Is Akzo Nobel N.V. (AMS:AKZA) Potentially Undervalued?

Akzo Nobel N.V. (AMS:AKZA) saw a double-digit share price rise of over 10% in the past couple of months on the ENXTAM. The recent rally in share prices has nudged the company in the right direction, though it still falls short of its yearly peak. With many analysts covering the large-cap stock, we may expect any price-sensitive announcements have already been factored into the stock’s share price. But what if there is still an opportunity to buy? Let’s take a look at Akzo Nobel’s outlook and value based on the most recent financial data to see if the opportunity still exists.

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Is Akzo Nobel Still Cheap?

The share price seems sensible at the moment according to our price multiple model, where we compare the company's price-to-earnings ratio to the industry average. We’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 18.81x is currently trading slightly above its industry peers’ ratio of 18.74x, which means if you buy Akzo Nobel today, you’d be paying a relatively reasonable price for it. And if you believe that Akzo Nobel should be trading at this level in the long run, then there should only be a fairly immaterial downside vs other industry peers. Is there another opportunity to buy low in the future? Since Akzo Nobel’s share price is quite volatile, we could potentially see it sink lower (or rise higher) in the future, giving us another chance to buy. 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.

See our latest analysis for Akzo Nobel

What kind of growth will Akzo Nobel generate?

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 61% over the next couple of years, the future seems bright for Akzo Nobel. 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? It seems like the market has already priced in AKZA’s positive outlook, with shares trading around industry price multiples. However, there are also other important factors which we haven’t considered today, such as the financial strength of the company. Have these factors changed since the last time you looked at AKZA? 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 AKZA, now may not be the most advantageous time to buy, given it is trading around industry price multiples. However, the positive outlook is encouraging for AKZA, 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.

If you want to dive deeper into Akzo Nobel, you'd also look into what risks it is currently facing. Our analysis shows 2 warning signs for Akzo Nobel (1 is a bit concerning!) and we strongly recommend you look at them before investing.

If you are no longer interested in Akzo Nobel, 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.