Stock Analysis
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- TSX:WELL
WELL Health Technologies Corp.'s (TSE:WELL) Intrinsic Value Is Potentially 60% Above Its Share Price
Key Insights
- The projected fair value for WELL Health Technologies is CA$6.64 based on 2 Stage Free Cash Flow to Equity
- WELL Health Technologies is estimated to be 37% undervalued based on current share price of CA$4.16
- Analyst price target for WELL is CA$7.45, which is 12% above our fair value estimate
Today we'll do a simple run through of a valuation method used to estimate the attractiveness of WELL Health Technologies Corp. (TSE:WELL) as an investment opportunity by taking the expected future cash flows and discounting them to their present value. We will use the Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) model on this occasion. There's really not all that much to it, even though it might appear quite complex.
Remember though, that there are many ways to estimate a company's value, and a DCF is just one method. Anyone interested in learning a bit more about intrinsic value should have a read of the Simply Wall St analysis model.
Check out our latest analysis for WELL Health Technologies
Step By Step Through The Calculation
We are going to use a two-stage DCF model, which, as the name states, takes into account two stages of growth. The first stage is generally a higher growth period which levels off heading towards the terminal value, captured in the second 'steady growth' period. To start off with, we need to estimate the next ten years of cash flows. Where possible we use analyst estimates, but when these aren't available we extrapolate the previous free cash flow (FCF) from the last estimate or reported value. We assume companies with shrinking free cash flow will slow their rate of shrinkage, and that companies with growing free cash flow will see their growth rate slow, over this period. We do this to reflect that growth tends to slow more in the early years than it does in later years.
Generally we assume that a dollar today is more valuable than a dollar in the future, so we need to discount the sum of these future cash flows to arrive at a present value estimate:
10-year free cash flow (FCF) forecast
2024 | 2025 | 2026 | 2027 | 2028 | 2029 | 2030 | 2031 | 2032 | 2033 | |
Levered FCF (CA$, Millions) | CA$64.8m | CA$81.8m | CA$75.8m | CA$72.5m | CA$70.8m | CA$70.1m | CA$70.0m | CA$70.4m | CA$71.1m | CA$72.0m |
Growth Rate Estimate Source | Analyst x6 | Analyst x4 | Analyst x1 | Est @ -4.29% | Est @ -2.38% | Est @ -1.04% | Est @ -0.11% | Est @ 0.55% | Est @ 1.01% | Est @ 1.33% |
Present Value (CA$, Millions) Discounted @ 5.9% | CA$61.2 | CA$73.0 | CA$63.9 | CA$57.7 | CA$53.2 | CA$49.7 | CA$46.9 | CA$44.6 | CA$42.5 | CA$40.7 |
("Est" = FCF growth rate estimated by Simply Wall St)
Present Value of 10-year Cash Flow (PVCF) = CA$533m
The second stage is also known as Terminal Value, this is the business's cash flow after the first stage. For a number of reasons a very conservative growth rate is used that cannot exceed that of a country's GDP growth. In this case we have used the 5-year average of the 10-year government bond yield (2.1%) to estimate future growth. In the same way as with the 10-year 'growth' period, we discount future cash flows to today's value, using a cost of equity of 5.9%.
Terminal Value (TV)= FCF2033 × (1 + g) ÷ (r – g) = CA$72m× (1 + 2.1%) ÷ (5.9%– 2.1%) = CA$1.9b
Present Value of Terminal Value (PVTV)= TV / (1 + r)10= CA$1.9b÷ ( 1 + 5.9%)10= CA$1.1b
The total value is the sum of cash flows for the next ten years plus the discounted terminal value, which results in the Total Equity Value, which in this case is CA$1.6b. To get the intrinsic value per share, we divide this by the total number of shares outstanding. Compared to the current share price of CA$4.2, the company appears quite good value at a 37% discount to where the stock price trades currently. The assumptions in any calculation have a big impact on the valuation, so it is better to view this as a rough estimate, not precise down to the last cent.
The Assumptions
We would point out that the most important inputs to a discounted cash flow are the discount rate and of course the actual cash flows. You don't have to agree with these inputs, I recommend redoing the calculations yourself and playing with them. The DCF also does not consider the possible cyclicality of an industry, or a company's future capital requirements, so it does not give a full picture of a company's potential performance. Given that we are looking at WELL Health Technologies as potential shareholders, the cost of equity is used as the discount rate, rather than the cost of capital (or weighted average cost of capital, WACC) which accounts for debt. In this calculation we've used 5.9%, which is based on a levered beta of 0.826. Beta is a measure of a stock's volatility, compared to the market as a whole. We get our beta from the industry average beta of globally comparable companies, with an imposed limit between 0.8 and 2.0, which is a reasonable range for a stable business.
SWOT Analysis for WELL Health Technologies
- Net debt to equity ratio below 40%.
- Interest payments on debt are not well covered.
- Shareholders have been diluted in the past year.
- Annual revenue is forecast to grow faster than the Canadian market.
- Trading below our estimate of fair value by more than 20%.
- Debt is not well covered by operating cash flow.
- Annual earnings are forecast to grow slower than the Canadian market.
Looking Ahead:
Valuation is only one side of the coin in terms of building your investment thesis, and it ideally won't be the sole piece of analysis you scrutinize for a company. DCF models are not the be-all and end-all of investment valuation. Rather it should be seen as a guide to "what assumptions need to be true for this stock to be under/overvalued?" If a company grows at a different rate, or if its cost of equity or risk free rate changes sharply, the output can look very different. What is the reason for the share price sitting below the intrinsic value? For WELL Health Technologies, we've put together three important elements you should assess:
- Risks: For example, we've discovered 2 warning signs for WELL Health Technologies that you should be aware of before investing here.
- Future Earnings: How does WELL's growth rate compare to its peers and the wider market? Dig deeper into the analyst consensus number for the upcoming years by interacting with our free analyst growth expectation chart.
- Other Solid Businesses: Low debt, high returns on equity and good past performance are fundamental to a strong business. Why not explore our interactive list of stocks with solid business fundamentals to see if there are other companies you may not have considered!
PS. The Simply Wall St app conducts a discounted cash flow valuation for every stock on the TSX every day. If you want to find the calculation for other stocks just search here.
Valuation is complex, but we're here to simplify it.
Discover if WELL Health Technologies might be undervalued or overvalued with our detailed analysis, featuring fair value estimates, potential risks, dividends, insider trades, and its financial condition.
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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.
About TSX:WELL
WELL Health Technologies
Operates as a practitioner-focused digital healthcare company in Canada, the United States, and internationally.