If you’re interested in Intra Energy Corporation Limited (ASX:IEC), 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 other type, which cannot be diversified away, is the volatility of the entire market. Every stock in the market is exposed to this volatility, which is linked to the fact that stocks prices are correlated in an efficient market.
Some stocks are more sensitive to general market forces than others. Beta can be a useful tool to understand how much a stock is influenced by market risk (volatility). However, Warren Buffett said ‘volatility is far from synonymous with risk’ in his 2014 letter to investors. So, while useful, beta is not the only metric to consider. To use beta as an investor, you must first understand that the overall market has a beta of one. Any stock with a beta of greater than one is considered more volatile than the market, while those with a beta below one are either less volatile or poorly correlated with the market.
See our latest analysis for Intra Energy
What does IEC’s beta value mean to investors?
Given that it has a beta of 1.45, we can surmise that the Intra Energy share price has been fairly sensitive to market volatility (over the last 5 years). Based on this history, investors should be aware that Intra Energy are likely to rise strongly in times of greed, but sell off in times of fear. Beta is worth considering, but it’s also important to consider whether Intra Energy is growing earnings and revenue. You can take a look for yourself, below.
Could IEC’s size cause it to be more volatile?
Intra Energy is a rather small company. It has a market capitalisation of AU$5m, which means it is probably under the radar of most investors. It takes less money to influence the share price of a very small company. This may explain the excess volatility implied by this beta value.
What this means for you:
Since Intra Energy has a reasonably high beta, it’s worth considering why it is so heavily influenced by broader market sentiment. For example, it might be a high growth stock or have a lot of operating leverage in its business model. In order to fully understand whether IEC is a good investment for you, we also need to consider important company-specific fundamentals such as Intra Energy’s financial health and performance track record. I highly recommend you dive deeper by considering the following: