about a particular company without going through their annual reports? One quick and easy way to do so is to make use of ShareInvestor’s WebPro platform (you can learn more about it and sign up here.)
What I like about this platform is the wealth of information it provides about a company, which can really help one to learn more about a company and hence, be able to help you make a more informed decision. However, if you are new to investing, you may find the amount of information available overwhelming. Not to worry, as in today’s post, I’ll be sharing with you the most important statistics you should focus your attention on to learn the essentials about a company (which can help you better decide whether or not you should invest in it.) I will also be showing you how you can find out whether or not a company’s current share price is considered ‘cheap’ or ‘expensive’ based on its current vs. its historical valuations.
Let’s get started…
Key Financial Statistics of a Company
I’ll be using Sheng Siong Group Limited (SGX:OV8) as an example in this post. The supermarket chain provider have benefitted from the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic – where the two-month circuit breaker period, as well as a continued work from home scheme resulted in an increase in demand for fresh produces and groceries, and as such, the company’s financial results this year improved significantly (compared to the year before.)
But, how has the company performed in the years prior? In ShareInvestor’s WebPro platform, you have the option to study about the company’s results for the past 10 years (just go to ‘Fundamental’ in the menu bar on top, followed by ‘Financials’):

For simplicity sake, let us look at the company’s results over the past 5-years (you will need to choose ‘6’, as it also includes statistics for the ‘Trailing 12M’, which I will ignore, as I focus on just its full-year results):

When it comes to long-term investing, my preference is towards companies that are able to record year-on-year (y-o-y) improvements in its revenue, net earnings (also known as net profit), and profit attributable to shareholders over the years. Looking at these 3 statistics (which I’ve highlighted in red rectangular boxes in the screenshot above), Sheng Siong fulfils this selection criteria of mine.
Next, under ‘Profitability Ratios’ section (you can scroll down the same page for it), I will look at the company’s gross and net profit margin to find out whether it has increased, remained consistent, or decreased over the years (I prefer to invest in companies that are able to increase their gross and net profit margins, if not they should at least maintain them):

As you can see from the screenshot above, Sheng Siong have managed to maintain its gross profit margin at around 24-26% (which fulfils my selection criteria.) However, its net profit margin have slipped in 2 successive years (in FY2018 as well as in FY2019.) But over the years, its net profit margin have been hoovering around the 7+% range, which is still considered pretty consistent as well (and it passes my selection criteria too.)
Finally, another statistic I look at in terms of a company’s financial performance is its return on equity (or ROE), which in layman terms, is the amount of profit (in percentage terms) the company is able to generate for every dollar of shareholders’ money it uses in its business. You can find this statistic under the section ‘Management Efficiency Ratios’:

For a company’s ROE, my preference is towards companies that are able to record improvements over the years, or at least remain consistent (any percentage above 15.0% is considered ideal.)
Looking at Sheng Siong’s ROE over the years, no doubt it has fallen in FY2018 and FY2019, but over the past 5 years, it has hoovered around the 23+% and 24+% range, which is pretty consistent as well and hence, it passes my selection criteria.
Debt Profile of a Company
If you have been following my company writeups, you will notice that whenever I look at a company, apart from its financial performance, I also look at its debt profile, where my preference is towards companies that are either in a ‘net cash’ position (if not, one with minimal debt.)
In ShareInvestor’s WebPro platform, I focus on two statistics found under the‘Leverage Ratios’ section (which can be found near the bottom of the page), namely ‘Net Debt to Equity’, as well as ‘Interest Coverage.’
Let us now take a look at these two statistics for Sheng Siong Group over the past 5 years:

Notice Sheng Siong’s net debt to equity recorded over the years – they’re recorded as ‘Net Cash’ for all of the 5 years I’ve looked at, which passes my selection criteria. Personally, I will be careful of investing in companies with their net debt to equity on an upward moving trend, particularly those above 2.0, as a company could potentially be taking on more debts than it can afford to (which is a potential red flag.)
Another statistic I look at is the company’s ‘Interest Coverage.’ In layman terms, it is a measure of a company’s ability to fulfil its interest obligations for its borrowings. As such, the higher this statistic is, the better it is. On the other hand, I’d be concerned if this statistic has declined over the years. Looking at Sheng Siong’s interest coverage, it fulfils my selection criteria.
Dividend Payout to Shareholders
When investing in a company, apart from the potential capital appreciation we can enjoy (where the share price of the company goes up over the years), we also look at its dividend payouts. Personally, I would prefer to invest in companies that is able to increase its dividend payouts over the years.
You can learn about a company’s dividend payouts over the years via the ‘Dividend Analysis’ section:

