CGN Power Co., Ltd. (HKG:1816) saw a decent share price growth in the teens level on the SEHK over the last few months. As a large-cap stock with high coverage by analysts, you could assume any recent changes in the company’s outlook is already priced into the stock. However, what if the stock is still a bargain? Let’s take a look at CGN Power’s outlook and value based on the most recent financial data to see if the opportunity still exists.

View our latest analysis for CGN Power

What's the opportunity in CGN Power?

According to my price multiple model, which makes a comparison between the company's price-to-earnings ratio and the industry average, the stock price seems to be justfied. 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 CGN Power’s ratio of 7.75x is trading slightly above its industry peers’ ratio of 7.74x, which means if you buy CGN Power today, you’d be paying a relatively sensible price for it. And if you believe that CGN Power should be trading at this level in the long run, then there should only be a fairly immaterial downside vs other industry peers. Furthermore, CGN Power’s share price also seems relatively stable compared to the rest of the market, as indicated by its low beta. This may mean it is less likely for the stock to fall lower from natural market volatility, which suggests less opportunities to buy moving forward.

What does the future of CGN Power look like?

Investors looking for growth in their portfolio may want to consider the prospects of a company before buying its shares. Buying a great company with a robust outlook at a cheap price is always a good investment, so let’s also take a look at the company's future expectations. With profit expected to grow by a double-digit 13% over the next couple of years, the outlook is positive for CGN Power. It looks like higher cash flow is on the cards for the stock, which should feed into a higher share valuation.

What this means for you:

Are you a shareholder? It seems like the market has already priced in 1816’s positive outlook, with shares trading around industry price multiples. However, there are also other important factors which we haven’t considered today, such as the financial strength of the company. Have these factors changed since the last time you looked at 1816? Will you have enough confidence to invest in the company should the price drop below the industry PE ratio?

Are you a potential investor? If you’ve been keeping an eye on 1816, now may not be the most advantageous time to buy, given it is trading around industry price multiples. However, the positive outlook is encouraging for 1816, which means it’s worth further examining other factors such as the strength of its balance sheet, in order to take advantage of the next price drop.