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I think it's also important to take into account what the company regularly does. I invest in companies with 55% - 60% net debt-to-capital and it's not risky at all due to the consistent operations that they're involved in.

Leverage increases return, but at the same time risk. This isn't what's important; what's important is whether or not the return outweighs this risk. This is where value can be added.

EV/EBITDA is a very good metric, but it's widely used by just about every analyst now, so I don't think you can get as much out of it as once posible.

*The most important thing when looking at a potential investment is thinking about what will drive its stock price in the future. Too many people focus on historical numbers. Who cares? Find metrics like EV/EBITDA once was that helps you identify signs of potential future growth.