Calculating The Intrinsic Value Of Berentzen-Gruppe Aktiengesellschaft (ETR:BEZ)

Key Insights

• The projected fair value for Berentzen-Gruppe is €6.32 based on Dividend Discount Model

• Current share price of €5.60 suggests Berentzen-Gruppe is potentially trading close to its fair value

• Peers of Berentzen-Gruppe are currently trading on average at a 350% premium

Today we'll do a simple run through of a valuation method used to estimate the attractiveness of Berentzen-Gruppe Aktiengesellschaft (ETR:BEZ) as an investment opportunity by estimating the company's future cash flows and discounting them to their present value. The Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) model is the tool we will apply to do this. There's really not all that much to it, even though it might appear quite complex.

We would caution that there are many ways of valuing a company and, like the DCF, each technique has advantages and disadvantages in certain scenarios. Anyone interested in learning a bit more about intrinsic value should have a read of the Simply Wall St analysis model.

View our latest analysis for Berentzen-Gruppe

The Model

We have to calculate the value of Berentzen-Gruppe slightly differently to other stocks because it is a beverage company. Instead of using free cash flows, which are hard to estimate and often not reported by analysts in this industry, dividends per share (DPS) payments are used. Unless a company pays out the majority of its FCF as a dividend, this method will typically underestimate the value of the stock. The 'Gordon Growth Model' is used, which simply assumes that dividend payments will continue to increase at a sustainable growth rate forever. For a number of reasons a very conservative growth rate is used that cannot exceed that of a company's Gross Domestic Product (GDP). In this case we used the 5-year average of the 10-year government bond yield (0.6%). The expected dividend per share is then discounted to today's value at a cost of equity of 4.2%. Relative to the current share price of €5.6, the company appears about fair value at a 11% discount to where the stock price trades currently. The assumptions in any calculation have a big impact on the valuation, so it is better to view this as a rough estimate, not precise down to the last cent.

Value Per Share = Expected Dividend Per Share / (Discount Rate - Perpetual Growth Rate)

= €0.2 / (4.2% – 0.6%)

= €6.3

dcf

Important Assumptions

Now the most important inputs to a discounted cash flow are the discount rate, and of course, the actual cash flows. If you don't agree with these result, have a go at the calculation yourself and play with the assumptions. The DCF also does not consider the possible cyclicality of an industry, or a company's future capital requirements, so it does not give a full picture of a company's potential performance. Given that we are looking at Berentzen-Gruppe as potential shareholders, the cost of equity is used as the discount rate, rather than the cost of capital (or weighted average cost of capital, WACC) which accounts for debt. In this calculation we've used 4.2%, which is based on a levered beta of 0.800. Beta is a measure of a stock's volatility, compared to the market as a whole. We get our beta from the industry average beta of globally comparable companies, with an imposed limit between 0.8 and 2.0, which is a reasonable range for a stable business.

SWOT Analysis for Berentzen-Gruppe

Strength

• Debt is well covered by .

Weakness

• Earnings declined over the past year.

• Interest payments on debt are not well covered.

• Dividend is low compared to the top 25% of dividend payers in the Beverage market.

Opportunity

• Annual earnings are forecast to grow faster than the German market.

• Current share price is below our estimate of fair value.

Threat

• Debt is not well covered by operating cash flow.

• Dividends are not covered by earnings.

Looking Ahead:

Whilst important, the DCF calculation ideally won't be the sole piece of analysis you scrutinize for a company. It's not possible to obtain a foolproof valuation with a DCF model. Rather it should be seen as a guide to "what assumptions need to be true for this stock to be under/overvalued?" If a company grows at a different rate, or if its cost of equity or risk free rate changes sharply, the output can look very different. For Berentzen-Gruppe, we've put together three further aspects you should assess:

1. Risks: To that end, you should learn about the 4 warning signs we've spotted with Berentzen-Gruppe (including 2 which can't be ignored) .

2. Future Earnings: How does BEZ's growth rate compare to its peers and the wider market? Dig deeper into the analyst consensus number for the upcoming years by interacting with our free analyst growth expectation chart.

3. Other High Quality Alternatives: Do you like a good all-rounder? Explore our interactive list of high quality stocks to get an idea of what else is out there you may be missing!

PS. Simply Wall St updates its DCF calculation for every German stock every day, so if you want to find the intrinsic value of any other stock just search here.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.

This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.