Ero Copper Corp. (TSE:ERO) Shares Could Be 26% Below Their Intrinsic Value Estimate

Key Insights

• Using the 2 Stage Free Cash Flow to Equity, Ero Copper fair value estimate is CA$32.27

• Ero Copper's CA$23.75 share price signals that it might be 26% undervalued

• Our fair value estimate is 12% higher than Ero Copper's analyst price target of US$28.71

Does the September share price for Ero Copper Corp. (TSE:ERO) reflect what it's really worth? Today, we will estimate the stock's intrinsic value by estimating the company's 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 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 Ero Copper

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. To start off with, we need to estimate the next ten years of cash flows. 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 ($, Millions)	US$371.5k	US$293.4m	US$229.2m	US$194.2m	US$174.5m	US$163.1m	US$156.5m	US$153.0m	US$151.5m	US$151.2m
Growth Rate Estimate Source	Analyst x6	Analyst x4	Analyst x1	Est @ -15.28%	Est @ -10.14%	Est @ -6.54%	Est @ -4.02%	Est @ -2.25%	Est @ -1.02%	Est @ -0.16%
Present Value ($, Millions) Discounted @ 8.1%	US$0.3	US$251	US$181	US$142	US$118	US$102	US$90.5	US$81.8	US$74.9	US$69.1

("Est" = FCF growth rate estimated by Simply Wall St)
Present Value of 10-year Cash Flow (PVCF) = US$1.1b

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 (1.9%) 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 8.1%.

Terminal Value (TV)= FCF₂₀₃₃ × (1 + g) ÷ (r – g) = US$151m× (1 + 1.9%) ÷ (8.1%– 1.9%) = US$2.5b

Present Value of Terminal Value (PVTV)= TV / (1 + r)¹⁰= US$2.5b÷ ( 1 + 8.1%)¹⁰= US$1.1b

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$2.2b. In the final step we divide the equity value by the number of shares outstanding. Relative to the current share price of CA$23.8, the company appears a touch undervalued at a 26% 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

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 Ero Copper 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 8.1%, which is based on a levered beta of 1.257. 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 Ero Copper

Strength

• Debt is not viewed as a risk.

Weakness

• Earnings declined over the past year.

• Shareholders have been diluted in the past year.

Opportunity

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

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

Threat

• No apparent threats visible for ERO.

Next Steps:

Although the valuation of a company is important, 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. For example, changes in the company's cost of equity or the risk free rate can significantly impact the valuation. Can we work out why the company is trading at a discount to intrinsic value? For Ero Copper, we've compiled three relevant elements you should further examine:

1. Risks: For example, we've discovered 3 warning signs for Ero Copper (1 can't be ignored!) that you should be aware of before investing here.

2. Future Earnings: How does ERO'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 High Quality Alternatives: Do you like a good all-rounder? Explore our interactive list of high quality stocks to get an idea of what else is out there you may be missing!

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

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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.