Is It Too Late To Consider Buying Comvita Limited (NZSE:CVT)?

Comvita Limited (NZSE:CVT), is not the largest company out there, but it had a relatively subdued couple of weeks in terms of changes in share price, which continued to float around the range of NZ$3.10 to NZ$3.38. However, is this the true valuation level of the small-cap? Or is it currently undervalued, providing us with the opportunity to buy? Let’s take a look at Comvita’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 Comvita

Is Comvita still cheap?

According to my price multiple model, which makes a comparison between the company's price-to-earnings ratio and the industry average, the stock price seems to be justfied. 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 Comvita’s ratio of 29.53x is trading slightly above its industry peers’ ratio of 27.54x, which means if you buy Comvita today, you’d be paying a relatively sensible price for it. And if you believe Comvita should be trading in this range, then there isn’t really any room for the share price grow beyond the levels of other industry peers over the long-term. Although, there may be an opportunity to buy in the future. This is because Comvita’s beta (a measure of share price volatility) is high, meaning its price movements will be exaggerated relative to the rest of the market. If the market is bearish, the company’s shares will likely fall by more than the rest of the market, providing a prime buying opportunity.

What kind of growth will Comvita 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. Although value investors would argue that it’s the intrinsic value relative to the price that matter the most, a more compelling investment thesis would be high growth potential at a cheap price. With profit expected to grow by 74% over the next couple of years, the future seems bright for Comvita. 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 CVT’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 track record of its management team. Have these factors changed since the last time you looked at CVT? 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 CVT, now may not be the most optimal time to buy, given it is trading around industry price multiples. However, the positive outlook is encouraging for CVT, which means it’s worth diving deeper into other factors such as the strength of its balance sheet, in order to take advantage of the next price drop.

If you'd like to know more about Comvita as a business, it's important to be aware of any risks it's facing. For example, we've discovered 2 warning signs that you should run your eye over to get a better picture of Comvita.

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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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