Acuity Brands, Inc. (NYSE:AYI) Shares Could Be 22% Below Their Intrinsic Value Estimate

Simply Wall St

March 20, 2023 at 8:42 AM·6 min read

Key Insights

Acuity Brands' estimated fair value is US$233 based on 2 Stage Free Cash Flow to Equity
Acuity Brands' US$182 share price signals that it might be 22% undervalued
Our fair value estimate is 16% lower than Acuity Brands' analyst price target of US$195

In this article we are going to estimate the intrinsic value of Acuity Brands, Inc. (NYSE:AYI) 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. Believe it or not, it's not too difficult to follow, as you'll see from our example!

We would caution that there are many ways of valuing a company and, like the DCF, each technique has advantages and disadvantages in certain scenarios. If you still have some burning questions about this type of valuation, take a look at the Simply Wall St analysis model.

See our latest analysis for Acuity Brands

Crunching The Numbers

We're using the 2-stage growth model, which simply means we take in account two stages of company's growth. In the initial period the company may have a higher growth rate and the second stage is usually assumed to have a stable growth rate. 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

	2023	2024	2025	2026	2027	2028	2029	2030	2031	2032
Levered FCF ($, Millions)	US$462.1m	US$482.6m	US$516.1m	US$541.6m	US$563.7m	US$583.3m	US$601.1m	US$617.7m	US$633.4m	US$648.7m
Growth Rate Estimate Source	Analyst x3	Analyst x3	Analyst x1	Est @ 4.94%	Est @ 4.08%	Est @ 3.48%	Est @ 3.05%	Est @ 2.76%	Est @ 2.55%	Est @ 2.41%
Present Value ($, Millions) Discounted @ 9.2%	US$423	US$405	US$397	US$381	US$364	US$345	US$325	US$306	US$288	US$270

("Est" = FCF growth rate estimated by Simply Wall St)
Present Value of 10-year Cash Flow (PVCF) = US$3.5b

We now need to calculate the Terminal Value, which accounts for all the future cash flows after this ten year period. 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 (2.1%) 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 9.2%.

Terminal Value (TV)= FCF₂₀₃₂ × (1 + g) ÷ (r – g) = US$649m× (1 + 2.1%) ÷ (9.2%– 2.1%) = US$9.3b

Present Value of Terminal Value (PVTV)= TV / (1 + r)¹⁰= US$9.3b÷ ( 1 + 9.2%)¹⁰= US$3.9b

The total value, or equity value, is then the sum of the present value of the future cash flows, which in this case is US$7.4b. To get the intrinsic value per share, we divide this by the total number of shares outstanding. Relative to the current share price of US$182, the company appears a touch undervalued at a 22% discount to where the stock price trades currently. Remember though, that this is just an approximate valuation, and like any complex formula - garbage in, garbage out.

The Assumptions

We would 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 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 Acuity Brands 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 9.2%, which is based on a levered beta of 1.195. 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 Acuity Brands

Strength

Earnings growth over the past year exceeded its 5-year average.

Debt is not viewed as a risk.

Weakness

Earnings growth over the past year underperformed the Electrical industry.

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

Opportunity

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

Good value based on P/E ratio and estimated fair value.

Threat

Annual earnings are forecast to grow slower than the American market.

Looking Ahead:

Valuation is only one side of the coin in terms of building your investment thesis, and it 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. Rather it should be seen as a guide to "what assumptions need to be true for this stock to be under/overvalued?" For instance, if the terminal value growth rate is adjusted slightly, it can dramatically alter the overall result. What is the reason for the share price sitting below the intrinsic value? For Acuity Brands, we've compiled three further aspects you should look at:

Risks: As an example, we've found 1 warning sign for Acuity Brands that you need to consider before investing here.
Management:Have insiders been ramping up their shares to take advantage of the market's sentiment for AYI's future outlook? Check out our management and board analysis with insights on CEO compensation and governance factors.
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. The Simply Wall St app conducts a discounted cash flow valuation for every stock on the NYSE every day. If you want to find the calculation for other stocks 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.

Join A Paid User Research Session
You’ll receive a US$30 Amazon Gift card for 1 hour of your time while helping us build better investing tools for the individual investors like yourself. Sign up here