Chorus Aviation Inc. (TSE:CHR): What Does Its Beta Value Mean For Your Portfolio?

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If you're interested in Chorus Aviation Inc. (TSE:CHR), 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. First, we have company specific volatility, which is the price gyrations of an individual stock. Holding at least 8 stocks can reduce this kind of risk across a portfolio. The second type is the broader market volatility, which you cannot diversify away, since it arises from macroeconomic factors which directly affects all the 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.

See our latest analysis for Chorus Aviation

What CHR's beta value tells investors

Given that it has a beta of 1.44, we can surmise that the Chorus Aviation share price has been fairly sensitive to market volatility (over the last 5 years). Based on this history, investors should be aware that Chorus Aviation are likely to rise strongly in times of greed, but sell off in times of fear. 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 Chorus Aviation fares in that regard, below.

TSX:CHR Income Statement, September 24th 2019
TSX:CHR Income Statement, September 24th 2019

How does CHR's size impact its beta?

With a market capitalisation of CA$1.2b, Chorus Aviation is a small cap stock. However, it is big enough to catch the attention of professional investors. It is quite common to see a small-cap stock with a beta greater than one. In part, that's because relatively few investors can influence the price of a smaller company, compared to a large company.

What this means for you:

Beta only tells us that the Chorus Aviation share price is sensitive to broader market movements. This could indicate that it is a high growth company, or is heavily influenced by sentiment because it is speculative. Alternatively, it could have operating leverage in its business model. Ultimately, beta is an interesting metric, but there's plenty more to learn. In order to fully understand whether CHR is a good investment for you, we also need to consider important company-specific fundamentals such as Chorus Aviation’s financial health and performance track record. I highly recommend you dive deeper by considering the following: