Is Freightways Group Limited (NZSE:FRW) Trading At A 31% Discount?

Key Insights

• Using the 2 Stage Free Cash Flow to Equity, Freightways Group fair value estimate is NZ$11.63

• Freightways Group's NZ$8.07 share price signals that it might be 31% undervalued

• The NZ$9.19 analyst price target for FRW is 21% less than our estimate of fair value

In this article we are going to estimate the intrinsic value of Freightways Group Limited (NZSE:FRW) by taking the expected future cash flows and discounting them to their present value. The Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) model is the tool we will apply to do this. Models like these may appear beyond the comprehension of a lay person, but they're fairly easy to follow.

Companies can be valued in a lot of ways, so we would point out that a DCF is not perfect for every situation. If you want to learn more about discounted cash flow, the rationale behind this calculation can be read in detail in the Simply Wall St analysis model.

See our latest analysis for Freightways Group

The Model

We use what is known as a 2-stage model, which simply means we have two different periods of growth rates for the company's cash flows. Generally the first stage is higher growth, and the second stage is a lower growth phase. In the first stage we need to estimate the cash flows to the business over the next ten years. Where possible we use analyst estimates, but when these aren't available we extrapolate the previous free cash flow (FCF) from the last estimate or reported value. We assume companies with shrinking free cash flow will slow their rate of shrinkage, and that companies with growing free cash flow will see their growth rate slow, over this period. We do this to reflect that growth tends to slow more in the early years than it does in later years.

Generally we assume that a dollar today is more valuable than a dollar in the future, so we need to discount the sum of these future cash flows to arrive at a present value estimate:

10-year free cash flow (FCF) forecast

	2024	2025	2026	2027	2028	2029	2030	2031	2032	2033
Levered FCF (NZ$, Millions)	NZ$45.4m	NZ$90.5m	NZ$100.1m	NZ$111.5m	NZ$119.0m	NZ$124.9m	NZ$130.3m	NZ$135.2m	NZ$139.9m	NZ$144.4m
Growth Rate Estimate Source	Analyst x1	Analyst x1	Analyst x1	Analyst x1	Analyst x1	Est @ 4.98%	Est @ 4.29%	Est @ 3.80%	Est @ 3.46%	Est @ 3.23%
Present Value (NZ$, Millions) Discounted @ 7.8%	NZ$42.1	NZ$77.8	NZ$79.8	NZ$82.4	NZ$81.6	NZ$79.4	NZ$76.8	NZ$73.9	NZ$70.9	NZ$67.9

("Est" = FCF growth rate estimated by Simply Wall St)
Present Value of 10-year Cash Flow (PVCF) = NZ$733m

After calculating the present value of future cash flows in the initial 10-year period, we need to calculate the Terminal Value, which accounts for all future cash flows beyond the first stage. For a number of reasons a very conservative growth rate is used that cannot exceed that of a country's GDP growth. In this case we have used the 5-year average of the 10-year government bond yield (2.7%) to estimate future growth. In the same way as with the 10-year 'growth' period, we discount future cash flows to today's value, using a cost of equity of 7.8%.

Terminal Value (TV)= FCF₂₀₃₃ × (1 + g) ÷ (r – g) = NZ$144m× (1 + 2.7%) ÷ (7.8%– 2.7%) = NZ$2.9b

Present Value of Terminal Value (PVTV)= TV / (1 + r)¹⁰= NZ$2.9b÷ ( 1 + 7.8%)¹⁰= NZ$1.3b

The total value, or equity value, is then the sum of the present value of the future cash flows, which in this case is NZ$2.1b. The last step is to then divide the equity value by the number of shares outstanding. Relative to the current share price of NZ$8.1, the company appears quite undervalued at a 31% discount to where the stock price trades currently. The assumptions in any calculation have a big impact on the valuation, so it is better to view this as a rough estimate, not precise down to the last cent.

dcf

The Assumptions

The calculation above is very dependent on two assumptions. The first is the discount rate and the other is the cash flows. You don't have to agree with these inputs, I recommend redoing the calculations yourself and playing with them. The DCF also does not consider the possible cyclicality of an industry, or a company's future capital requirements, so it does not give a full picture of a company's potential performance. Given that we are looking at Freightways Group as potential shareholders, the cost of equity is used as the discount rate, rather than the cost of capital (or weighted average cost of capital, WACC) which accounts for debt. In this calculation we've used 7.8%, which is based on a levered beta of 1.125. Beta is a measure of a stock's volatility, compared to the market as a whole. We get our beta from the industry average beta of globally comparable companies, with an imposed limit between 0.8 and 2.0, which is a reasonable range for a stable business.

SWOT Analysis for Freightways Group

Strength

• Debt is well covered by earnings and cashflows.

Weakness

• Earnings declined over the past year.

• Dividend is low compared to the top 25% of dividend payers in the Logistics market.

Opportunity

• Annual earnings are forecast to grow for the next 3 years.

• Trading below our estimate of fair value by more than 20%.

Threat

• Dividends are not covered by earnings.

• Annual earnings are forecast to grow slower than the New Zealander market.

Next Steps:

Whilst important, the DCF calculation shouldn't be the only metric you look at when researching a company. It's not possible to obtain a foolproof valuation with a DCF model. Preferably you'd apply different cases and assumptions and see how they would impact the company's valuation. If a company grows at a different rate, or if its cost of equity or risk free rate changes sharply, the output can look very different. Why is the intrinsic value higher than the current share price? For Freightways Group, we've compiled three further items you should consider:

1. Risks: Every company has them, and we've spotted 2 warning signs for Freightways Group you should know about.

2. Future Earnings: How does FRW'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 Solid Businesses: Low debt, high returns on equity and good past performance are fundamental to a strong business. Why not explore our interactive list of stocks with solid business fundamentals to see if there are other companies you may not have considered!

PS. Simply Wall St updates its DCF calculation for every New Zealander stock every day, so if you want to find the intrinsic value of any other stock just search here.

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.