Berkshire Hathaway Inc Stock Upgraded (BRK.A)

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRK.A) 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, increase in net income, good cash flow from operations, notable return on equity and solid stock price performance. We feel these strengths outweigh the fact that the company is trading at a premium valuation based on our review of its current price compared to such things as earnings and book value.

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Highlights from the ratings report include:

• BRK.A's revenue growth has slightly outpaced the industry average of 13.1%. Since the same quarter one year prior, revenues rose by 13.1%. Growth in the company's revenue appears to have helped boost the earnings per share.
• The company, on the basis of net income growth from the same quarter one year ago, has significantly outperformed against the S&P 500 and exceeded that of the Insurance industry average. The net income increased by 114.8% when compared to the same quarter one year prior, rising from $1,511.00 million to $3,245.00 million.
• Net operating cash flow has increased to $4,650.00 million or 32.78% when compared to the same quarter last year. In addition, BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY has also modestly surpassed the industry average cash flow growth rate of 32.78%.
• The return on equity has improved slightly when compared to the same quarter one year prior. This can be construed as a modest strength in the organization. Compared to other companies in the Insurance industry and the overall market on the basis of return on equity, BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY has outperformed in comparison with the industry average, but has underperformed when compared to that of the S&P 500.
• Looking at where the stock is today compared to one year ago, we find that it is not only higher, but it has also clearly outperformed the rise in the S&P 500 over the same period. Although other factors naturally played a role, the company's strong earnings growth was key. Looking ahead, the stock's rise over the last year has already helped drive it to a level which is relatively expensive compared to the rest of its industry. We feel, however, that the other strengths this company displays justify these higher price levels.

Berkshire Hathaway, Inc. is a publicly owned investment manager. Through its subsidiaries, the firm primarily engages in the insurance and reinsurance of property and casualty risks business. Berkshire Hathaway was founded in 1889 and is based in Omaha, Nebraska. The company has a P/E ratio of 481, above the S&P 500 P/E ratio of 17.7. Berkshire Hathaway has a market cap of $118.23 billion and is part of the financial sector and insurance industry. Shares are up 9.6% year to date as of the close of trading on Monday.

You can view the full Berkshire Hathaway Ratings Report or get investment ideas from our investment research center.

-- Written by a member of TheStreet Ratings Staff

TheStreet ratings do not represent the views of TheStreet's staff or its contributors. Ratings are established by computer based on metrics for performance (which includes growth, stock performance, efficiency and valuation) and risk (volatility and solvency). Companies with poor cash flow or high debt levels tend to earn lower ratings in our model.

 

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