At UK£4.23, Is Hotel Chocolat Group plc (LON:HOTC) Worth Looking At Closely?

Hotel Chocolat Group plc (LON:HOTC), is not the largest company out there, but it led the AIM gainers with a relatively large price hike in the past couple of weeks. As a small cap stock, which tends to lack high analyst coverage, there is generally more of an opportunity for mispricing as there is less activity to push the stock closer to fair value. Is there still an opportunity here to buy? Let’s take a look at Hotel Chocolat Group’s outlook and value based on the most recent financial data to see if the opportunity still exists.

View our latest analysis for Hotel Chocolat Group

What's the opportunity in Hotel Chocolat Group?

According to my valuation model, Hotel Chocolat Group seems to be fairly priced at around 18.73% above my intrinsic value, which means if you buy Hotel Chocolat Group today, you’d be paying a relatively reasonable price for it. And if you believe the company’s true value is £3.56, then there isn’t really any room for the share price grow beyond what it’s currently trading. So, is there another chance to buy low in the future? Given that Hotel Chocolat Group’s share is fairly volatile (i.e. its price movements are magnified relative to the rest of the market) this could mean the price can sink lower, giving us an opportunity to buy later on. This is based on its high beta, which is a good indicator for share price volatility.

What does the future of Hotel Chocolat Group look like?

Future outlook is an important aspect when you’re looking at buying a stock, especially if you are an investor looking for growth in your portfolio. 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 revenues expected to grow by a double-digit 13% over the next couple of years, the outlook is positive for Hotel Chocolat Group. If the level of expenses is able to be maintained, 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? HOTC’s optimistic future growth appears to have been factored into the current share price, with shares trading around its fair value. However, there are also other important factors which we haven’t considered today, such as the track record of its management team. Have these factors changed since the last time you looked at the stock? Will you have enough conviction to buy should the price fluctuates below the true value?

Are you a potential investor? If you’ve been keeping an eye on HOTC, now may not be the most advantageous time to buy, given it is trading around its fair value. However, the optimistic prospect is encouraging for the company, which means it’s worth further examining other factors such as the strength of its balance sheet, in order to take advantage of the next price drop.

So if you'd like to dive deeper into this stock, it's crucial to consider any risks it's facing. Every company has risks, and we've spotted 3 warning signs for Hotel Chocolat Group you should know about.

If you are no longer interested in Hotel Chocolat Group, 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. 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.
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