The following is Sheng Siong’s dividend payouts to its shareholders over the last 5 years:

I focus my attention on 2 statistics – ‘Total Dividend Per Share’ (which is the amount of dividends that the company have declared every year for every share you have), as well as ‘Dividend Payout Ratio’ (which is the percentage of earnings the company have paid out to its shareholders as dividends.)
Looking at Sheng Siong’s dividend payout over the years, it has somewhat remained consistent at 3+ cents/share. Also, from its dividend payout ratio over the years, I learn that the company tend to payout a majority of its earnings to its shareholders as dividends (70% and above.)
Finally, if you scroll all the way down, you will notice the company pays out its shareholders on a semi-annual basis – once in the second quarter and once in the fourth quarter:

Is the Current Share Price Considered ‘Cheap’ or ‘Expensive’?
Finally, let us find out whether or not a company’s current traded price is considered ‘cheap’ or ‘expensive’ by comparing its current valuations (based on its current share price) against its historical valuations.
You can find out all these figures via ShareInvestor’s WebPro platform by going to the ‘Valuation Ratios (Historical)’ section (which can be found in the ‘Fundamental’ -> ‘Financials’ page.) I look at 3 ratios – particularly its ‘Basic Price Earnings Ratio (PER)’ (also known as P/E ratio), ‘Price/NAV’ (also known as P/B ratio), as well as ‘Dividend Yield including Special Dividend – Historical [%]’:

You will need to do some manual calculations here to find out their average over the last 5 years:
P/E ratio: 21.76 (the average of 21.64, 22.47, 20.50, 21.85, and 22.34)
P/B ratio: 5.32868 (the average of 4.0369, 5.5907, 5.2833, 5.3316, and 5.4009)
Dividend yield: 3.6422% (the average of 4.279%, 4.002%, 3.470%, 3.304% and 3.156%)
To find out a company’s current valuations, you can go to ‘Fundamental’ -> ‘Factsheet’ section, and locate the section ‘Key Statistics’:

