What Is L'Occitane International S.A.'s (HKG:973) Share Price Doing?

While L'Occitane International S.A. (HKG:973) might not be the most widely known stock at the moment, it saw significant share price movement during recent months on the SEHK, rising to highs of HK$26.80 and falling to the lows of HK$20.00. 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 L'Occitane International's current trading price of HK$21.20 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 L'Occitane International’s outlook and value based on the most recent financial data to see if there are any catalysts for a price change.

Our analysis indicates that 973 is potentially undervalued!

What's The Opportunity In L'Occitane International?

The share price seems sensible at the moment according to my price multiple model, where I compare 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 16.74x is currently trading slightly above its industry peers’ ratio of 13.09x, which means if you buy L'Occitane International today, you’d be paying a relatively reasonable price for it. And if you believe that L'Occitane International should be trading at this level in the long run, then there should only be a fairly immaterial downside vs other industry peers. Furthermore, it seems like L'Occitane International’s share price is quite stable, which means there may be less chances to buy low in the future now that it’s priced similarly to industry peers. This is because the stock is less volatile than the wider market given its low beta.

Can we expect growth from L'Occitane International?

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 41% over the next couple of years, the future seems bright for L'Occitane International. 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? 973’s optimistic future growth appears to have been factored into the current share price, with shares trading around industry price multiples. 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 973? Will you have enough conviction to buy should the price fluctuate below the industry PE ratio?

Are you a potential investor? If you’ve been keeping tabs on 973, now may not be the most advantageous time to buy, given it is trading around industry price multiples. However, the optimistic forecast is encouraging for 973, 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.

Since timing is quite important when it comes to individual stock picking, it's worth taking a look at what those latest analysts forecasts are. Luckily, you can check out what analysts are forecasting by clicking here.

If you are no longer interested in L'Occitane International, 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.