All You Need To Know About Northern Star Resources Limited’s (ASX:NST) Financial Health

Simply Wall St August 16, 2017

Stocks with market capitalization between $2B and $10B, such as Northern Star Resources Limited (ASX:NST) with a size of $2.94B, do not attract as much attention from the investing community as do the small-caps and large-caps. Surprisingly though, when accounted for risk, mid-caps have delivered better returns compared to the two other categories of stocks. Mid-caps are found to be more volatile than the large-caps but safer than small-caps, largely due to their weaker balance sheet. I will take you through a few basic checks to assess the financial health of companies with no debt. Check out our latest analysis for Northern Star Resources

Is NST’s level of debt at an acceptable level?

A substantially higher debt poses a significant threat to a company’s profitability during a downturn. For NST, the debt-to-equity ratio is 1.75%, which indicates that the company faces low risk associated with debt.

Can NST meet its short-term obligations with the cash in hand?

Debt to equity ratio is an important aspect of financial strength. But if the company has a substantial amount of cash on its balance sheet, that should allay some fear of a debt overhang and increase the chance of meeting upcoming liabilities. In order to measure liquidity, we must compare NST’s current assets with its upcoming liabilities. Our analysis shows that NST is able to meet its upcoming commitments with its cash and other short-term assets, which lessens our concerns for the company’s business operations should any unfavourable circumstances arise.

Conclusion

NST’s ability to meet its short-term liabilities is an indication of financial strength. Its debt level is also relatively low, which reduces some risk for the company and its investors. Now that you know to keep debt in mind when putting together your investment thesis, I recommend you check out our latest free analysis report on Northern Star Resources to see what other factors for NST you should consider.

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