The stock of Liberty Global PLC (NAS:LBTYK, 30-year Financials) gives every indication of being modestly undervalued, according to GuruFocus Value calculation. GuruFocus Value is GuruFocus' estimate of the fair value at which the stock should be traded. It is calculated based on the historical multiples that the stock has traded at, the past business growth and analyst estimates of future business performance. If the price of a stock is significantly above the GF Value Line, it is overvalued and its future return is likely to be poor. On the other hand, if it is significantly below the GF Value Line, its future return will likely be higher. At its current price of $27.365 per share and the market cap of $15.8 billion, Liberty Global PLC stock shows every sign of being modestly undervalued. GF Value for Liberty Global PLC is shown in the chart below.
Because Liberty Global PLC is relatively undervalued, the long-term return of its stock is likely to be higher than its business growth, which averaged 14.4% over the past three years and is estimated to grow 1.70% annually over the next three to five years.
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Companies with poor financial strength offer investors a high risk of permanent capital loss. To avoid permanent capital loss, an investor must do their research and review a company's financial strength before deciding to purchase shares. Both the cash-to-debt ratio and interest coverage of a company are a great way to to understand its financial strength. Liberty Global PLC has a cash-to-debt ratio of 0.20, which which ranks worse than 79% of the companies in the industry of Media - Diversified. The overall financial strength of Liberty Global PLC is 3 out of 10, which indicates that the financial strength of Liberty Global PLC is poor. This is the debt and cash of Liberty Global PLC over the past years:
It poses less risk to invest in profitable companies, especially those that have demonstrated consistent profitability over the long term. A company with high profit margins is also typically a safer investment than one with low profit margins. Liberty Global PLC has been profitable 4 over the past 10 years. Over the past twelve months, the company had a revenue of $12 billion and loss of $2.81 a share. Its operating margin is 18.50%, which ranks better than 86% of the companies in the industry of Media - Diversified. Overall, GuruFocus ranks the profitability of Liberty Global PLC at 5 out of 10, which indicates fair profitability. This is the revenue and net income of Liberty Global PLC over the past years:
Growth is probably the most important factor in the valuation of a company. GuruFocus research has found that growth is closely correlated with the long term performance of a company's stock. The faster a company is growing, the more likely it is to be creating value for shareholders, especially if the growth is profitable. The 3-year average annual revenue growth rate of Liberty Global PLC is 14.4%, which ranks better than 83% of the companies in the industry of Media - Diversified. The 3-year average EBITDA growth rate is -6.5%, which ranks in the middle range of the companies in the industry of Media - Diversified.
Another way to evaluate a company's profitability is to compare its return on invested capital (ROIC) to its weighted cost of capital (WACC). Return on invested capital (ROIC) measures how well a company generates cash flow relative to the capital it has invested in its business. The weighted average cost of capital (WACC) is the rate that a company is expected to pay on average to all its security holders to finance its assets. If the ROIC is higher than the WACC, it indicates that the company is creating value for shareholders. Over the past 12 months, Liberty Global PLC's ROIC was 4.13, while its WACC came in at 6.88. The historical ROIC vs WACC comparison of Liberty Global PLC is shown below:
In closing, the stock of Liberty Global PLC (NAS:LBTYK, 30-year Financials) shows every sign of being modestly undervalued. The company's financial condition is poor and its profitability is fair. Its growth ranks in the middle range of the companies in the industry of Media - Diversified. To learn more about Liberty Global PLC stock, you can check out its 30-year Financials here.
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