What Is SIA Engineering Company Limited's (SGX:S59) Share Price Doing?

While SIA Engineering Company Limited (SGX:S59) might not be the most widely known stock at the moment, it received a lot of attention from a substantial price increase on the SGX over the last few months. As a well-established company, which tends to be well-covered by analysts, you could assume any recent changes in the company’s outlook is already priced into the stock. However, what if the stock is still a bargain? Today I will analyse the most recent data on SIA Engineering’s outlook and valuation to see if the opportunity still exists.

View our latest analysis for SIA Engineering

Is SIA Engineering still cheap?

According to my price multiple model, where I compare the company's price-to-earnings ratio to the industry average, the stock currently looks expensive. 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 31.15x is currently well-above the industry average of 15.92x, meaning that it is trading at a more expensive price relative to its peers. But, is there another opportunity to buy low in the future? Given that SIA Engineering’s share is fairly volatile (i.e. its price movements are magnified relative to the rest of the market) this could mean the price can sink lower, giving us another chance to buy in the future. This is based on its high beta, which is a good indicator for share price volatility.

What does the future of SIA Engineering look like?

Investors looking for growth in their portfolio may want to consider the prospects of a company before buying its shares. 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. Though in the case of SIA Engineering, it is expected to deliver a highly negative earnings growth in the next few years, which doesn’t help build up its investment thesis. It appears that risk of future uncertainty is high, at least in the near term.

What this means for you:

Are you a shareholder? If you believe S59 is currently trading above its peers, selling high and buying it back up again when its price falls towards the industry PE ratio can be profitable. Given the uncertainty from negative growth in the future, this could be the right time to de-risk your portfolio. But before you make this decision, take a look at whether its fundamentals have changed.

Are you a potential investor? If you’ve been keeping an eye on S59 for a while, now may not be the best time to enter into the stock. The price has climbed past its industry peers, in addition to a risky future outlook. However, there are also other important factors which we haven’t considered today, such as the financial strength of the company. Should the price fall in the future, will you be well-informed enough to buy?

With this in mind, we wouldn't consider investing in a stock unless we had a thorough understanding of the risks. At Simply Wall St, we found 1 warning sign for SIA Engineering and we think they deserve your attention.

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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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