Should You Think About Buying L.B. Foster Company (NASDAQ:FSTR) Now?

While L.B. Foster Company (NASDAQ:FSTR) might not be the most widely known stock at the moment, it saw significant share price movement during recent months on the NASDAQGS, rising to highs of US$16.15 and falling to the lows of US$12.41. Some share price movements can give investors a better opportunity to enter into the stock, and potentially buy at a lower price. A question to answer is whether L.B. Foster's current trading price of US$12.41 reflective of the actual value of the small-cap? Or is it currently undervalued, providing us with the opportunity to buy? Let’s take a look at L.B. Foster’s outlook and value based on the most recent financial data to see if there are any catalysts for a price change.

See our latest analysis for L.B. Foster

What's the opportunity in L.B. Foster?

L.B. Foster appears to be expensive according to my price multiple model, which makes a comparison between the company's price-to-earnings ratio and the industry average. 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 41.63x is currently well-above the industry average of 20.92x, meaning that it is trading at a more expensive price relative to its peers. Another thing to keep in mind is that L.B. Foster’s share price is quite stable relative to the rest of the market, as indicated by its low beta. This means that if you believe the current share price should move towards the levels of its industry peers over time, a low beta could suggest it is not likely to reach that level anytime soon, and once it’s there, it may be hard for it to fall back down into an attractive buying range again.

What kind of growth will L.B. Foster 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 more than double in the upcoming, the future appears to be extremely bright for L.B. Foster. 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 well and truly priced in FSTR’s positive outlook, with shares trading above industry price multiples. However, this brings up another question – is now the right time to sell? If you believe FSTR should trade below its current price, selling high and buying it back up again when its price falls towards the industry PE ratio can be profitable. 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 FSTR for a while, now may not be the best time to enter into the stock. The price has surpassed its industry peers, which means it is likely that there is no more upside from mispricing. However, the optimistic prospect is encouraging for FSTR, which means it’s worth diving deeper into other factors in order to take advantage of the next price drop.

So if you'd like to dive deeper into this stock, it's crucial to consider any risks it's facing. While conducting our analysis, we found that L.B. Foster has 3 warning signs and it would be unwise to ignore them.

If you are no longer interested in L.B. Foster, 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.