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Does Metgasco Limited (ASX:MEL) Have A Particularly Volatile Share Price?

If you own shares in Metgasco Limited (ASX:MEL) then it's worth thinking about how it contributes to the volatility of your portfolio, overall. In finance, Beta is a measure of volatility. Modern finance theory considers volatility to be a measure of risk, and there are two main types of price volatility. The first category is company specific volatility. This can be dealt with by limiting your exposure to any particular stock. The other type, which cannot be diversified away, is the volatility of the entire market. Every stock in the market is exposed to this volatility, which is linked to the fact that stocks prices are correlated in an efficient market.

Some stocks mimic the volatility of the market quite closely, while others demonstrate muted, exagerrated or uncorrelated price movements. Beta is a widely used metric to measure a stock's exposure to market risk (volatility). Before we go on, it's worth noting that Warren Buffett pointed out in his 2014 letter to shareholders that 'volatility is far from synonymous with risk.' Having said that, beta can still be rather useful. The first thing to understand about beta is that the beta of the overall market is one. Any stock with a beta of greater than one is considered more volatile than the market, while those with a beta below one are either less volatile or poorly correlated with the market.

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View our latest analysis for Metgasco

What does MEL's beta value mean to investors?

Given that it has a beta of 1.35, we can surmise that the Metgasco share price has been fairly sensitive to market volatility (over the last 5 years). If the past is any guide, we would expect that Metgasco shares will rise quicker than the markets in times of optimism, but fall faster in times of pessimism. Beta is worth considering, but it's also important to consider whether Metgasco is growing earnings and revenue. You can take a look for yourself, below.

ASX:MEL Income Statement, May 21st 2019
ASX:MEL Income Statement, May 21st 2019

Does MEL's size influence the expected beta?

Metgasco is a noticeably small company, with a market capitalisation of AU$18m. Most companies this size are not always actively traded. Relatively few investors can influence the price of a smaller company, compared to a large company. This could explain the high beta value, in this case.

What this means for you:

Since Metgasco has a reasonably high beta, it's worth considering why it is so heavily influenced by broader market sentiment. For example, it might be a high growth stock or have a lot of operating leverage in its business model. In order to fully understand whether MEL is a good investment for you, we also need to consider important company-specific fundamentals such as Metgasco’s financial health and performance track record. I highly recommend you dive deeper by considering the following:

  1. Future Outlook: What are well-informed industry analysts predicting for MEL’s future growth? Take a look at our free research report of analyst consensus for MEL’s outlook.

  2. Past Track Record: Has MEL been consistently performing well irrespective of the ups and downs in the market? Go into more detail in the past performance analysis and take a look at the free visual representations of MEL's historicals for more clarity.

  3. Other Interesting Stocks: It's worth checking to see how MEL measures up against other companies on valuation. You could start with this free list of prospective options.

We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.

If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading.

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