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REDDIT

Cash flow analysis + Strategy

TLDR: Why and what is dcf + reverse dcf used for and how do you use it in analysis

I'm a newbie to value investing and see a lot of people talking about cash flow analyses and want to know why and how it works and how to use it.

I am also looking for critique or discourse to help me improve my investments:

So far my strategy for analyzing companies is:

1. Little to no debt (wc > debt, cr > 2, or cash > debt) except for banks/lenders

2. Consistent return on equity or total capital (depending on industry) >20% with no year in last 5 years less than 15%

3. EBT > 1B usd

4. Doubling of earnings in at max a 10 year period without serial acquisition of other companies

5. Ideally low/no dividends with high non-anti dilutive share buyback at attractive prices

Then i make some adjustments to earnings (amortization + depreciation vs ppe capex, share based compensation, one time/unusual fees+earnings, etc.)

I then benchmark for price:

Minimum 10%, preferably 12% return on price paid -->

Enterprise value < Adjusted EBT / 0.12

After that, even if a company has a good looking price, I avoid buying until it is at/near a 52 week or longer low

I invented some math to estimate economic goodwill (assume roe is 20%, then economic goodwill + equity = Adjusted EBT/0.20). From that i am willing to pay a 2x premium on economic goodwill + equity because securities are marketable, easily liquidated, do not require my management, etc.

How can i improve my system (and understand and incorporate dcf/reverse dcf). Also looking to fill any other gaps in my knowledge so any help is greatly appreciated thanks!