Nu Skin Enterprises - Value

Nu Skin Enterprises Inc. (NUS) has outperformed the Zacks Consensus Estimate in the past 4 quarters with an average surprise of nearly 10%. As a result, all earnings estimates for this anti-aging personal care products company have been on the rise of late. It also recently reached a 52-week high and has a potential long-term earnings growth rate of 13.6%.
This Zacks #2 Rank (Buy) has a compelling valuation, including a price-to-sales (P/S) ratio of just 0.98, which makes it an attractive pick for value investors.
Solid Third Quarter Results
On October 31, Nu Skin Enterprises Inc. reported third quarter earnings of 87 cents per share, topping the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 13% and improving year over year by nearly 21%. The increase in earnings was led by strong top-line growth.
Despite a 3% negative impact of foreign currency translation, total sales of $526.2 million comfortably surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $481 million and surged 23% from $428.4 million a year ago. The strong demand for anti-aging products and innovations facilitated top-line growth.
Nu Skin Enterprises believes that it will sustain the same rhythm in the remaining quarter of 2012, counting upon its compelling products lineup. Management raised its 2012 earnings guidance to between $3.33 and $3.37 per share, compared with the previous forecast of $3.16 to $3.24. The sales outlook was boosted to between $2.10 billion and $2.11 billion, instead of $2.00 billion to $2.03 billion previously.
For the fourth quarter 2012, the company expects earnings of 78 cents to 82 cents per share and sales at $520 million to $530 million.
The company projects annual revenue between $2.25 billion and $2.30 billion for 2013, up 8% to 10% on a constant currency basis from the 2012 level. Earnings per share are estimated at $3.70 to $3.85, an increase of 10% to 15%.
Rising Earnings Estimates
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2012 remains at $3.38 per share, suggesting year-over-year growth of 17.2%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2013 is at $3.86 per share, reflecting a year-over-year increase of 14.4%.
Attractive Valuation
Along with a low P/S multiple, Nu Skin has a low P/E ratio of 10.22 and a trailing 12-month P/E of 10.43 (a P/E ratio under 15.0 and a P/S ratio below 1.0 generally indicate value). The return on equity (ROE) also looks attractive. It has a trailing 12-month ROE of 36.6% compared with the peer group average of 24.8%.
Shares of Nu Skin have been rising since late-December 2012. The year-to-date return for the stock is 4.83% compared with the S&P 500’s return of 1.69%. Volume is averaging roughly 1,947K daily.

 

 

Nu Skin Enterprises is a provider of anti-aging personal care products and nutritional supplements under the Nu Skin and Pharmanex brands. The company distributes its products in Greater China, South Asia/Pacific, the Americas, Europe and North Asia, principally through approximately 900,000 active distributors. Nu Skin Enterprises, which competes with Avon Products Inc. (AVP), currently has a market cap of $2.17 billion.

 

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