Yahoo Finance Is It Too Late To Consider Buying Filtronic plc (LON:FTC)?
While Filtronic plc (LON:FTC) might not be the most widely known stock at the moment, it saw a decent share price growth in the teens level on the AIM over the last few months. As a small cap stock, hardly covered by any analysts, there is generally more of an opportunity for mispricing as there is less activity to push the stock closer to fair value. Is there still an opportunity here to buy? Today I will analyse the most recent data on Filtronic’s outlook and valuation to see if the opportunity still exists.
See our latest analysis for Filtronic
What's the opportunity in Filtronic?
Filtronic appears to be expensive according to my price multiple model, which makes a comparison between the company's price-to-earnings ratio and the industry average. In this instance, I’ve used the price-to-earnings (PE) ratio given that there is not enough information to reliably forecast the stock’s cash flows. I find that Filtronic’s ratio of 30.41x is above its peer average of 25.1x, which suggests the stock is trading at a higher price compared to the Communications industry. If you like the stock, you may want to keep an eye out for a potential price decline in the future. Since Filtronic’s share price is quite volatile, this could mean it can sink lower (or rise even further) in the future, giving us another chance to invest. This is based on its high beta, which is a good indicator for how much the stock moves relative to the rest of the market.
What kind of growth will Filtronic generate?
Investors looking for growth in their portfolio may want to consider the prospects of a company before buying its shares. Although value investors would argue that it’s the intrinsic value relative to the price that matter the most, a more compelling investment thesis would be high growth potential at a cheap price. However, with a relatively muted profit growth of 3.8% expected over the next year, growth doesn’t seem like a key driver for a buy decision for Filtronic, at least in the short term.
What this means for you:
Are you a shareholder? It seems like the market has well and truly priced in FTC’s outlook, with shares trading above industry price multiples. However, this brings up another question – is now the right time to sell? If you believe FTC should trade below its current price, selling high and buying it back up again when its price falls towards the industry PE ratio can be profitable. But before you make this decision, take a look at whether its fundamentals have changed.
Are you a potential investor? If you’ve been keeping an eye on FTC for a while, now may not be the best time to enter into the stock. The price has surpassed its industry peers, which means it is likely that there is no more upside from mispricing. However, the positive growth outlook may mean it’s worth diving deeper into other factors in order to take advantage of the next price drop.
Keep in mind, when it comes to analysing a stock it's worth noting the risks involved. While conducting our analysis, we found that Filtronic has 2 warning signs and it would be unwise to ignore them.
If you are no longer interested in Filtronic, you can use our free platform to see our list of over 50 other stocks with a high growth potential.
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.
