In this project, your task is to conduct a detailed analysis of key factors and parameters that are crucial for assessing and contrasting the stock performance of diverse firms on the New York Stock Exchange $($NYSE$).$

The project$$s core objective is to assess companies through a financial lens by investigating four critical categories of financial ratios:

Profitability Ratios: Evaluate the company$$s ability to generate earnings as compared to its expenses and other relevant costs.

Liquidity Ratios: Examine how readily a company can convert assets into cash to meet short$-$term obligations.

Solvency Ratios: Analyze the company's capacity to meet long$-$term debts and sustain its operations.

Valuation Ratios: Determine the company$$s current value as perceived in the stock market.

Select a specific sector$$like Energy, Technology, Financial Services, or Automotive$$and choose several key financial ratios within the categories of profitability, liquidity, solvency, and valuation. Establish a criteria framework for each ratio to methodically benchmark companies in the same sector against each other. Then, analyze up to four companies from your chosen sector, using these criteria to identify the most promising stock shares for a buy$-$and$-$hold investment strategy.

Expectations:

Utilize the Yahoo Finance website to select financial ratios, offering a succinct description and established benchmarks for each, such as $($for e$.$g$.)$ deeming a current ratio between $1$ and $2$ as satisfactory for companies in the Oil$/$Energy industry.

Analyze these ratios to gauge the financial health and investment potential of up to four companies in the chosen industry, aiming to discern the most viable stocks for a buy$-$and$-$hold strategy.

Present your analysis and data in a clearly structured Word document and a detailed Excel spreadsheet