Should You Investigate Airtel Africa Plc (LON:AAF) At UK£0.83?

Airtel Africa Plc (LON:AAF), is not the largest company out there, but it saw a decent share price growth in the teens level on the LSE over the last few months. With many analysts covering the mid-cap stock, we may expect any price-sensitive announcements have already been factored into the stock’s share price. However, could the stock still be trading at a relatively cheap price? Let’s examine Airtel Africa’s valuation and outlook in more detail to determine if there’s still a bargain opportunity.

See our latest analysis for Airtel Africa

What is Airtel Africa worth?

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. In this instance, I’ve used the price-to-earnings (PE) ratio given that there is not enough information to reliably forecast the stock’s cash flows. I find that Airtel Africa’s ratio of 12.68x is below its peer average of 18.6x, which indicates the stock is trading at a lower price compared to the Wireless Telecom industry. However, given that Airtel Africa’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 kind of growth will Airtel Africa generate?

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. With profit expected to grow by 53% over the next couple of years, the future seems bright for Airtel Africa. 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 AAF is currently below the industry PE ratio, it may be a great time to increase your holdings in the stock. With a positive 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. While conducting our analysis, we found that Airtel Africa has 2 warning signs and it would be unwise to ignore them.

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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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