Whitco Acquisition And Energy Evolution Focus To Boost Growth Amid Shrinking Margins And Market Challenges

Key Takeaways

• Expansion through acquisition and increasing demand for midstream services highlight a strategic push into new markets and upgrading infrastructure for better supply chain capabilities.
  
• Investment in digital initiatives and focused international expansion aimed at enhancing customer experience, operational efficiency, and tapping into high-value markets for global revenue growth.
  
• Challenges in the U.S. and international markets, alongside increased costs and competition, may significantly impact DNOW's revenue, profitability, and growth.

Catalysts

Distributes downstream energy and industrial products for petroleum refining, chemical processing, LNG terminals, power generation utilities, and customer on-site locations in the United States, Canada, and internationally.

• Expansion into midstream market through the acquisition of Whitco, expected to bolster supply chain capabilities, particularly in the aging and undersized midstream infrastructure, potentially increasing revenues by accessing a larger market and offering day-to-day MRO and capital project opportunities. This aligns with increasing demand for midstream services as energy companies look to expand and upgrade infrastructure.
  
• Focus on energy evolution sales, aiming to double in 2024, could improve revenue mix towards growing segments like carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS), and renewable natural gas, indicating potential for higher margins from specialized products and services that support new energy technologies.
  
• Generation of strong cash flow and a robust balance sheet with $197 million in cash and no debt, supporting strategic growth through organic and inorganic opportunities, potentially boosting earnings via accretive acquisitions and share repurchase programs.
  
• Investment in digital initiatives like AccessNOW and e-commerce capabilities aimed at enhancing customer experience and operational efficiency, could lead to cost savings, improved inventory turnover, and higher revenue per transaction by streamlining the procurement process for clients.
  
• Strategic international focus on regions with expected capital investment and growth (e.g., U.K., Norway, Netherlands, Australia, and the Middle East) may improve the profitability of DNOW's international business through targeted efforts on high-value products and services, contributing to overall revenue and margin enhancement globally.

Assumptions

• Analysts are assuming DNOW's revenue will grow by 2.7% annually over the next 3 years.
• Analysts assume that profit margins will shrink from 9.5% today to 4.1% in 3 years time.
• Analysts expect earnings to reach $104.6 million (and earnings per share of $0.97) by about October 2027, down from $223.0 million today.
• In order for the above numbers to justify the analysts price target, the company would need to trade at a PE ratio of 18.7x on those 2027 earnings, up from 6.0x today. This future PE is greater than the current PE for the US Trade Distributors industry at 15.0x.
• Analysts expect the number of shares outstanding to grow by 0.43% per year for the next 3 years.
• To value all of this in today's dollars, we will use a discount rate of 6.86%, as per the Simply Wall St company report.

Risks

• Persistent declines in U.S. rig counts and completion activities indicate a weakening demand for DNOW’s products and services, likely resulting in reduced revenue and earnings.
  
• Weak natural gas prices and challenges in natural gas takeaway infrastructure can further decrease exploration and production activities, negatively affecting DNOW's revenue from the oil and gas sector.
  
• Customer consolidations may lead to delays or cancellations in projects and a temporary reduction in spending, impacting DNOW's short-term revenue growth and cash flow.
  
• International projects that are not expected to repeat in the near term could lead to a decrease in international revenue, affecting overall profitability and growth prospects.
  
• Projected increases in steel prices and competition intensity could reduce gross margins, adversely affecting net income and earnings per share.

Valuation

• The analysts have a consensus price target of $15.0 for DNOW based on their expectations of its future earnings growth, profit margins and other risk factors.
• In order for you to agree with the analyst's consensus, you'd need to believe that by 2027, revenues will be $2.5 billion, earnings will come to $104.6 million, and it would be trading on a PE ratio of 18.7x, assuming you use a discount rate of 6.9%.
• Given the current share price of $12.5, the analyst's price target of $15.0 is 16.7% higher. Despite analysts expecting the underlying buisness to decline, they seem to believe it's more valuable than what the market thinks.
• We always encourage you to reach your own conclusions though. So sense check these analyst numbers against your own assumptions and expectations based on your understanding of the business and what you believe is probable.