Stock Analysis

Calculating The Intrinsic Value Of Comp S.A. (WSE:CMP)

WSE:CMP
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Key Insights

  • Using the 2 Stage Free Cash Flow to Equity, Comp fair value estimate is zł84.61
  • Current share price of zł82.40 suggests Comp is potentially trading close to its fair value
  • Comp's peers are currently trading at a premium of 478% on average

Does the January share price for Comp S.A. (WSE:CMP) 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 take advantage of the Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) model for this purpose. Don't get put off by the jargon, the math behind it is actually quite straightforward.

Companies can be valued in a lot of ways, so we would point out that a DCF is not perfect for every situation. Anyone interested in learning a bit more about intrinsic value should have a read of the Simply Wall St analysis model.

View our latest analysis for Comp

Crunching The Numbers

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. In the first stage we need to estimate the cash flows to the business over the next ten years. Seeing as no analyst estimates of free cash flow are available to us, we have extrapolate the previous free cash flow (FCF) from the company's last 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.

A DCF is all about the idea that a dollar in the future is less valuable than a dollar today, 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 (PLN, Millions) zł54.7m zł46.9m zł42.7m zł40.5m zł39.5m zł39.2m zł39.4m zł39.9m zł40.7m zł41.7m
Growth Rate Estimate Source Est @ -21.78% Est @ -14.21% Est @ -8.90% Est @ -5.19% Est @ -2.59% Est @ -0.77% Est @ 0.50% Est @ 1.39% Est @ 2.01% Est @ 2.45%
Present Value (PLN, Millions) Discounted @ 13% zł48.5 zł37.0 zł29.9 zł25.1 zł21.7 zł19.1 zł17.1 zł15.4 zł13.9 zł12.6

("Est" = FCF growth rate estimated by Simply Wall St)
Present Value of 10-year Cash Flow (PVCF) = zł240m

The second stage is also known as Terminal Value, this is the business's cash flow after the first stage. 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 3.5%. We discount the terminal cash flows to today's value at a cost of equity of 13%.

Terminal Value (TV)= FCF2033 × (1 + g) ÷ (r – g) = zł42m× (1 + 3.5%) ÷ (13%– 3.5%) = zł468m

Present Value of Terminal Value (PVTV)= TV / (1 + r)10= zł468m÷ ( 1 + 13%)10= zł142m

The total value, or equity value, is then the sum of the present value of the future cash flows, which in this case is zł382m. The last step is to then divide the equity value by the number of shares outstanding. Relative to the current share price of zł82.4, the company appears about fair value at a 2.6% discount to where the stock price trades currently. Valuations are imprecise instruments though, rather like a telescope - move a few degrees and end up in a different galaxy. Do keep this in mind.

dcf
WSE:CMP Discounted Cash Flow January 10th 2024

Important Assumptions

Now the most important inputs to a discounted cash flow are the discount rate, and of course, the actual cash flows. If you don't agree with these result, have a go at the calculation yourself and play with the 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 Comp 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 13%, which is based on a levered beta of 1.468. 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 Comp

Strength
  • Earnings growth over the past year exceeded the industry.
  • Debt is not viewed as a risk.
  • Dividends are covered by earnings and cash flows.
Weakness
  • Dividend is low compared to the top 25% of dividend payers in the IT market.
Opportunity
  • Current share price is below our estimate of fair value.
  • Lack of analyst coverage makes it difficult to determine CMP's earnings prospects.
Threat
  • No apparent threats visible for CMP.

Moving On:

Whilst important, the DCF calculation ideally won't be the sole piece of analysis you scrutinize for a company. It's not possible to obtain a foolproof valuation with a DCF model. Preferably you'd apply different cases and assumptions and see how they would impact the company's valuation. For instance, if the terminal value growth rate is adjusted slightly, it can dramatically alter the overall result. For Comp, we've put together three important factors you should look at:

  1. Risks: For example, we've discovered 2 warning signs for Comp that you should be aware of before investing here.
  2. 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!
  3. Other Environmentally-Friendly Companies: Concerned about the environment and think consumers will buy eco-friendly products more and more? Browse through our interactive list of companies that are thinking about a greener future to discover some stocks you may not have thought of!

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

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Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.

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.