Reynolds Consumer Products is currently trading at $28.11 per share and has a Graham number of $16.8, which implies that it is 67.3% above its fair value. We calculate the Graham number as follows:
√(22.5 * 5 year average earnings per share * book value per share) = √(22.5 * 1.41 * 8.895) = 16.8
The Graham number is one of seven factors that Graham enumerates in Chapter 14 of The Intelligent Investor for determining whether a stock offers a margin of safety. Rather than use the Graham number by itself, its best to consider it alongside the following fundamental metrics:
Sales Revenue Should Be No Less Than $500 million
For Reynolds Consumer Products, average sales revenue over the last 4 years has been $3.42 Billion, so in the context of the Graham analysis the stock has impressive sales revenue. Originally the threshold was $100 million, but since the book was published in the 1970s it's necessary to adjust the figure for inflation.
Current Assets Should Be at Least Twice Current Liabilities
We calculate Reynolds Consumer Products's current ratio by dividing its total current assets of $1.17 Billion by its total current liabilities of $496.0 Million. Current assets refer to company assets that can be transferred into cash within one year, such as accounts receivable, inventory, and liquid financial instruments. Current liabilities, on the other hand, refer to those that will come due within one year. In Reynolds Consumer Products’s case, current assets outweigh current liabilities by a factor of 2.4.
The Company’s Long-term Debt Should Not Exceed its Net Current Assets
This means that its ratio of debt to net current assets should be 1 or less. Since Reynolds Consumer Products’s debt ratio is -1.1, the company has much more liabilities than current assets. We calculate Reynolds Consumer Products’s debt to net current assets ratio by dividing its total long term of debt of $2.07 Billion by its current assets minus total liabilities of $3.06 Billion.
The Stock Should Have a Positive Level of Retained Earnings Over Several Years
Reynolds Consumer Products had positive retained earnings from 2020 to 2022 with an average of $343.0 Million. Retained earnings are the sum of the current and previous reporting periods' net asset amounts, minus all dividend payments. It's a similar metric to free cash flow, with the difference that retained earnings are accounted for on an accrual basis.
There Should Be a Record of Uninterrupted Dividend Payments Over the Last 20 Years
Shareholders of Reynolds Consumer Products have received regular dividends since 2020. The company has returned a 3.4% dividend yield over the last 12 months.
A Minimum Increase of at Least One-third in Earnings per Share (EPS) Over the Past 10 Years
During the 5 years for which we have data, Reynolds Consumer Products's earnings per share grew at a rate of 8.85% — which doesn't meet Graham's requirements for duration or magnitude of growth. Nonetheless, the increase of $1.13 EPS in 2018 to a reported $1.23 EPS in 2022 is respectable by most standards.
It may be trading far above its fair value, but Reynolds Consumer Products actually meets most of Benjamin Graham's criteria for an undervalued stock because it has:
- impressive sales revenue
- an excellent current ratio
- much more liabilities than current assets
- positive retained earnings from 2020 to 2022
- an acceptable record of dividends
- some EPS growth
