Stock Analysis

Estimating The Intrinsic Value Of COWINTECH Co. Ltd. (KOSDAQ:282880)

KOSDAQ:A282880
Source: Shutterstock

Key Insights

  • The projected fair value for COWINTECH is ₩19,450 based on 2 Stage Free Cash Flow to Equity
  • Current share price of ₩18,770 suggests COWINTECH is potentially trading close to its fair value
  • Analyst price target for A282880 is ₩28,800, which is 48% above our fair value estimate

Does the June share price for COWINTECH Co. Ltd. (KOSDAQ:282880) reflect what it's really worth? Today, we will estimate the stock's intrinsic value by taking the expected future cash flows and discounting them to their present value. We will use the Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) model on this occasion. There's really not all that much to it, even though it might appear quite complex.

Companies can be valued in a lot of ways, so we would point out that a DCF is not perfect for every situation. If you want to learn more about discounted cash flow, the rationale behind this calculation can be read in detail in the Simply Wall St analysis model.

View our latest analysis for COWINTECH

The Calculation

We use what is known as a 2-stage model, which simply means we have two different periods of growth rates for the company's cash flows. Generally the first stage is higher growth, and the second stage is a lower growth phase. To start off with, we need to estimate the next ten years of cash flows. Where possible we use analyst estimates, but when these aren't available we extrapolate the previous free cash flow (FCF) from the last estimate or reported value. We assume companies with shrinking free cash flow will slow their rate of shrinkage, and that companies with growing free cash flow will see their growth rate slow, over this period. We do this to reflect that growth tends to slow more in the early years than it does in later years.

Generally we assume that a dollar today is more valuable than a dollar in the future, so we need to discount the sum of these future cash flows to arrive at a present value estimate:

10-year free cash flow (FCF) forecast

2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 2029 2030 2031 2032 2033
Levered FCF (₩, Millions) ₩55.8b ₩27.3b ₩19.2b ₩15.0b ₩12.8b ₩11.6b ₩11.0b ₩10.6b ₩10.4b ₩10.4b
Growth Rate Estimate Source Analyst x1 Analyst x3 Analyst x1 Est @ -21.78% Est @ -14.50% Est @ -9.41% Est @ -5.84% Est @ -3.35% Est @ -1.60% Est @ -0.37%
Present Value (₩, Millions) Discounted @ 8.6% ₩51.4k ₩23.2k ₩15.0k ₩10.8k ₩8.5k ₩7.1k ₩6.2k ₩5.5k ₩5.0k ₩4.6k

("Est" = FCF growth rate estimated by Simply Wall St)
Present Value of 10-year Cash Flow (PVCF) = ₩137b

We now need to calculate the Terminal Value, which accounts for all the future cash flows after this ten year period. The Gordon Growth formula is used to calculate Terminal Value at a future annual growth rate equal to the 5-year average of the 10-year government bond yield of 2.5%. We discount the terminal cash flows to today's value at a cost of equity of 8.6%.

Terminal Value (TV)= FCF2033 × (1 + g) ÷ (r – g) = ₩10b× (1 + 2.5%) ÷ (8.6%– 2.5%) = ₩174b

Present Value of Terminal Value (PVTV)= TV / (1 + r)10= ₩174b÷ ( 1 + 8.6%)10= ₩77b

The total value is the sum of cash flows for the next ten years plus the discounted terminal value, which results in the Total Equity Value, which in this case is ₩214b. The last step is to then divide the equity value by the number of shares outstanding. Relative to the current share price of ₩19k, the company appears about fair value at a 3.5% discount to where the stock price trades currently. Remember though, that this is just an approximate valuation, and like any complex formula - garbage in, garbage out.

dcf
KOSDAQ:A282880 Discounted Cash Flow June 26th 2024

Important Assumptions

We would point out that the most important inputs to a discounted cash flow are the discount rate and of course the actual cash flows. Part of investing is coming up with your own evaluation of a company's future performance, so try the calculation yourself and check your own assumptions. The DCF also does not consider the possible cyclicality of an industry, or a company's future capital requirements, so it does not give a full picture of a company's potential performance. Given that we are looking at COWINTECH as potential shareholders, the cost of equity is used as the discount rate, rather than the cost of capital (or weighted average cost of capital, WACC) which accounts for debt. In this calculation we've used 8.6%, which is based on a levered beta of 1.146. Beta is a measure of a stock's volatility, compared to the market as a whole. We get our beta from the industry average beta of globally comparable companies, with an imposed limit between 0.8 and 2.0, which is a reasonable range for a stable business.

SWOT Analysis for COWINTECH

Strength
  • Earnings growth over the past year exceeded the industry.
  • Debt is well covered by earnings.
Weakness
  • Dividend is low compared to the top 25% of dividend payers in the Machinery market.
  • Shareholders have been diluted in the past year.
Opportunity
  • Annual earnings are forecast to grow faster than the South Korean market.
  • Current share price is below our estimate of fair value.
Threat
  • Debt is not well covered by operating cash flow.
  • Paying a dividend but company has no free cash flows.
  • Revenue is forecast to grow slower than 20% per year.

Next Steps:

Valuation is only one side of the coin in terms of building your investment thesis, and it shouldn't be the only metric you look at when researching a company. DCF models are not the be-all and end-all of investment valuation. Rather it should be seen as a guide to "what assumptions need to be true for this stock to be under/overvalued?" If a company grows at a different rate, or if its cost of equity or risk free rate changes sharply, the output can look very different. For COWINTECH, we've compiled three additional factors you should look at:

  1. Risks: For example, we've discovered 2 warning signs for COWINTECH that you should be aware of before investing here.
  2. Future Earnings: How does A282880's growth rate compare to its peers and the wider market? Dig deeper into the analyst consensus number for the upcoming years by interacting with our free analyst growth expectation chart.
  3. Other Solid Businesses: Low debt, high returns on equity and good past performance are fundamental to a strong business. Why not explore our interactive list of stocks with solid business fundamentals to see if there are other companies you may not have considered!

PS. The Simply Wall St app conducts a discounted cash flow valuation for every stock on the KOSDAQ every day. If you want to find the calculation for other stocks just search here.

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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.