WATC (Watchlist Analytics) is a function that enables us to analyze various metrics for companies across a customized investable universe. The securities can be compared individually or aggregated based on their geography, size, credit rating and more.
To select the asset universe, use the outlined amber box. We can choose from different indexes/lists, our own portfolios and more. Option Refine By allows us to set additional criteria to narrow down the securities from the universe that appear in the table below.
The results can be filtered further by entering the criteria for an individual column using the amber boxes on top of the table. Use the help provided by hitting the <Help> key to see what kinds of expressions can be used.
By clicking on a security from the table, a window opens, from which we can compare it to its peers, suppliers and customers.
Group the securities based on your desired criteria from the marked drop-down menu Group By. To change the metrics that are displayed, use the 8 tabs above the table (one custom and 7 provided with each one even providing additional sub-tabs for further modifications).
We can save a screen from Actions -> Save Screen and then load it from Actions -> Load. Export to Excel or to the portfolio building app from the adjacent Export button.
Function RV (Relative Valuation) can be used to compare the selected stock to its peers across various metrics. The table below generates a list of company's peers and shows their financial data in comparison to the selected company.
Tabs (and sub-tabs that appear for some of the tabs) above the table that allow us to change the category of data shown for comparison. The gear icon also allows us to customize the columns in the table.
The table can be sorted according to a selected column by clicking on its name. On the other hand, by right clicking on its name, a menu appears with more functions — this way we can include statistics in the table, read definitions of the selected column, delete the column and more. We can also change the layout of the columns by dragging and dropping them to the desired position.
New columns can be added to the table by choosing the gear icon next to the tabs, then clicking on Add Columns and finding the desired data by either:
Building the table structure from the scratch can be done from the Custom tab.
If we plan on using a customized structure of the table in the future, we can save it as a Template. Select gear icon and then Save As New Template. To use this template in the future, go to the Custom tab and find it from the light grey bar (shown below).
The list of companies (peers) in the table can also be modified. This can be done by right clicking on the Name column and selecting Edit Comps. Another way to do it is from the red bar: Settings -> Edit and Share Comps.
A new page opens where we can delete companies from the list by clicking on the red encircled X, and add new ones from the amber box on top of the page. When going back to the previous page, choose Save to apply the changes to the table.
This selection can also be saved for later use by using the buttons Save As and Actions in the red tab (buttons not visible in the screen capture above).
Export -> Excel from the red bar can be used to export the peer comparison table to Excel.
An Excel file with data from the table is downloaded to the computer. As already in many other exporting occasions, it is worth noting that the data is downloaded as formulas, meaning that Excel retrieves it directly from Bloomberg. While this can be very useful because it allows updating data in the future, it also means that it can only be displayed on computers with Bloomberg terminal. Therefore, it is recommended to copy the data and paste it as values to another Excel sheet to be able to use it on your device as well.
Similarly, we can use function EQRV (Equity Relative Valuation) for a quick comparison of various financial multiples versus peers and also versus the company's own historical values to assess its valuation.
Function KPIC (KPI Comparison) allows us to observe the trends across industry peers. The most important KPIs (KPI — Key Performance Indicator) are identified for the selected industry and their values are compared across companies.
The amber boxes used to select the analyzed security and set some display preferences (use Periodicity to specify the data frequency, Growth to choose how the growth will be measured, and Curr for the currency of financial data shown) are outlined below:
Chart an individual KPI's historical values by clicking on the chart icon next to its name (shown below).
Some companies generate revenue in multiple industries. To switch between industries in which you want to compare the KPIs to the company's competitors, use the outlined buttons on the top of the screen:
We can also observe the KPIs for an industry in general (without selecting an individual company). Choose an industry from the Browse Dashboards menu on the left.
Export table to a new Excel file by choosing Export from the red bar on the top-left part of the page.
