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While Future plc (LON:FUTR) might not have the largest market cap around , it received a lot of attention from a substantial price increase on the LSE over the last few months. The recent jump in the share price has meant that the company is trading at close to its 52-week high. As a 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 Future’s outlook and value based on the most recent financial data to see if the opportunity still exists.
See our latest analysis for Future
Is Future Still Cheap?
Great news for investors – Future is still trading at a fairly cheap price according to our price multiple model, where we compare the company's price-to-earnings ratio to the industry average. In this instance, we’ve used the price-to-earnings (PE) ratio given that there is not enough information to reliably forecast the stock’s cash flows. we find that Future’s ratio of 13.87x is below its peer average of 19.54x, which indicates the stock is trading at a lower price compared to the Media industry. Future’s share price also seems relatively stable compared to the rest of the market, as indicated by its low beta. If you believe the share price should eventually reach its industry peers, a low beta could suggest it is unlikely to rapidly do so anytime soon, and once it’s there, it may be hard to fall back down into an attractive buying range.
What does the future of Future look like?
Future outlook is an important aspect when you’re looking at buying a stock, especially if you are an investor looking for growth in your portfolio. 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 7.3% expected over the next couple of years, growth doesn’t seem like a key driver for a buy decision for Future, at least in the short term.
What This Means For You
Are you a shareholder? Even though growth is relatively muted, since FUTR is currently trading below the industry PE ratio, it may be a great time to increase your holdings in the stock. However, there are also other factors such as financial health to consider, which could explain the current price multiple.
Are you a potential investor? If you’ve been keeping an eye on FUTR for a while, now might be the time to make a leap. Its future profit outlook isn’t fully reflected in the current share price yet, which means it’s not too late to buy FUTR. But before you make any investment decisions, consider other factors such as the track record of its management team, in order to make a well-informed investment decision.