Is Airtel Africa Plc (LON:AAF) Potentially Undervalued?

While Airtel Africa Plc (LON:AAF) might not be the most widely known stock at the moment, it saw significant share price movement during recent months on the LSE, rising to highs of UK£1.34 and falling to the lows of UK£1.04. 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 Airtel Africa's current trading price of UK£1.10 reflective of the actual value of the mid-cap? Or is it currently undervalued, providing us with the opportunity to buy? Let’s take a look at Airtel Africa’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 Airtel Africa

Is Airtel Africa Still Cheap?

Good news, investors! Airtel Africa is still a bargain right now according to my price multiple model, which compares 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 8.02x is currently well-below the industry average of 16.61x, meaning that it is trading at a cheaper price relative to its peers. What’s more interesting is that, Airtel Africa’s share price is quite volatile, which gives us more chances to buy since the share price could sink lower (or rise higher) in the future. This is based on its high beta, which is a good indicator for how much the stock moves relative to the rest of the market.

Can we expect growth from Airtel Africa?

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. Airtel Africa's earnings over the next few years are expected to increase by 35%, indicating a highly optimistic future ahead. This should lead to more robust cash flows, feeding into a higher share value.

What This Means For You

Are you a shareholder? Since AAF is currently below the industry PE ratio, it may be a great time to accumulate more of your holdings in the stock. With an optimistic 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 AAF for a while, now might be the time to enter the stock. Its prosperous future profit outlook isn’t fully reflected in the current share price yet, which means it’s not too late to buy AAF. 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 assessment.

Keep in mind, when it comes to analysing a stock it's worth noting the risks involved. For example, we've discovered 1 warning sign that you should run your eye over to get a better picture of Airtel Africa.

If you are no longer interested in Airtel Africa, 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.