At UK£1.38, Is It Time To Put Premier Foods plc (LON:PFD) On Your Watch List?

Premier Foods plc (LON:PFD), might not be a large cap stock, but it saw a significant share price rise of 22% in the past couple of months on the LSE. The company is now trading at yearly-high levels following the recent surge in its share price. As a stock with high coverage by analysts, you could assume any recent changes in the company’s outlook is already priced into the stock. But what if there is still an opportunity to buy? Let’s examine Premier Foods’s valuation and outlook in more detail to determine if there’s still a bargain opportunity.

See our latest analysis for Premier Foods

Is Premier Foods Still Cheap?

Great news for investors – Premier Foods is still trading at a fairly cheap price according to our price multiple model, where we compare the company's price-to-earnings ratio to the industry average. In this instance, we’ve used the price-to-earnings (PE) ratio given that there is not enough information to reliably forecast the stock’s cash flows. we find that Premier Foods’s ratio of 12.11x is below its peer average of 15.21x, which indicates the stock is trading at a lower price compared to the Food industry. Although, there may be another chance to buy again in the future. This is because Premier Foods’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 Premier Foods?

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 profit expected to grow by 23% over the next couple of years, the future seems bright for Premier Foods. 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 PFD 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 financial health to consider, which could explain the current price multiple.

Are you a potential investor? If you’ve been keeping an eye on PFD 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 PFD. But before you make any investment decisions, consider other factors such as the strength of its balance sheet, in order to make a well-informed investment decision.

It can be quite valuable to consider what analysts expect for Premier Foods from their most recent forecasts. So feel free to check out our free graph representing analyst forecasts.

If you are no longer interested in Premier Foods, 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.