Ballard Power Systems Inc.

On my other blog I am today writing about possible cheap dividend stocks for August 2015 continue...

Sound bite for Twitter and StockTwits is: Not doing well yet. See my spreadsheet at bld.htm.

I do not own this stock of Ballard Power Systems Inc. (TSX-BLD, NASDAQ-BLDP) but I used to. Back in 1997, I read about Ballard and fell in love with the idea of cars running with fuel cells. I could help save the environment and also make some money. It was very attractive. I sold this stock in 2006 because it had lost its attraction. It did not seem that Ballard fuel cells would be in any car anytime soon. I was ahead in 2000, but the stock started to fall in October 2000 and never recovered.

This stock is not what I normally cover as it pays not dividends. At the time I bought this stock I was still working and did some trading for fun. I am still interesting in what this company is doing so I still follow it and check up on it once a year. I paid some $17 a share when I bought this stock and sold them for around $10 a share and so lost money. The current Price is $1.88.

This company at least has revenue. The Revenue peaked in 2003 and then had a lower peak in 2011. Because outstanding shares have gone up, I looked at Revenue per Share. This is down by 1.3% and 2.7% over the past 5 and 10 years. However, it is interesting to look at Revenue per Share’s 5 year running average over the past 5 and 10 years as the Revenue has fluctuated. Here Revenue per Share is up by 3.1% and 0.3% per year over the past 5 and 10 years.

The company has not done well in making a profit. Since 1995, it has made a profit in 3 years, in 1998, 2005 and 2008. They have also not done well in cash flows. They have never had a positive cash flow. Currently the cash flows are a lower negative figure than in the past, so they are not as bad.

Book Value has not done well either. BVPS is down by 19.5% and 25.6% per year over the past 5 and 10 years. On the other hand, the company does have a positive book value.

Debt levels are good. For the 2014 financial year, the Liquidity Ratio is 2.03, the Debt Ratio is 2.63 and the Leverage and Debt/Equity Ratios are 1.61 and 0.61.

There are 3 analysts following this stock, which is rather surprising. All three analysts give a recommendation of a Hold. The 12 month consensus stock price is $3.38. This implies a total return, all from capital gains of 79.8%.

A site called Insider Trading talks about analysts rating this stock. This is a US site so price is given in US$ not CDN$. The site Guru Focus recently gave a very bearish report on this stock. This stock was also recently reviewed by Micro Cap Daily. They are not as bearish as Guru Focus.

Some of the site above, like a lot of sites, want you to sign up for something, but you just need to close the box or click on an X in the top right corner of the box for it to go away and for you to see the information on the site. Sometimes the X in the bottom left corner and sometimes there is a box with close in it. There is generally always a way to close such boxes to see the site’s information.

I will have only one entry for this stock as I must do on some stock because I cover too many stocks to do double entries on all that I follow.

Ballard Power Systems, Inc. is a global leader in PEM (proton exchange membrane) fuel cell technology. They provide clean energy fuel cell products enabling optimized power systems for a range of applications. Ballard offers smarter solutions for a clean energy future. Its web site is here Ballard.

This blog is meant for educational purposes only, and is not to provide investment advice. Before making any investment decision, you should always do your own research or consult an investment professional. I do research for my own edification and I am willing to share. I write what I think and I may or may not be correct.

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