Vicat SA (EPA:VCT): The Yield That Matters The Most
Vicat SA (EPA:VCT) shareholders, and potential investors, need to understand how much cash the business makes from its core operational activities, as well as how much is invested back into the business. This difference directly flows down to how much the stock is worth. Operating in the construction materials industry, VCT is currently valued at US$1.9b. I’ve analysed below, the health and outlook of VCT’s cash flow, which will help you understand the stock from a cash standpoint. Cash is an important concept to grasp as an investor, as it directly impacts the value of your shares and the future growth potential of your portfolio.
Check out our latest analysis for Vicat
Is Vicat generating enough cash?
Vicat’s free cash flow (FCF) is the level of cash flow the business generates from its operational activities, after it reinvests in the company as capital expenditure. This type of expense is needed for Vicat to continue to grow, or at least, maintain its current operations.
There are two methods I will use to evaluate the quality of Vicat’s FCF: firstly, I will measure its FCF yield relative to the market index yield; secondly, I will examine whether its operating cash flow will continue to grow into the future, which will give us a sense of sustainability.
Free Cash Flow = Operating Cash Flows – Net Capital Expenditure
Free Cash Flow Yield = Free Cash Flow / Enterprise Value
where Enterprise Value = Market Capitalisation + Net Debt
Vicat’s yield of 7.76% last year indicates its ability to produce cash at the same rate as the market index, taking into account the company’s size. However, given that the risk for holding single-stock Vicat is higher, this may mean inadequate compensation above and beyond merely investing in the whole market.
Is Vicat’s yield sustainable?
Another important consideration is whether this return is likely to be maintained over the next couple of years. We can gauge this by looking at VCT’s expected operating cash flows. Over the next few years, expected growth for VCT’s operating cash is negative, with operating cash flows expected to decline from its current level of US$397m. This is unfavourable to its future outlook, especially if capital expenditure heads the opposite direction. However, breaking down growth into a year on year basis, VCT ‘s negative growth rate improves each year, from -8.4% next year, to 7.8% in the following year.
Next Steps:
Its positive operating cash flow is a good sign of disciplined operational efficiency, leading to a yield in-line to the market portfolio. However, if you factor in the higher risk of holding just Vicat compared to the well-diversified market index, the stock doesn’t seem as appealing. Keep in mind that cash is only one aspect of investment analysis and there are other important fundamentals to assess. I suggest you continue to research Vicat to get a better picture of the company by looking at:
Valuation: What is VCT worth today? Is the stock undervalued, even when its growth outlook is factored into its intrinsic value? The intrinsic value infographic in our free research report helps visualize whether VCT is currently mispriced by the market.
Management Team: An experienced management team on the helm increases our confidence in the business – take a look at who sits on Vicat’s board and the CEO’s back ground.
Other High-Performing Stocks: If you believe you should cushion your portfolio with something less risky, scroll through our free list of these great stocks here.
To help readers see past the short term volatility of the financial market, we aim to bring you a long-term focused research analysis purely driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis does not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements.
The author is an independent contributor and at the time of publication had no position in the stocks mentioned. For errors that warrant correction please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com.