Yahoo Finance Are A & J Mucklow Group Plc (LON:MKLW) Shareholders Getting A Good Deal?
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If you are currently a shareholder in A & J Mucklow Group Plc (LON:MKLW), or considering investing in the stock, you need to examine how the business generates cash, and how it is reinvested. What is left after investment, determines the value of the stock since this cash flow technically belongs to investors of the company. I will take you through MKLW’s cash flow health and the risk-return concept based on the stock’s cash flow yield, using the most recent financial data. This will help you think about the company from a cash perspective, which is a crucial factor to investing.
See our latest analysis for A & J Mucklow Group
Is A & J Mucklow Group generating enough cash?
A & J Mucklow Group’s free cash flow (FCF) is the level of cash flow the business generates from its operational activities, after it reinvests in the company as capital expenditure. This type of expense is needed for A & J Mucklow Group to continue to grow, or at least, maintain its current operations.
There are two methods I will use to evaluate the quality of A & J Mucklow Group’s FCF: firstly, I will measure its FCF yield relative to the market index yield; secondly, I will examine whether its operating cash flow will continue to grow into the future, which will give us a sense of sustainability.
Free Cash Flow = Operating Cash Flows – Net Capital Expenditure
Free Cash Flow Yield = Free Cash Flow / Enterprise Value
where Enterprise Value = Market Capitalisation + Net Debt
Along with a positive operating cash flow, A & J Mucklow Group also generates a positive free cash flow. However, the yield of 3.75% is not sufficient to compensate for the level of risk investors are taking on. This is because A & J Mucklow Group’s yield is well-below the market yield, in addition to serving higher risk compared to the well-diversified market index.
What’s the cash flow outlook for A & J Mucklow Group?
Does MKLW’s future look brighter in terms of its ability to generate higher operating cash flows? This can be estimated by examining the trend of the company’s operating cash flow moving forward. In the next few years, the company is expected to grow its cash from operations at a double-digit rate of 28%, ramping up from its current levels of UK£14m to UK£18m in two years’ time. Although this seems impressive, breaking down into year-on-year growth rates, MKLW’s operating cash flow growth is expected to decline from a rate of 29% next year, to -0.6% in the following year. However the overall picture seems encouraging, should capital expenditure levels maintain at an appropriate level.
Next Steps:
Although its positive operating cash flow, and high future growth, is appealing, the low free cash flow yield is unattractive. This is because you would be better compensated in terms of cash yield, by investing in the market index, as well as take on lower diversification risk. However, cash is only one aspect of investing. Keep in mind that cash is only one aspect of investment analysis and there are other important fundamentals to assess. I recommend you continue to research A & J Mucklow Group to get a more holistic view of the company by looking at:
Valuation: What is MKLW worth today? Is the stock undervalued, even when its growth outlook is factored into its intrinsic value? The intrinsic value infographic in our free research report helps visualize whether MKLW is currently mispriced by the market.
Management Team: An experienced management team on the helm increases our confidence in the business – take a look at who sits on A & J Mucklow Group’s board and the CEO’s back ground.
Other High-Performing Stocks: If you believe you should cushion your portfolio with something less risky, scroll through our free list of these great stocks here.
To help readers see past the short term volatility of the financial market, we aim to bring you a long-term focused research analysis purely driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis does not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements.
The author is an independent contributor and at the time of publication had no position in the stocks mentioned. For errors that warrant correction please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com.
