Advertisement
UK markets close in 8 hours 1 minute
  • FTSE 100

    8,093.66
    +53.28 (+0.66%)
     
  • FTSE 250

    19,629.66
    -89.71 (-0.45%)
     
  • AIM

    754.79
    +0.10 (+0.01%)
     
  • GBP/EUR

    1.1660
    +0.0015 (+0.13%)
     
  • GBP/USD

    1.2495
    +0.0033 (+0.26%)
     
  • Bitcoin GBP

    51,440.54
    -2,079.52 (-3.89%)
     
  • CMC Crypto 200

    1,390.47
    +7.90 (+0.57%)
     
  • S&P 500

    5,071.63
    +1.08 (+0.02%)
     
  • DOW

    38,460.92
    -42.77 (-0.11%)
     
  • CRUDE OIL

    82.95
    +0.14 (+0.17%)
     
  • GOLD FUTURES

    2,333.50
    -4.90 (-0.21%)
     
  • NIKKEI 225

    37,628.48
    -831.60 (-2.16%)
     
  • HANG SENG

    17,303.43
    +102.16 (+0.59%)
     
  • DAX

    18,011.72
    -76.98 (-0.43%)
     
  • CAC 40

    8,079.12
    -12.74 (-0.16%)
     

Does The NV Bekaert SA (EBR:BEKB) Share Price Tend To Follow The Market?

If you're interested in NV Bekaert SA (EBR:BEKB), then you might want to consider its beta (a measure of share price volatility) in order to understand how the stock could impact your portfolio. Volatility is considered to be a measure of risk in modern finance theory. Investors may think of volatility as falling into two main categories. The first type is company specific volatility. Investors use diversification across uncorrelated stocks to reduce this kind of price volatility across the portfolio. The second sort is caused by the natural volatility of markets, overall. For example, certain macroeconomic events will impact (virtually) all stocks on the market.

Some stocks see their prices move in concert with the market. Others tend towards stronger, gentler or unrelated price movements. Some investors use beta as a measure of how much a certain stock is impacted by market risk (volatility). While we should keep in mind that Warren Buffett has cautioned that 'Volatility is far from synonymous with risk', beta is still a useful factor to consider. To make good use of it you must first know that the beta of the overall market is one. A stock with a beta greater than one is more sensitive to broader market movements than a stock with a beta of less than one.

Check out our latest analysis for NV Bekaert

What BEKB's beta value tells investors

Looking at the last five years, NV Bekaert has a beta of 0.89. The fact that this is well below 1 indicates that its share price movements haven't historically been very sensitive to overall market volatility. This means that -- if history is a guide -- buying the stock would reduce the impact of overall market volatility in many portfolios (depending on the beta of the portfolio, of course). Share price volatility is well worth considering, but most long term investors consider the history of revenue and earnings growth to be more important. Take a look at how NV Bekaert fares in that regard, below.

ENXTBR:BEKB Income Statement, November 11th 2019
ENXTBR:BEKB Income Statement, November 11th 2019

How does BEKB's size impact its beta?

NV Bekaert is a small company, but not tiny and little known. It has a market capitalisation of €1.5b, which means it would be on the radar of intstitutional investors. Small companies can have a low beta value when company specific factors outweigh the influence of overall market volatility. That might be happening here.

What this means for you:

Since NV Bekaert is not heavily influenced by market moves, its share price is probably far more dependend on company specific developments. It could pay to take a closer look at metrics such as revenue growth, earnings growth, and debt. This article aims to educate investors about beta values, but it's well worth looking at important company-specific fundamentals such as NV Bekaert’s financial health and performance track record. I urge you to continue your research by taking a look at the following:

ADVERTISEMENT
  1. Financial Health: Are BEKB’s operations financially sustainable? Balance sheets can be hard to analyze, which is why we’ve done it for you. Check out our financial health checks here.

  2. Past Track Record: Has BEKB been consistently performing well irrespective of the ups and downs in the market? Go into more detail in the past performance analysis and take a look at the free visual representations of BEKB's historicals for more clarity.

  3. Other High-Performing Stocks: Are there other stocks that provide better prospects with proven track records? Explore our free list of these great stocks here.

We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.

If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading.