Is It Time To Consider Buying EVA Airways Corp. (TWSE:2618)?

EVA Airways Corp. (TWSE:2618), is not the largest company out there, but it saw a significant share price rise of 22% in the past couple of months on the TWSE. The recent jump in the share price has meant that the company is trading at close to its 52-week high. As a mid-cap stock with high coverage by analysts, you could assume any recent changes in the company’s outlook is already priced into the stock. However, could the stock still be trading at a relatively cheap price? Today we will analyse the most recent data on EVA Airways’s outlook and valuation to see if the opportunity still exists.

See our latest analysis for EVA Airways

What's The Opportunity In EVA Airways?

According to our 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. 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 8.58x is currently trading slightly below its industry peers’ ratio of 9.88x, which means if you buy EVA Airways today, you’d be paying a reasonable price for it. And if you believe EVA Airways should be trading in this range, then there isn’t much room for the share price to grow beyond the levels of other industry peers over the long-term. In addition to this, it seems like EVA Airways’s share price is quite stable, which could mean there may be less chances to buy low in the future now that it’s trading around the price multiples of other industry peers. This is because the stock is less volatile than the wider market given its low beta.

What kind of growth will EVA Airways 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. Though in the case of EVA Airways, it is expected to deliver a negative earnings growth of -18%, 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? Currently, 2618 appears to be trading around industry price multiples, but given the uncertainty from negative returns in the future, this could be the right time to reduce the risk in your portfolio. Is your current exposure to the stock beneficial for your total portfolio? And is the opportunity cost of holding a negative-outlook stock too high? Before you make a decision on 2618, take a look at whether its fundamentals have changed.

Are you a potential investor? If you’ve been keeping an eye on 2618 for a while, now may not be the most optimal time to buy, given it is trading around industry price multiples. This means there’s less benefit from mispricing. Furthermore, the negative growth outlook increases the risk of holding the stock. However, there are also other important factors we haven’t considered today, which can help crystallize your views on 2618 should the price fluctuate below the industry PE ratio.

So if you'd like to dive deeper into this stock, it's crucial to consider any risks it's facing. To help with this, we've discovered 2 warning signs (1 is concerning!) that you ought to be aware of before buying any shares in EVA Airways.

If you are no longer interested in EVA Airways, 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.