Introduction Investment in company shares necessitates significant analysis and examination of different financial aspects to ascertain its prospective growth or deterioration in the financial market. Financial performance is key in determining the share price and value. Financial performance is delineated as a measure of a firm’s revenues, returns, in addition to increases in value as demonstrated by the increase in the firm’s share price. It is a particular measure of how well an organization can employ and utilize assets from its key means of business and generate revenues. In addition, it is employed as an overall measure of an organization’s general financial health over a certain period of time and can be used to compare comparable organizations across the similar industry or to compare industries or sectors in aggression (Weygandt et al., 2015). It is imperative to note that shares can lead to significant capital losses. This is largely for the reason that company shares are short-term investments and are susceptible to upward and downward trends. The purpose of this paper is to analyze three companies to determine the most prospective financial investment. The three companies taken into consideration include Sony Corporation, Campbell Soup Co., and CF Industries Holdings, Inc. The analysis will include assessing the financial ratios and performances of the company and thereafter providing investors with a recommendation.

Share Price Analysis

The share prices of the companies are as follows:

Company

Share Price

CF Industries Holdings, Inc.

$35.78

Campbell Soup Co.

$49.93

Sony Corporation

$46.97

On the basis of the recent movements of each of the companies’ stocks, the best investment for stock investors is Sony Corporation. This is largely for the reason that the company’s share has been experiencing a progressively upward trend and it is expected to continue doing so. The stock has the potential of generating returns for the investor.

Financial Ratio Analysis

Financial Ratio

Sony Corporation

Campbell Soup, Co.

CF Industries Holdings, Inc.

Debt Ratio

41.28

216.29

90.5

Profit Margin

1.69%

11.24%

-9.98%

Return on Assets

1.86%

13.53%

0.50%

Return on Equity

5.87%

55.82%

Basically, it is employed to show the comparative proportion of the level of debt and shareholders’ equity to fund the assets of a company. As a result, the financial ratio shows how much debt an organization is utilizing to finance its assets in relation to the amount of value that is signified in the stakeholders’ equity. In this case, the debt ratios of Sony Corporation, Campbell Soup Co., and CF Industries Holdings, Inc. are 41.28, 216.29, and 90.5. It is apparent that the debt ratio of Campbell Soup is enormously high standing at 216.29. This implies that the stock has a significantly higher level of risk in investing on it. Sony Corporation has the lowest level of debt ratio and therefore implies that has a lesser risk in its investment.
Profitability of a firm is another significant indicator for investing in a firm. It is imperative to note that investing in a company is making losses is bound to be a poor investment decision. One of the profitability financial ratios is the profit margin. In delineation, profit margin is the metric that indicates how much earnings are generated for every dollar of sales for a firm. Basically, this is the percentage of revenue that remains subsequent to the payment of all expenses by a firm. The profit margins of Sony Corporation, Campbell Soup Co., and CF Industries Holdings, Inc. are 1.69 percent, 11.24 percent, and -9.98 percent respectively. Notably, it can be perceived that CF Industries Holdings is presently generating losses and is therefore not profitable. The poor financial performance can be perceived in the sense that for every dollar of sales, the company makes a loss of 9.98 cents. Sony Corporation and Campbell Soup appear to be the profitable firms in the portfolio. Sony generates a return of 1.69 cents for every dollar of sales generated. However, the latter is the most profitable company with earnings of 11.24 cents for every dollar of sales generated.

Return on Assets (ROA) ratio is basically a ratio that that measures that extent to which a company converts its total assets into profit. It is a very key profitability ratio since it depicts…