Today we're going to take a look at the well-established PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL). The company's stock saw a double-digit share price rise of over 10% in the past couple of months on the NYSE. The recent jump in the share price has meant that the company is trading around its 52-week high. With many analysts covering the large-cap stock, we may expect any price-sensitive announcements have already been factored into the stock's share price. However, what if the stock is still a bargain? Today we will analyse the most recent data on PPL's outlook and valuation to see if the opportunity still exists.
What's The Opportunity In PPL?
According to our price multiple model, where we compare the company's price-to-earnings ratio to the industry average, the stock currently looks expensive. 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 28.89x is currently well-above the industry average of 17.86x, meaning that it is trading at a more expensive price relative to its peers. Another thing to keep in mind is that PPL'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.
Can we expect growth from PPL?
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 92% over the next couple of years, the future seems bright for PPL. 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? PPL's optimistic future growth appears to have been factored into the current share price, with shares trading above industry price multiples. However, this brings up another question – is now the right time to sell? If you believe PPL 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 PPL 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 PPL, which means it's worth diving deeper into other factors in order to take advantage of the next price drop.
With this in mind, we wouldn't consider investing in a stock unless we had a thorough understanding of the risks. Every company has risks, and we've spotted 3 warning signs for PPL (of which 2 are a bit unpleasant!) you should know about.
If you are no longer interested in PPL, 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.