Should You Think About Buying SThree plc (LON:STEM) Now?

SThree plc (LON:STEM), might not be a large cap stock, but it received a lot of attention from a substantial price movement on the LSE over the last few months, increasing to UK£5.98 at one point, and dropping to the lows of UK£4.31. Some share price movements can give investors a better opportunity to enter into the stock, and potentially buy at a lower price. A question to answer is whether SThree's current trading price of UK£4.31 reflective of the actual value of the small-cap? Or is it currently undervalued, providing us with the opportunity to buy? Let’s take a look at SThree’s outlook and value based on the most recent financial data to see if there are any catalysts for a price change.

View our latest analysis for SThree

What is SThree worth?

Great news for investors – SThree is still trading at a fairly cheap price according to my price multiple model, where I compare the company's price-to-earnings ratio to the industry average. I’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 19.66x is currently well-below the industry average of 33.88x, meaning that it is trading at a cheaper price relative to its peers. Although, there may be another chance to buy again in the future. This is because SThree’s beta (a measure of share price volatility) is high, meaning its price movements will be exaggerated relative to the rest of the market. If the market is bearish, the company’s shares will likely fall by more than the rest of the market, providing a prime buying opportunity.

Can we expect growth from SThree?

Investors looking for growth in their portfolio may want to consider the prospects of a company before buying its shares. Although value investors would argue that it’s the intrinsic value relative to the price that matter the most, a more compelling investment thesis would be high growth potential at a cheap price. With profit expected to grow by 65% over the next couple of years, the future seems bright for SThree. 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? Since STEM is currently trading below the industry PE ratio, it may be a great time to increase your holdings in the stock. With a positive profit outlook on the horizon, it seems like this growth has not yet been fully factored into the share price. However, there are also other factors such as capital structure to consider, which could explain the current price multiple.

Are you a potential investor? If you’ve been keeping an eye on STEM for a while, now might be the time to enter the stock. Its buoyant future profit outlook isn’t fully reflected in the current share price yet, which means it’s not too late to buy STEM. But before you make any investment decisions, consider other factors such as the track record of its management team, in order to make a well-informed assessment.

So if you'd like to dive deeper into this stock, it's crucial to consider any risks it's facing. You'd be interested to know, that we found 3 warning signs for SThree and you'll want to know about these.

If you are no longer interested in SThree, 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.