PRZ was recently profiled in a Reuters story on screening for
under-followed stocks with good fundamentals.
Snips:
The Lesser Known Stock screen looks for companies that have been largely ignored by Wall Street. As such, it requires that a company be covered by six or fewer analysts. Reuters receives estimates information from two analysts for PRZ.
This screen also requires that institutions own less than 50% of the outstanding float and that the institutional ownership for a company be less than 80% of the Industry average. On average for the Industry, institutions own 55.11% of the outstanding float. Institutions own only 3.69% of PRZ's float, so it easily clears that threshold.
The screen also looks at corporate earnings and requires year-over-year EPS growth stand above the Industry average. With trailing twelve-month (TTM) EPS standing 88.33% over its year-earlier period, PRZ easily beats the Industry, which has a growth rate of 24.88%...
The company's stunning earnings advances at least partially resulted from improved profit margins. For instance, PRZ's Operating Profit Margin averaged 13.78% for the last five years, and this nearly doubled, to 26.54% in the TTM span. Although the overall Industry also improved during this time, it could not keep pace. Indeed, the Industry norm averaged 9.23% for the last five years, and this improved slightly to 12.25% more recently. As a result of the improved operating margins, PRZ's Net Profit Margin hit 13.75% in the TTM span...
Further, the company has been growing nicely. It recently announced some new business with private practices. For instance, the company's EDX-Direct Program was recently picked up by a pain management practice in Tempe, Arizona. More specifically, the EDX-Direct Program involves the company supplying contracted physician practices with the equipment, training and support they need to introduce and provide electrodiagnostic medicine into their respective practices. Further, this type of testing assesses the functional status of nerves. As the company explains, "Measuring the electrical activity in nerves can help detect the presence, location and extent of disease and injuries that damage nerves and result in recurring pain." The introduction of the technology into the practice is going to change the quality of patient care at the Tempe-based facility. Before adopting this technology, the practice outsourced nerve conduction studies. Now, patients will be able to have all that work done at the practice.
More recently, a physician practice in Gallatin, Tennessee contracted to adopt the EDX-Direct Program, as did an orthopedic practice in the Pittsburgh area of Pennsylvania. So, the company is growing its business nicely. Further, strategic acquisitions are helping. PRZ recently acquired some of the assets of a pain-management practice serving the Washington, D.C. area. More precisely, it picked up the non-medical assets of The Center for Pain Management, gaining management and administrative services. This deal could lay the foundation for further growth going forward.
The company has been growing nicely while keeping a strong balance sheet. Indeed, its long-term debt to equity ratio (0.54) is well below the Industry norm of 0.76. PRZ's total debt to equity ratio is 0.68, which is also quite attractive relative to the Industry average of 0.81. In other words, the company has plenty of wiggle room if it needs to tap the debt markets to finance an expansion plan....
Thus, even though value hunters might be dissuaded by its TTM valuations, its promising growth rate actually suggests that the shares are reasonably priced. According, PRZ appears to be well suited for value investors seeking growth through little-known issues in the Healthcare sector.
As always, it is important to remember that not all stocks are equally well suited for all people, and you need to keep in mind your own tolerance for risk and investment time horizon before investing.
investor.reuters.com tp://www.investor.reuters.com/Article.aspx?docid=6829&target=companyoftheday
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