CompoSecure, Inc. (NASDAQ:CMPO) Shares Could Be 46% Below Their Intrinsic Value Estimate

In this article:

Key Insights

  • Using the 2 Stage Free Cash Flow to Equity, CompoSecure fair value estimate is US$9.60

  • CompoSecure's US$5.22 share price signals that it might be 46% undervalued

  • The US$11.63 analyst price target for CMPO is 21% more than our estimate of fair value

How far off is CompoSecure, Inc. (NASDAQ:CMPO) from its intrinsic value? Using the most recent financial data, we'll take a look at whether the stock is fairly priced by taking the forecast future cash flows of the company and discounting them back to today's value. We will use the Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) model on this occasion. It may sound complicated, but actually it is quite simple!

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.

Check out our latest analysis for CompoSecure

The Method

We are going to use a two-stage DCF model, which, as the name states, takes into account two stages of growth. The first stage is generally a higher growth period which levels off heading towards the terminal value, captured in the second 'steady growth' period. 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.

A DCF is all about the idea that a dollar in the future is less valuable than a dollar today, 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) estimate

2024

2025

2026

2027

2028

2029

2030

2031

2032

2033

Levered FCF ($, Millions)

US$66.0m

US$74.0m

US$72.2m

US$71.4m

US$71.3m

US$71.8m

US$72.5m

US$73.6m

US$74.8m

US$76.2m

Growth Rate Estimate Source

Analyst x1

Analyst x1

Est @ -2.49%

Est @ -1.07%

Est @ -0.09%

Est @ 0.61%

Est @ 1.09%

Est @ 1.43%

Est @ 1.67%

Est @ 1.83%

Present Value ($, Millions) Discounted @ 11%

US$59.6

US$60.4

US$53.2

US$47.5

US$42.9

US$39.0

US$35.6

US$32.6

US$30.0

US$27.6

("Est" = FCF growth rate estimated by Simply Wall St)
Present Value of 10-year Cash Flow (PVCF) = US$429m

We now need to calculate the Terminal Value, which accounts for all the future cash flows after this ten year period. The Gordon Growth formula is used to calculate Terminal Value at a future annual growth rate equal to the 5-year average of the 10-year government bond yield of 2.2%. We discount the terminal cash flows to today's value at a cost of equity of 11%.

Terminal Value (TV)= FCF2033 × (1 + g) ÷ (r – g) = US$76m× (1 + 2.2%) ÷ (11%– 2.2%) = US$919m

Present Value of Terminal Value (PVTV)= TV / (1 + r)10= US$919m÷ ( 1 + 11%)10= US$333m

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$761m. The last step is to then divide the equity value by the number of shares outstanding. Relative to the current share price of US$5.2, the company appears quite undervalued at a 46% 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.

dcf
dcf

Important 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 CompoSecure 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 11%, which is based on a levered beta of 1.695. 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 CompoSecure

Strength

  • Debt is well covered by earnings and cashflows.

Weakness

  • Shareholders have been diluted in the past year.

Opportunity

  • Annual earnings are forecast to grow faster than the American market.

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

Threat

  • Total liabilities exceed total assets, which raises the risk of financial distress.

  • Annual revenue is 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 ideally won't be the sole piece of analysis you scrutinize for a company. It's not possible to obtain a foolproof valuation with a DCF model. Instead the best use for a DCF model is to test certain assumptions and theories to see if they would lead to the company being undervalued or overvalued. 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 CompoSecure, we've compiled three pertinent aspects you should explore:

  1. Risks: For example, we've discovered 3 warning signs for CompoSecure (1 is significant!) that you should be aware of before investing here.

  2. Future Earnings: How does CMPO'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. The Simply Wall St app conducts a discounted cash flow valuation for every stock on the NASDAQGM 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.

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