Does China Everbright Water Limited (SGX:U9E) Have A High Beta?

December 10, 2019

If you own shares in China Everbright Water Limited (SGX:U9E) then it's worth thinking about how it contributes to the volatility of your portfolio, overall. In finance, Beta is a measure of volatility. Modern finance theory considers volatility to be a measure of risk, and there are two main types of price volatility. The first category is company specific volatility. This can be dealt with by limiting your exposure to any particular stock. 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 mimic the volatility of the market quite closely, while others demonstrate muted, exagerrated or uncorrelated price movements. Beta is a widely used metric to measure a stock's exposure to market risk (volatility). Before we go on, it's worth noting that Warren Buffett pointed out in his 2014 letter to shareholders that 'volatility is far from synonymous with risk.' Having said that, beta can still be rather useful. The first thing to understand about beta is that the beta of the overall market is one. A stock with a beta below one is either less volatile than the market, or more volatile but not corellated with the overall market. In comparison a stock with a beta of over one tends to be move in a similar direction to the market in the long term, but with greater changes in price.

View our latest analysis for China Everbright Water

What does U9E's beta value mean to investors?

Looking at the last five years, China Everbright Water has a beta of 1.39. The fact that this is well above 1 indicates that its share price movements have shown sensitivity to overall market volatility. Based on this history, investors should be aware that China Everbright Water 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 China Everbright Water is growing earnings and revenue. You can take a look for yourself, below.

SGX:U9E Income Statement, December 11th 2019

Could U9E's size cause it to be more volatile?

China Everbright Water is a small company, but not tiny and little known. It has a market capitalisation of S$915m, which means it would be on the radar of intstitutional investors. It has a relatively high beta, which is not unusual among small-cap stocks. Because it takes less capital to move the share price of a smaller company, actively traded small-cap stocks often have a higher beta that a similar large-cap stock.

What this means for you:

Since China Everbright Water 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. This article aims to educate investors about beta values, but it's well worth looking at important company-specific fundamentals such as China Everbright Water’s financial health and performance track record. I urge you to continue your research by taking a look at the following:

Future Outlook: What are well-informed industry analysts predicting for U9E’s future growth? Take a look at our free research report of analyst consensus for U9E’s outlook.
Past Track Record: Has U9E been consistently performing well irrespective of the ups and downs in the market? Go into more detail in the past performance analysis and take a look at the free visual representations of U9E's historicals for more clarity.
Other Interesting Stocks: It's worth checking to see how U9E measures up against other companies on valuation. You could start with this free list of prospective options.

If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned.

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