Investors Are Undervaluing Entercom Communications Corp (NYSE:ETM) By 39.16%

Does the share price for Entercom Communications Corp (NYSE:ETM) reflect it's really worth? Today, I will calculate the stock's intrinsic value by projecting its future cash flows and then discounting them to today's value. I will be using the discounted cash flows (DCF) model. Don't get put off by the jargon, the math behind it is actually quite straightforward. Anyone interested in learning a bit more about intrinsic value should have a read of the Simply Wall St analysis model. If you are reading this and its not July 2018 then I highly recommend you check out the latest calculation for Entercom Communications by following the link below. View out our latest analysis for Entercom Communications

Is ETM fairly valued?

I use what is known as a 2-stage model, which simply means we have two different periods of varying growth rates for the company's cash flows. Generally the first stage is higher growth, and the second stage is a more stable growth phase. In the first stage we need to estimate the cash flows to the business over the next five years. Where possible I use analyst estimates, but when these aren't available I have extrapolated the previous free cash flow (FCF) from the year before. For this growth rate I used the average annual growth rate over the past five years, but capped at a reasonable level. The sum of these cash flows is then discounted to today's value.

We now need to calculate the Terminal Value, which accounts for all the future cash flows after the five years. The Gordon Growth formula is used to calculate Terminal Value at an annual growth rate equal to the 10-year government bond rate of 2.9%. We discount this to today's value at a cost of equity of 16.5%.

The total value is the sum of cash flows for the next five years and the discounted terminal value, which results in the Total Equity Value, which in this case is US$1.88b. To get the intrinsic value per share, we divide this by the total number of shares outstanding, or the equivalent number if this is a depositary receipt or ADR. This results in an intrinsic value of $13.31. Relative to the current share price of $8.1, the stock is quite undervalued at a 39.16% discount to what it is available for right now.

The assumptions

I'd like to point out that the most important inputs to a discounted cash flow are the discount rate and of course the actual cash flows. You don't have to agree with my inputs, I recommend redoing the calculations yourself and playing with them. Because we are looking at Entercom Communications as potential shareholders, the cost of equity is used as the discount rate, rather than the cost of capital (or weighed average cost of capital, WACC) which accounts for debt. In this calculation I've used 16.5%, which is based on a levered beta of 1.916. This is derived from the Bottom-Up Beta method based on comparable companies, with an imposed limit between 0.8 and 2.0, which is a reasonable range for a stable business.

Next Steps:

Although the valuation of a company is important, it shouldn’t be the only metric you look at when researching a company. What is the reason for the share price to differ from the intrinsic value? For ETM, I've put together three pertinent aspects you should further research:

1. Financial Health: Does ETM have a healthy balance sheet? Take a look at our free balance sheet analysis with six simple checks on key factors like leverage and risk.
2. Future Earnings: How does ETM's growth rate compare to its peers and the wider market? Dig deeper into the analyst consensus number for the upcoming years by interacting with our free analyst growth expectation chart.
3. Other High Quality Alternatives: Are there other high quality stocks you could be holding instead of ETM? Explore our interactive list of high quality stocks to get an idea of what else is out there you may be missing!

PS. The Simply Wall St app conducts a discounted cash flow for every stock on the NYSE every 6 hours. If you want to find the calculation for other stocks just search here.

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Simply Wall St analyst Simply Wall St and Simply Wall St have no position in any of the companies mentioned. This article 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.