Mountview qualifies for Piotroski Screen
Mountview Estates is a residential property trading company. It focuses on properties in London, so has been well positioned to capitalise on the recent growth in residential property values. Indeed, Revenues have grown consistently from £43m in 2012 to £74.2m in 2014. Earnings have also grown from £4.47 (2012) to £8.82 (TTM).
Furthermore, the company's profit margins have consistently been above 57% since 2010. Mountview owns a portfolio of houses let on contracts signed before the rent law reforms that took place in the late 1980s.This means that tenants cannot be ejected from a property and rents are capped at sub-market rates. However, once the tenant leaves, the properties can be sold for a significant profit.
Mountview qualified for the Piotroski High F-Score Screen on 5 December. Mountview has an F-Score of 9 out of 9, indicating that the company's profit margins are growing and the firm is booming better positioned to pay off debt.
The company's share price has started to rocket recently, beating the market by 28% over the last month and 44% over the last year. This is partly because the company's trading properties were recently revalued. Trading stock, previously presented as £318m on the books, became revalued at £666m.
Despite this growth, momentum and strong profit margins, Mountview Estates remains cheap, with a P/E ratio of just 11 and a ValueRank of 70 - within the cheapest 30% of the market. This could partly be explained by the fact that the 'regulated tenancies' market within which Mountview operates is shrinking, as no 'regulated tenancies' have been created since the rent law reforms of the late 1980s.
Betfair makes the Screen of Screens
Over the last twelve months, earnings per share at Betfair - the online betting company - have grown by 87%. Several factors are at play here. The company's customer base is up 50% to over one million following record activations and the launch of the firm's Cash Out and Price Rush products.
Furthermore, 'gaming' revenues are up 44% following a 63% increase in the number of Sports customers using Betfair's gaming products for the first time.
