MIDCAP-KFC Holdings (Malaysia) lags consumer discretionary on valuations

KFC Holdings (Malaysia) Bhd ranks the lowest on valuations among 18 companies in Malaysia's consumer discretionary sector tracked by at least three analysts, data from Thomson Reuters StarMine shows.

The company has a low Value-Momentum (Val-Mo) score of 13, and poor Analyst Revision Model (ARM) and Earnings Quality (EQ) scores 19 each. Its ARM score has declined 17 points in the last 30 days.

The company has a below-average SmartHoldings score of 33. Low Relative Value (RV) and Instrinsic value (IV) scores of 34 and 23 respectively suggest that the stock is overvalued.

Three of the seven analysts rating the stock have cut their EPS estimates for FY12 by an average of 16.4 percent since Aug. 30 while two of them have reduced their estimates for FY13 by an average of 17.9 percent over the past month.

Of the seven analysts tracking the stock, two recommend a 'strong buy' or 'buy' rating while five give it a 'hold'.

The stock is down 0.52 percent year-to-date, while the broader index is up 7.54 percent for the same period, as of Friday's close.

Another company in the sector with a low Val-Mo score is Genting Berhad with 14.

CONTEXT:

StarMine's Val-Mo model provides a 1-100 percentile ranking of stocks and rates stocks based on a combination of two value and two momentum metrics.

StarMine's Analyst Revision Model ranks stocks based on analysts' revision of earnings and revenue estimates and changes in their ratings and usually gives additional weight to analysts who have been more accurate in the past.

The StarMine SmartHoldings model is a global stock selection model that ranks stocks based on the expected future increase or decrease in institutional ownership.

StarMine's Relative Valuation model combines six different ratios that measure a company's valuation and then ranks it compared with all other stocks in the same region. (Reporting By Reshma Apte)