Community Spotlight: Nathan Yates
Director of Research & Consulting
Forward View Consulting, located in Virginia, is not your typical investment research provider. We're never interested in hot stocks or Wall Street's darlings of the moment. Every research note and report we publish will be based on a long-term perspective and fundamental research methodologies. That's the Forward View difference. Forward View's proprietary equity valuation model underpins our stock price targets and utilizes years of historical financial statement data and produces detailed forecasts. We have formal ratings, estimates and targets on Big 5 Sporting Goods (BGFV), Cabela's (CAB), Dick's Sporting Goods (DKS), Hibbett Sports (HIBB), MarineMax (HZO) Joy Global (JOY), LinkedIn (LNKD), Sportsman's Warehouse (SPWH) and Westmoreland Coal (WLB). Forward View is a proud StockViews Partner.
How would you describe your investment philosophy?
My investment philosophy combines a belief in the value of detailed fundamental research and that equity price targets should be based on their issuers' valuations. To me, it's impossible to forecast the future of a stock without first modeling the underlying corporation. Securities are frequently mispriced in the market, but over time, they move toward fair value. Thus, I'm willing to be patient as mispricings are corrected.
Can you tell us about the history of the firm and your investment background?
Forward View opened in 2014, and we're an independent research firm. We've steadily expanded our coverage and team of analysts since our founding. Forward View now has a four analysts (including me) who focus on the sporting goods sector. By the end of the year, we'll cover 20 companies, including two in Europe. Before I created Forward View, I was an associate with Langenberg & Company, an award-winning industrial research firm. I possess a Bachelor's in Economics and Finance as well as a Master's in Finance from Southern New Hampshire University.
What makes the space that you're in so compelling for investors to look at?
The sporting goods sector isn't covered holistically by any other firm. Forward View believes that we can unlock alpha for our clients by analyzing the industry's entire value chain while uncovering investment opportunities with desirable risk/reward characteristics. In 2016, the U.S. sporting goods sector's retail sales have grown 6.4% y/y thus far, making it one of the strongest areas of the economy. As the industry continues to expand, we look forward to guiding capital into the best sporting goods companies. Our field research, frequent executive conversations and proprietary valuation model position Forward View perfectly in this exciting area of business. (Retail data from the Department of Commerce).
