While CSR Limited (ASX:CSR) might not be the most widely known stock at the moment, it saw a decent share price growth in the teens level on the ASX over the last few months. 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 examine CSR’s valuation and outlook in more detail to determine if there’s still a bargain opportunity.
See our latest analysis for CSR
Is CSR still cheap?
The share price seems sensible at the moment according to my price multiple model, where I compare the company's price-to-earnings ratio to 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 CSR’s ratio of 8x is trading slightly below its industry peers’ ratio of 12.92x, which means if you buy CSR today, you’d be paying a reasonable price for it. And if you believe that CSR should be trading at this level in the long run, then there’s not much of an upside to gain over and above other industry peers. In addition to this, it seems like CSR’s share price is quite stable, which could mean there may be less chances to buy low in the future now that it’s trading around the price multiples of other industry peers. This is because the stock is less volatile than the wider market given its low beta.
What kind of growth will CSR generate?
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. Though in the case of CSR, it is expected to deliver a highly negative earnings growth in the next few years, which doesn’t help build up its investment thesis. It appears that risk of future uncertainty is high, at least in the near term.
What this means for you:
Are you a shareholder? Currently, CSR appears to be trading around industry price multiples, but given the uncertainty from negative returns in the future, this could be the right time to reduce the risk in your portfolio. Is your current exposure to the stock beneficial for your total portfolio? And is the opportunity cost of holding a negative-outlook stock too high? Before you make a decision on CSR, take a look at whether its fundamentals have changed.