Is Now The Time To Look At Buying Ryder System, Inc. (NYSE:R)?

While Ryder System, Inc. (NYSE:R) might not have the largest market cap around , it received a lot of attention from a substantial price increase on the NYSE over the last few months. The company's trading levels have reached its high for the past year, following the recent bounce in the share price. 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? Let’s examine Ryder System’s valuation and outlook in more detail to determine if there’s still a bargain opportunity.

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Is Ryder System Still Cheap?

Great news for investors – Ryder System is still trading at a fairly cheap price according to our price multiple model, where we compare the company's price-to-earnings ratio to the industry average. 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 15.02x is currently well-below the industry average of 24.52x, meaning that it is trading at a cheaper price relative to its peers. Another thing to keep in mind is that Ryder System’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 its industry peers, a low beta could suggest it is not likely to reach that level anytime soon, and once it’s there, it may be hard to fall back down into an attractive buying range again.

View our latest analysis for Ryder System

Can we expect growth from Ryder System?

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 grow by a double-digit 20% over the next couple of years, the outlook is positive for Ryder System. 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? Since R is currently trading below the industry PE ratio, it may be a great time to accumulate more of your holdings in the stock. With an optimistic profit outlook on the horizon, it seems like this growth has not yet been fully factored into the share price. However, there are also other factors such as capital structure to consider, which could explain the current price multiple.

Are you a potential investor? If you’ve been keeping an eye on R for a while, now might be the time to enter the stock. Its buoyant future profit outlook isn’t fully reflected in the current share price yet, which means it’s not too late to buy R. But before you make any investment decisions, consider other factors such as the strength of its balance sheet, in order to make a well-informed assessment.

So if you'd like to dive deeper into this stock, it's crucial to consider any risks it's facing. Be aware that Ryder System is showing 2 warning signs in our investment analysis and 1 of those is significant...

If you are no longer interested in Ryder System, 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.