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Richard Sloan from the University of Michigan was first to document what is referred to as the "accrual anomaly". His 1996 paper found that shares of companies with small or negative accruals vastly outperform (+10%) those of companies with large ones.
School Specialty's Sloan Ratio for the quarter that ended in Dec. 2019 was -21.54%.
As of Dec. 2019, School Specialty has a Sloan Ratio of -21.54%, indicating there is a warning stage of accrual build up.
School Specialty (OTCPK:SCOO) Sloan Ratio % Explanation
A former University of Michigan researcher, Richard Sloan's 1996 paper found that shares of companies with small or negative accruals vastly outperform (+10%) those of companies with large ones. In fact, for the 40-year period between 1962 and 2001, buying the lowest accrual companies and shorting the highest accrual companies resulted in an average annual compounded return of 18%, more than double the S&P 500's 7.4% annual return over the same period.
If the Sloan Ratio is between -10% and 10%, the company is in the safe zone and there is no funny business with accruals.
If the Sloan Ratio is less than between -25% and -10% on the negative side, and between 10% and 25% on the positive side, this is a warning stage of accrual build up.
If the Sloan Ratio is less than -25% or greater than 25%, and this ratio is consistent over several quarters or even years, be careful. Earnings are highly likely to be made up of accruals.
As of Dec. 2019, School Specialty has a Sloan Ratio of -21.54%, indicating there is a warning stage of accrual build up.
School Specialty Sloan Ratio % Related Terms
School Specialty Sloan Ratio % Historical Data
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The historical data trend for School Specialty's Sloan Ratio % can be seen below:
* For Operating Data section: All numbers are indicated by the unit behind each term and all currency related amount are in USD. * For other sections: All numbers are in millions except for per share data, ratio, and percentage. All currency related amount are indicated in the company's associated stock exchange currency.
SCOO vs PIRRQ, JADG, MSSV: Sloan Ratio % Comparison
For the Specialty Retail subindustry, School Specialty's Sloan Ratio %, along with its competitors' market caps and Sloan Ratio % data, can be viewed below:
* Competitive companies are chosen from companies within the same industry, with headquarter located in same country, with closest market capitalization; x-axis shows the market cap, and y-axis shows the term value; the bigger the dot, the larger the market cap. Note that "N/A" values will not show up in the chart.
School Specialty Sloan Ratio % vs Retail - Cyclical Industry
For the Retail - Cyclical industry and Consumer Cyclical sector, School Specialty's Sloan Ratio % distribution charts can be found below:
* The bar in red indicates where School Specialty's Sloan Ratio % falls into.
Earnings contain a lot of non cash earnings which is called accruals. The Sloan ratio is a way to identify firms with low non-cash or accrual-derived earnings relative to their cash flow.
School Specialty's Sloan Ratio for the fiscal year that ended in Dec. 2019 is calculated as
School Specialty's Net Income for the trailing twelve months (TTM) ended in Dec. 2019 was -24.975 (Mar. 2019 ) + -5.856 (Jun. 2019 ) + 17.864 (Sep. 2019 ) + -36.581 (Dec. 2019 ) = $-49.5 Mil.
School Specialty's Cash Flow from Operations for the trailing twelve months (TTM) ended in Dec. 2019 was -26.582 (Mar. 2019 ) + -17.524 (Jun. 2019 ) + -4.633 (Sep. 2019 ) + 62.214 (Dec. 2019 ) = $13.5 Mil.
School Specialty's Cash Flow from Investing for the trailing twelve months (TTM) ended in Dec. 2019 was -3.613 (Mar. 2019 ) + -3.887 (Jun. 2019 ) + -3.027 (Sep. 2019 ) + -1.923 (Dec. 2019 ) = $-12.5 Mil.
* For Operating Data section: All numbers are indicated by the unit behind each term and all currency related amount are in USD. * For other sections: All numbers are in millions except for per share data, ratio, and percentage. All currency related amount are indicated in the company's associated stock exchange currency.
School Specialty (SCOO) has a Sloan Ratio % of -21.54% as of Dec. 2019. Sloan ratio measures earnings quality based on the amount of accruals. View historical data on School Specialty and its competitors.
Is School Specialty's Sloan Ratio % too high?
School Specialty's current Sloan Ratio % is -21.54%. Overall, School Specialty has a GF Score™ of 12/100, reflecting its overall financial health beyond just this single metric.
How does School Specialty's Sloan Ratio % compare to PIRRQ and JADG?
School Specialty's Sloan Ratio % of -21.54% can be compared against companies in the Retail - Cyclical industry. See the competitive comparison table and distribution chart on this page for a detailed peer-by-peer breakdown.
What is a good Sloan Ratio % for a Retail - Cyclical company?
A good Sloan Ratio % depends on the Retail - Cyclical industry context. However, Sloan Ratio % should not be evaluated in isolation — investors should consider it alongside profitability, growth, and financial strength metrics. Use the industry distribution chart on this page to see where any company falls relative to its peers.
What does a high Sloan Ratio % mean?
A high Sloan Ratio % can signal that a stock is expensive relative to its fundamentals. Sloan ratio measures earnings quality based on the amount of accruals. View historical data on School Specialty and its competitors. School Specialty's current Sloan Ratio % is -21.54%. However, context matters — high-growth companies often justify higher valuations. Always evaluate alongside other metrics like GF Score™ and GF Value™.
Is School Specialty stock overvalued right now?
School Specialty (SCOO) has a current Sloan Ratio % of -21.54%. The current Sloan Ratio % is -21.54%. School Specialty's overall GF Score™ is 12/100. Investors should evaluate multiple metrics — including profitability, growth, and financial strength — before making a decision.
How is Sloan Ratio % calculated?
Sloan Ratio % is calculated from a company's financial statements. For School Specialty (SCOO), the current Sloan Ratio % is -21.54% as of Dec. 2019. GuruFocus calculates this using data sourced from SEC filings and annual reports. See the calculation section and 30-year financial data on this page for the full breakdown.
School Specialty Inc is a distributor of supplies, furniture, technology products, supplemental learning products, and curriculum solutions, primarily to the education marketplace. Its operating business segments are Distribution and Curriculum. The company generates maximum revenue from the Distribution Segment. Its Distribution segment offers products primarily to the PreK-12 education market that include basic classroom supplies and office products, instructional materials, indoor and outdoor furniture and equipment, physical education equipment, classroom technology, and planning and organizational products.
12GF Score
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Sloan Ratio % is just one metric. See GF Value™, 30-year financials, guru trades, warning signs, and more.
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