ManpowerGroup Stock Upgraded (MAN)

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- ManpowerGroup (NYSE:MAN) has been upgraded by TheStreet Ratings from hold to buy. The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its revenue growth, largely solid financial position with reasonable debt levels by most measures, attractive valuation levels, notable return on equity and impressive record of earnings per share growth. We feel these strengths outweigh the fact that the company shows low profit margins.

Highlights from the ratings report include:

• The revenue growth came in higher than the industry average of 12.9%. Since the same quarter one year prior, revenues slightly increased by 5.3%. Growth in the company's revenue appears to have helped boost the earnings per share.
• Although MAN's debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28 is very low, it is currently higher than that of the industry average. Along with the favorable debt-to-equity ratio, the company maintains an adequate quick ratio of 1.27, which illustrates the ability to avoid short-term cash problems.
• The company's current return on equity greatly increased when compared to its ROE from the same quarter one year prior. This is a signal of significant strength within the corporation. Compared to other companies in the Professional Services industry and the overall market on the basis of return on equity, MANPOWERGROUP has outperformed in comparison with the industry average, but has underperformed when compared to that of the S&P 500.
• MANPOWERGROUP reported significant earnings per share improvement in the most recent quarter compared to the same quarter a year ago. The company has demonstrated a pattern of positive earnings per share growth over the past two years. However, we anticipate underperformance relative to this pattern in the coming year. During the past fiscal year, MANPOWERGROUP turned its bottom line around by earning $3.05 versus -$3.23 in the prior year. For the next year, the market is expecting a contraction of 5.1% in earnings ($2.90 versus $3.05).

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ManpowerGroup provides employment services in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific region. The company has a P/E ratio of 15.4, below the S&P 500 P/E ratio of 17.7. ManpowerGroup has a market cap of $3.45 billion and is part of the services sector and diversified services industry. Shares are up 29.9% year to date as of the close of trading on Wednesday.

You can view the full ManpowerGroup Ratings Report or get investment ideas from our investment research center.
-- Written by a member of TheStreet RatingsStaff

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