Is Now An Opportune Moment To Examine Poste Italiane SpA (BIT:PST)?
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Let's talk about the popular Poste Italiane SpA (BIT:PST). The company's shares saw a decent share price growth in the teens level on the BIT over the last few months. 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, could the stock still be trading at a relatively cheap price? Today I will analyse the most recent data on Poste Italiane’s outlook and valuation to see if the opportunity still exists.
View our latest analysis for Poste Italiane
Is Poste Italiane still cheap?
The stock seems fairly valued at the moment according to my relative valuation model. In this instance, I’ve used the price-to-earnings (PE) ratio given that there is not enough information to reliably forecast the stock’s cash flows. I find that Poste Italiane’s ratio of 8.58x is trading in-line with its industry peers’ ratio, which means if you buy Poste Italiane today, you’d be paying a relatively reasonable price for it. Furthermore, it seems like Poste Italiane’s share price is quite stable, which means there may be less chances to buy low in the future now that it’s fairly valued. This is because the stock is less volatile than the wider market given its low beta.
What kind of growth will Poste Italiane generate?
Investors looking for growth in their portfolio may want to consider the prospects of a company before buying its shares. 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. Though in the case of Poste Italiane, it is expected to deliver a negative earnings growth of -9.8%, which doesn’t help build up its investment thesis. It appears that risk of future uncertainty is high, at least in the near term.
What this means for you:
Are you a shareholder? Currently, PST appears to be trading around its fair value, but given the uncertainty from negative returns in the future, this could be the right time to reduce the risk in your portfolio. Is your current exposure to the stock optimal for your total portfolio? And is the opportunity cost of holding a negative-outlook stock too high? Before you make a decision on PST, take a look at whether its fundamentals have changed.
Are you a potential investor? If you’ve been keeping tabs on PST for a while, now may not be the most advantageous time to buy, given it is trading around its fair value. The stock appears to be trading at fair value, which means there’s less benefit from mispricing. Furthermore, the negative growth outlook increases the risk of holding the stock. However, there are also other important factors we haven’t considered today, which can help crystalize your views on PST should the price fluctuate below its true value.
Price is just the tip of the iceberg. Dig deeper into what truly matters – the fundamentals – before you make a decision on Poste Italiane. You can find everything you need to know about Poste Italiane in the latest infographic research report. If you are no longer interested in Poste Italiane, you can use our free platform to see my list of over 50 other stocks with a high growth potential.
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.
