CVS Caremark Corp Stock Buy Recommendation Reiterated (CVS)

Editor's Note: 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.

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- CVS Caremark (NYSE:CVS) has been reiterated by TheStreet Ratings as a buy with a ratings score of A+ . The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its revenue growth, solid stock price performance, impressive record of earnings per share growth, increase in net income and largely solid financial position with reasonable debt levels by most measures. We feel these strengths outweigh the fact that the company shows weak operating cash flow.

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Highlights from the ratings report include:

• CVS's revenue growth has slightly outpaced the industry average of 6.0%. Since the same quarter one year prior, revenues rose by 13.3%. Growth in the company's revenue appears to have helped boost the earnings per share.
• The stock has not only risen over the past year, it has done so at a faster pace than the S&P 500, reflecting the earnings growth and other positive factors similar to those we have cited here. Turning our attention to the future direction of the stock, it goes without saying that even the best stocks can fall in an overall down market. However, in any other environment, this stock still has good upside potential despite the fact that it has already risen in the past year.
• CVS CAREMARK CORP has improved earnings per share by 23.1% 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. We feel that this trend should continue. During the past fiscal year, CVS CAREMARK CORP increased its bottom line by earning $2.61 versus $2.49 in the prior year. This year, the market expects an improvement in earnings ($3.40 versus $2.61).
• 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 Food & Staples Retailing industry average. The net income increased by 15.9% when compared to the same quarter one year prior, going from $868.00 million to $1,006.00 million.
• CVS's debt-to-equity ratio is very low at 0.27 and is currently below that of the industry average, implying that there has been very successful management of debt levels. Despite the fact that CVS's debt-to-equity ratio is low, the quick ratio, which is currently 0.58, displays a potential problem in covering short-term cash needs.

CVS Caremark Corporation provides pharmacy health care services in the United States. CVS Caremark has a market cap of $61.14 billion and is part of the services sector and retail industry. The company has a P/E ratio of 16.5, below the S&P 500 P/E ratio of 17.7. Shares are up 20.6% year to date as of the close of trading on Tuesday.

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

--Written by a member of TheStreet Ratings Staff.

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