Is Now An Opportune Moment To Examine Gooch & Housego PLC (LON:GHH)?

Gooch & Housego PLC (LON:GHH), is not the largest company out there, but it received a lot of attention from a substantial price movement on the AIM over the last few months, increasing to UK£14.05 at one point, and dropping to the lows of UK£11.58. 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 Gooch & Housego's current trading price of UK£11.73 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 Gooch & Housego’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 Gooch & Housego

What is Gooch & Housego worth?

Gooch & Housego is currently expensive based on my price multiple model, where I look at the company's price-to-earnings ratio in comparison 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 77.63x is currently well-above the industry average of 40.94x, meaning that it is trading at a more expensive price relative to its peers. If you like the stock, you may want to keep an eye out for a potential price decline in the future. Given that Gooch & Housego’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 another chance to buy in the future. This is based on its high beta, which is a good indicator for share price volatility.

What does the future of Gooch & Housego 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. Gooch & Housego's earnings over the next few years are expected to double, indicating a very optimistic future ahead. This should lead to stronger cash flows, feeding into a higher share value.

What this means for you:

Are you a shareholder? It seems like the market has well and truly priced in GHH’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 GHH 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 GHH 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 optimistic prospect is encouraging for GHH, which means it’s worth diving deeper into other factors in order to take advantage of the next price drop.

If you'd like to know more about Gooch & Housego as a business, it's important to be aware of any risks it's facing. You'd be interested to know, that we found 1 warning sign for Gooch & Housego and you'll want to know about this.

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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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