When Should You Buy Fresenius SE & Co. KGaA (ETR:FRE)?

Today we're going to take a look at the well-established Fresenius SE & Co. KGaA (ETR:FRE). The company's stock saw its share price hover around a small range of €46.16 to €50.56 over the last few weeks. But is this actually reflective of the share value of the large-cap? Or is it currently undervalued, providing us with the opportunity to buy? Let’s take a look at Fresenius SE KGaA’s outlook and value based on the most recent financial data to see if there are any catalysts for a price change.

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What's The Opportunity In Fresenius SE KGaA?

Fresenius SE KGaA appears to be expensive according to our price multiple model, which makes a comparison between the company's price-to-earnings ratio and the industry average. We’ve used the price-to-earnings ratio in this instance because there’s not enough visibility to forecast its cash flows. The stock’s ratio of 24.41x is currently well-above the industry average of 17.48x, meaning that it is trading at a more expensive price relative to its peers. In addition to this, it seems like Fresenius SE KGaA’s share price is quite stable, which could mean two things: firstly, it may take the share price a while to fall back down to an attractive buying range, and secondly, there may be less chances to buy low in the future once it reaches that value. This is because the stock is less volatile than the wider market given its low beta.

See our latest analysis for Fresenius SE KGaA

What does the future of Fresenius SE KGaA look like?

Investors looking for growth in their portfolio may want to consider the prospects of a company before buying its shares. Buying a great company with a robust outlook at a cheap price is always a good investment, so let’s also take a look at the company's future expectations. With profit expected to more than double over the next couple of years, the future seems bright for Fresenius SE KGaA. It looks like higher cash flow is on the cards for the stock, which should feed into a higher share valuation.

What This Means For You

Are you a shareholder? It seems like the market has well and truly priced in FRE’s positive outlook, with shares trading above industry price multiples. However, this brings up another question – is now the right time to sell? If you believe FRE should trade below its current price, selling high and buying it back up again when its price falls towards the industry PE ratio can be profitable. But before you make this decision, take a look at whether its fundamentals have changed.

Are you a potential investor? If you’ve been keeping tabs on FRE for some time, now may not be the best time to enter into the stock. The price has surpassed its industry peers, which means it is likely that there is no more upside from mispricing. However, the positive outlook is encouraging for FRE, which means it’s worth diving deeper into other factors in order to take advantage of the next price drop.

With this in mind, we wouldn't consider investing in a stock unless we had a thorough understanding of the risks. Be aware that Fresenius SE KGaA is showing 2 warning signs in our investment analysis and 1 of those is concerning...

If you are no longer interested in Fresenius SE KGaA, you can use our free platform to see our list of over 50 other stocks with a high growth potential.

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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.