Sheng Siong’s current valuations, based on its current traded price of S$1.59 (at the time of writing) is as follows:
P/E ratio: 31.566
P/B ratio: 6.1604
Dividend yield: 2.233%
Now, if you compare its current valuation against its 5-year average, it seems that Sheng Siong’s current traded price is considered ‘expensive’ due to its current P/E and P/B ratios being higher than its average, and at the same time its current dividend yield being lower than its average.
In Conclusion
As you can see from the sections above, using the ShareInvestor WebPro platform, you can learn about the essentials about a company with minimal time.
I hope you find that so-called ‘step-by-step’ guide on how you can use the platform to conduct a company research useful. If you are interested to sign up for the ShareInvestor WebPro platform, you may do so here. π
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Click here to learn about a quick and easy way to study about a company (and make a more informed investment decision) without the need to browse through its annual reports.
Sonny Pierce 28 November 2020 at 9:14 am
Very helpful. Good if u can come up with a YouTube video.
Jun Yuan 29 November 2020 at 1:35 pm
Many thanks for your feedback Sonny, will definitely bear that in mind, and work on creating videos in the near future. π
Best Regards
Jun Yuan
Sonny Pierce 4 December 2020 at 10:05 am
Thank you for your consideration to up-load video on YouTube. FYI i am seriously considering subscribing for Webpro. The only downside is that the mobile App version has a very poor review.
Jun Yuan 4 December 2020 at 10:31 am
Hi Sonny
In my personal opinion, WebPro has lots of statistics available which allows investors to learn everything he/she needs to know about a company with little time (this is especially ideal for those who do not have time to comb through a company’s past annual reports.) There’s also a feature where they show you the consensus price estimation, number of buy, hold, sell ratings (which I know many investors are interested in), and also its intrinsic value.
With regard to the mobile version, definitely it does have its shortcomings (due to the screen size on our mobile phones being small, and if there are way too many stats plugged in, the whole app will become very cluttered, which also affects overall user experience.)
Currently, they are having a promotion this holidays season and you can check it out here: http://2020christmas.shareinvestor.com/SGinvestor (Disclaimer: I will receive some small commission if you sign up from this link, which will go towards the funding towards this site’s maintenance.)
Hope this helps, and if you have any concerns, do feel free to let me know. Till then, here’s wishing you a great weekend ahead! π
Best Regards
Jun Yuan
Sonny Pierce 5 December 2020 at 9:59 am
Appreciate your comments. Will be signing on with Webpro after my free trial expires. Will be using your the link you gave to sign-up. I am happy to be of a small help towards your website which I view almost daily.
Jun Yuan 7 December 2020 at 9:04 am
You’re most welcome Sonny, and thank you for all the support you’ve given to me, as well as to The Singaporean Investor. I really appreciate it from the bottom of my heart. π
Best Regards
Jun Yuan
Sonny Pierce 9 December 2020 at 7:56 pm
Hi JY
I have subscribed to SI WebPro – Thanks to your article (which again I reiterate was easy to understand). However SI website had some “computer glitches” (response from a reluctant to reply SI Customer Service). I was unable to indicate you as a referral as they wanted your SI user name. I tried to give your website address but to no avail. Finally, I have informed SI-Cust Svc that you were my referral and asked them recognize this in their commissions. (So far my experience with SI Customer Svc is at best – “lethargic” ie not responsive.) Quite disappointing for paid platform service. Regards.
Jun Yuan 10 December 2020 at 11:50 am
Hi Sonny
A very very big thank you for all the trouble you have taken so that I can be awarded credits for the referral. I really, really appreciate it from the bottom of my heart. Right now they are having Christmas promotions, and by signing up this week, you will be entitled to not only a 25% discount off your subscription, but you will also be entitled to an additional 8% off your subscription – both of which I hope have been reflected and you pay just $200.53 in total (for a 12 month subscription.) On top of that, I understand that you will also get a $20 off their Investment Bootcamp (which they will be launching in Jan 2021) – hope you have that as well. π
Also, many thanks for letting me know of the problems you’re facing when signing up via my link. I will check with them regarding this.
If there’s any help you need in the WebPro system, or anything as far as investing is concerned, do let me know. I’d definitely do my best to help you in whichever ways I possibly can.
Best Regards
Jun Yuan
Sonny Pierce 11 December 2020 at 8:04 am
Thank you Jun Yuan for your willingness to help. I appreciate it. :))
Jun Yuan 11 December 2020 at 8:54 am
You’re most welcome Sonny, and wishing you a great weekend ahead! π
Best Regards
Jun Yuan
Sonny Pierce 11 December 2020 at 8:37 pm
Hi Jun Yuan
This is fyi. Keep up the good work.
Hi sonnypierce (userID),
Good day to you and hope this email finds you well.
Following up on your feedback on the referral by Mr Lim Juan Yuan from The Singaporean Investor , kindly note that we will update/credit The Singaporean Investor form our end.
Thank you and have a lovely weekend.
If you have any queries, please feel free to contact us.
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Jun Yuan 14 December 2020 at 8:38 am
Hi Sonny
Thank you so very much for everything. I really appreciate it from the bottom of my heart!
At my own end, I’ve checked with them as well and confirmed that you are entitled to the bonuses (issued for the week between 01 and 10 December) – that is my priority, and I want to make sure you’ve gotten them. π
Wishing you a very merry Christmas and a happy 2021 ahead in advance!
Best Regards
Jun Yuan
christina wong 3 December 2020 at 12:10 pm
Hi Jun Yuan
Your blog is always so helpful and informative. I truly learn a lot from you and you always make it layman and bite size for us. Thanks so much!
So, looking at Sheng Siong’s shares, you mentioned that the stock is now expensive. So, when or which price will be a good time to buy? Perhaps, it might even just keep going up wouldn’t it? I’m keen to pick up some of it now while it’s still low and somewhat affordable. What do you think?
Thank you.
cheers!
Christina
Jun Yuan 3 December 2020 at 3:32 pm
Hi Christina
Many thanks for your compliments. I really appreciate it.
With regard to Sheng Siong, we all know very well that the spike in its share price is due its jump in revenue and net profit due to the panic buying just before and during the circuit breaker period. As many are still working from home at this point in time, demand of fresh foods and groceries will continue to remain high (and Sheng Siong will continue to benefit.) My feel is that when the company reports its 4Q and full-year results for FY2020 early next year, they may declare yet another special dividend to reward shareholders for the jump in its earnings.
Moving forward, depending on when Phase 3 kicks in and normalcy resumes, I am of the opinion that the supermarket chain’s results over the 4 quarters of FY2021 will definitely be weaker compared to FY2020, which could send its share price back to pre-Covid range (and this could be a good time to invest in the company.)
The above is just my humble 2-cents to share. Hope you find it useful. Please do your own due diligence before you make any investment decisions. π
Best Regards
Jun Yuan