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Zacks.com featured highlights include Stride,Modine Manufacturing, H&R Block and Leidos Holdings

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For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – October 29, 2024 – Stocks in this week’s article are Stride, Inc. (LRN - Free Report) , Modine Manufacturing Co. (MOD - Free Report) , H&R Block, Inc. (HRB - Free Report) and Leidos Holdings, Inc. (LDOS - Free Report) .

Pick These 4 Stocks with Excellent Interest Coverage Ratios

We often judge a company based on its sales and earnings. These metrics, however, may not be sufficient on their own. A stock might get a boost if these figures rise year over year or surpass estimates in a particular quarter, offering a lucrative opportunity for short-term investors to cash in. However, relying solely on sales and earnings numbers may not yield the desired long-term returns. For those seeking sustainable investment growth, a deeper dive into the company’s financial health and stability is essential.

A critical analysis of a company’s financial background is a prerequisite for an informed investment decision. Coverage ratios, which assess whether a company is robust enough to meet its financial obligations, play a crucial role in this analysis. A higher ratio generally indicates a stronger financial position. This article focuses on the Interest Coverage Ratio, a key indicator used to evaluate a company's ability to pay interest on its debt, ensuring that the company is not over-leveraged and can comfortably meet its interest obligations from its operating earnings.

Interest Coverage Ratio = Earnings before Interest & Taxes (EBIT) divided by Interest Expense.

Stride, Inc., Modine Manufacturing Co., H&R Block, Inc.  and Leidos Holdings, Inc. boast an impressive interest coverage ratio.

Why Interest Coverage Ratio?

The interest coverage ratio is used to determine how effectively a company can pay the interest charges on its debt.

Debt, which is crucial for most companies to finance operations, comes at a cost called interest. Interest expense has a direct bearing on the profitability of a company and its creditworthiness depends on how effectively it meets interest obligations. Therefore, the interest coverage ratio is one of the important criteria to factor in before making any investment decision.

Interest coverage ratio suggests the number of times the interest could be paid from earnings and gauges the margin of safety a firm carries for paying interest.

An interest coverage ratio lower than 1.0 implies that the company is unable to fulfill its interest obligations and could default on repaying debt. A company that is capable of generating earnings well above its interest expense can withstand financial hardships. One should also track the company’s past performance to determine whether the interest coverage ratio has improved or worsened over a period of time.

Here are four of the 12 stocks that qualified the screening.

Stride, a technology-based education company, has a VGM Score of B. LRN delivered an earnings surprise of 100.8% in the last reported quarter.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Stride’s current financial year sales and EPS suggests growth of 12.4% and 42%, respectively, from the year-ago period. This Zacks Rank #1 stock has soared 65.2% in the past year. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Modine Manufacturing, a diversified global leader in thermal management technology and solutions, carries a Zacks Rank #2 and has a VGM Score of B.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Modine Manufacturing’s current financial year sales and EPS suggests growth of 8.4% and 18.8%, respectively, from the year-ago period’s levels. MOD has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 21.8%, on average. The stock has skyrocketed 222.2% in the past year.

Find the latest EPS estimates and surprises on Zacks Earnings Calendar.

H&R Block, which provides global tax preparation services, financial products, and small-business solutions, carries a Zacks Rank #2 and has a VGM Score of B. HRB has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 10.8%, on average.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for H&R Block's current financial year sales and EPS suggests growth of 3% and 18.4%, respectively, from the year-ago period. The stock has rallied 46.3% in the past year.

Leidos Holdings, which provides services and solutions in the defense, intelligence, civil and health markets in the United States and internationally, has a VGM Score of B and carries a Zacks Rank #2.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Leidos Holdings’ current financial year sales and EPS suggests growth of 5.4% and 22.7%, respectively, from a year ago. Leidos Holdings has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 23.5%, on average. The stock has surged 83.8% in the past year.

You can get the rest of the stocks on this list by signing up now for your 2-week free trial to the Research Wizard and start using this screen in your own trading. Further, you can also create your own strategies and backtest them first before taking the investment plunge.

The Research Wizard is a great place to begin. It's easy to use. Everything is in plain language. And it's very intuitive. Start your Research Wizard trial today. And the next time you read an economic report, open up the Research Wizard, plug your finds in, and see what gems come out.

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For the rest of this Screen of the Week article please visit Zacks.com at: https://www.zacks.com/stock/news/2358741/pick-these-4-stocks-with-excellent-interest-coverage-ratio

Zacks Investment Research is under common control with affiliated entities (including a broker-dealer and an investment adviser), which may engage in transactions involving the foregoing securities for the clients of such affiliates.

Contact: Jim Giaquinto

Company: Zacks.com

Phone: 312-265-9268

Email: pr@zacks.com

Visit: https://www.zacks.com/

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Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Inherent in any investment is the potential for loss. This material is being provided for informational purposes only and nothing herein constitutes investment, legal, accounting or tax advice, or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold a security. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. It should not be assumed that any investments in securities, companies, sectors or markets identified and described were or will be profitable. All information is current as of the date of herein and is subject to change without notice. Any views or opinions expressed may not reflect those of the firm as a whole. Zacks Investment Research does not engage in investment banking, market making or asset management activities of any securities. These returns are from hypothetical portfolios consisting of stocks with Zacks Rank = 1 that were rebalanced monthly with zero transaction costs. These are not the returns of actual portfolios of stocks. The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index. Visit https://www.zacks.com/performance for information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.

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