The stock of Apogee Enterprises (NAS:APOG, 30-year Financials) appears to be fairly valued, 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 $37.84 per share and the market cap of $965.9 million, Apogee Enterprises stock is estimated to be fairly valued. GF Value for Apogee Enterprises is shown in the chart below.
Because Apogee Enterprises is fairly valued, the long-term return of its stock is likely to be close to the rate of its business growth, which averaged 0.5% over the past five years.
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It is always important to check the financial strength of a company before buying its stock. Investing in companies with poor financial strength have a higher risk of permanent loss. Looking at the cash-to-debt ratio and interest coverage is a great way to understand the financial strength of a company. Apogee Enterprises has a cash-to-debt ratio of 0.16, which is worse than 83% of the companies in Construction industry. The overall financial strength of Apogee Enterprises is 6 out of 10, which indicates that the financial strength of Apogee Enterprises is fair. This is the debt and cash of Apogee Enterprises 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. Apogee Enterprises has been profitable 10 over the past 10 years. Over the past twelve months, the company had a revenue of $1.3 billion and earnings of $0.86 a share. Its operating margin is 8.30%, which ranks better than 67% of the companies in Construction industry. Overall, GuruFocus ranks the profitability of Apogee Enterprises at 7 out of 10, which indicates fair profitability. This is the revenue and net income of Apogee Enterprises 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 Apogee Enterprises is 0.5%, which ranks in the middle range of the companies in Construction industry. The 3-year average EBITDA growth rate is -20.2%, which ranks worse than 83% of the companies in Construction industry.
Another method of determining the profitability of a company is to compare its return on invested capital to the weighted average cost of capital. 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. When the ROIC is higher than the WACC, it implies the company is creating value for shareholders. For the past 12 months, Apogee Enterprises’s return on invested capital is 8.20, and its cost of capital is 6.55. The historical ROIC vs WACC comparison of Apogee Enterprises is shown below:
In summary, the stock of Apogee Enterprises (NAS:APOG, 30-year Financials) gives every indication of being fairly valued. The company's financial condition is fair and its profitability is fair. Its growth ranks worse than 83% of the companies in Construction industry. To learn more about Apogee Enterprises stock, you can check out its 30-year Financials here.
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