Yahoo Finance When Should You Buy City Developments Limited (SGX:C09)?
City Developments Limited (SGX:C09), might not be a large cap stock, but it received a lot of attention from a substantial price movement on the SGX over the last few months, increasing to S$8.68 at one point, and dropping to the lows of S$7.31. 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 City Developments' current trading price of S$7.81 reflective of the actual value of the mid-cap? Or is it currently undervalued, providing us with the opportunity to buy? Let’s take a look at City Developments’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 City Developments
Is City Developments Still Cheap?
According to my 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. 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 5.7x is currently trading slightly below its industry peers’ ratio of 8.48x, which means if you buy City Developments today, you’d be paying a decent price for it. And if you believe City Developments 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. Furthermore, it seems like City Developments’s share price is quite stable, which means there may be less chances to buy low in the future now that it’s priced similarly to industry peers. This is because the stock is less volatile than the wider market given its low beta.
What does the future of City Developments look like?
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 City Developments, 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? C09 seems priced close to industry peers right now, but given the uncertainty from negative returns in the future, this could be the right time to de-risk 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 C09, take a look at whether its fundamentals have changed.
Are you a potential investor? If you’ve been keeping an eye on C09 for a while, now may not be the most advantageous time to buy, given it is trading around industry price multiples. This means there’s less benefit from mispricing. In addition to this, 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 gel your views on C09 should the price fluctuate below the industry PE ratio.
With this in mind, we wouldn't consider investing in a stock unless we had a thorough understanding of the risks. When we did our research, we found 4 warning signs for City Developments (2 shouldn't be ignored!) that we believe deserve your full attention.
If you are no longer interested in City Developments, you can use our free platform to see our list of over 50 other stocks with a high growth potential.
Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.
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.
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