Is It Too Late To Consider Buying Installed Building Products, Inc. (NYSE:IBP)?
Installed Building Products, Inc. (NYSE:IBP), might not be a large cap stock, but it led the NYSE gainers with a relatively large price hike in the past couple of weeks. As a mid-cap stock with high coverage by analysts, you could assume any recent changes in the company’s outlook is already priced into the stock. However, could the stock still be trading at a relatively cheap price? Let’s examine Installed Building Products’s valuation and outlook in more detail to determine if there’s still a bargain opportunity.
View our latest analysis for Installed Building Products
What's the opportunity in Installed Building Products?
Installed Building Products is currently expensive based on my price multiple model, where I look at the company's price-to-earnings ratio in comparison to the industry average. 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 Installed Building Products’s ratio of 31.79x is above its peer average of 13.13x, which suggests the stock is trading at a higher price compared to the Consumer Durables industry. If you like the stock, you may want to keep an eye out for a potential price decline in the future. Given that Installed Building Products’s share is fairly volatile (i.e. its price movements are magnified relative to the rest of the market) this could mean the price can sink lower, giving us another chance to buy in the future. This is based on its high beta, which is a good indicator for share price volatility.
What kind of growth will Installed Building Products generate?
Future outlook is an important aspect when you’re looking at buying a stock, especially if you are an investor looking for growth in your portfolio. 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. In the upcoming year, Installed Building Products’s earnings are expected to increase by 41%, indicating a highly optimistic future ahead. This should lead to more robust cash flows, feeding into a higher share value.
What this means for you:
Are you a shareholder? It seems like the market has well and truly priced in IBP’s positive outlook, with shares trading above industry price multiples. However, this brings up another question – is now the right time to sell? If you believe IBP should trade below its current price, selling high and buying it back up again when its price falls towards the industry PE ratio can be profitable. But before you make this decision, take a look at whether its fundamentals have changed.
Are you a potential investor? If you’ve been keeping an eye on IBP for a while, now may not be the best time to enter into the stock. The price has surpassed its industry peers, which means it is likely that there is no more upside from mispricing. However, the positive outlook is encouraging for IBP, which means it’s worth diving deeper into other factors in order to take advantage of the next price drop.
So while earnings quality is important, it's equally important to consider the risks facing Installed Building Products at this point in time. While conducting our analysis, we found that Installed Building Products has 3 warning signs and it would be unwise to ignore them.
If you are no longer interested in Installed Building Products, you can use our free platform to see our list of over 50 other stocks with a high growth potential.
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. 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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