Calculating The Intrinsic Value Of Yes Optoelectronics (Group) Co., Ltd. (SZSE:002952)

Key Insights

• The projected fair value for Yes Optoelectronics (Group) is CN¥18.43 based on 2 Stage Free Cash Flow to Equity
• Yes Optoelectronics (Group)'s CN¥19.90 share price indicates it is trading at similar levels as its fair value estimate
• Industry average of 3,971% suggests Yes Optoelectronics (Group)'s peers are currently trading at a higher premium to fair value

How far off is Yes Optoelectronics (Group) Co., Ltd. (SZSE:002952) from its intrinsic value? Using the most recent financial data, we'll take a look at whether the stock is fairly priced by taking the forecast future cash flows of the company and discounting them back to today's value. Our analysis will employ the Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) model. Before you think you won't be able to understand it, just read on! It's actually much less complex than you'd imagine.

We generally believe that a company's value is the present value of all of the cash it will generate in the future. However, a DCF is just one valuation metric among many, and it is not without flaws. For those who are keen learners of equity analysis, the Simply Wall St analysis model here may be something of interest to you.

See our latest analysis for Yes Optoelectronics (Group)

Step By Step Through The Calculation

We're using the 2-stage growth model, which simply means we take in account two stages of company's growth. In the initial period the company may have a higher growth rate and the second stage is usually assumed to have a stable growth rate. To start off with, we need to estimate the next ten years of cash flows. Seeing as no analyst estimates of free cash flow are available to us, we have extrapolate the previous free cash flow (FCF) from the company's last 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, and so the sum of these future cash flows is then discounted to today's value:

10-year free cash flow (FCF) forecast

	2025	2026	2027	2028	2029	2030	2031	2032	2033	2034
Levered FCF (CN¥, Millions)	CN¥80.3m	CN¥111.1m	CN¥141.9m	CN¥170.6m	CN¥196.2m	CN¥218.6m	CN¥237.9m	CN¥254.7m	CN¥269.6m	CN¥282.9m
Growth Rate Estimate Source	Est @ 53.47%	Est @ 38.30%	Est @ 27.68%	Est @ 20.24%	Est @ 15.04%	Est @ 11.40%	Est @ 8.85%	Est @ 7.06%	Est @ 5.82%	Est @ 4.94%
Present Value (CN¥, Millions) Discounted @ 9.3%	CN¥73.5	CN¥93.0	CN¥109	CN¥119	CN¥126	CN¥128	CN¥127	CN¥125	CN¥121	CN¥116

("Est" = FCF growth rate estimated by Simply Wall St)
Present Value of 10-year Cash Flow (PVCF) = CN¥1.1b

We now need to calculate the Terminal Value, which accounts for all the future cash flows after this ten year period. 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 (2.9%) 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 9.3%.

Terminal Value (TV)= FCF₂₀₃₄ × (1 + g) ÷ (r – g) = CN¥283m× (1 + 2.9%) ÷ (9.3%– 2.9%) = CN¥4.5b

Present Value of Terminal Value (PVTV)= TV / (1 + r)¹⁰= CN¥4.5b÷ ( 1 + 9.3%)¹⁰= CN¥1.9b

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 CN¥3.0b. The last step is to then divide the equity value by the number of shares outstanding. Relative to the current share price of CN¥19.9, the company appears around fair value at the time of writing. Valuations are imprecise instruments though, rather like a telescope - move a few degrees and end up in a different galaxy. Do keep this in mind.

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 Yes Optoelectronics (Group) 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 9.3%, which is based on a levered beta of 1.142. 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.

Moving On:

Whilst important, the DCF calculation is only one of many factors that you need to assess 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?" For instance, if the terminal value growth rate is adjusted slightly, it can dramatically alter the overall result. For Yes Optoelectronics (Group), we've put together three relevant factors you should consider:

1. Risks: Be aware that Yes Optoelectronics (Group) is showing 3 warning signs in our investment analysis , and 1 of those doesn't sit too well with us...
2. Other High Quality Alternatives: Do you like a good all-rounder? Explore our interactive list of high quality stocks to get an idea of what else is out there you may be missing!
3. Other Top Analyst Picks: Interested to see what the analysts are thinking? Take a look at our interactive list of analysts' top stock picks to find out what they feel might have an attractive future outlook!

PS. Simply Wall St updates its DCF calculation for every Chinese stock every day, so if you want to find the intrinsic value of any other stock just search here.

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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.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team@simplywallst.com