Stock Valuation: Kobe Steel Ltd (5406)

Name of Company Country of Origin/ Exchange Traded Sector Stock Price
KOBE STEEL LTD Japan/
TSE
Basic Materials – Steel – Steel JPY1097.00
@ 01 Aug 2018
COMPANY PROFILE Kobe Steel Ltd is a steel manufacturing company. The company is engaged in manufacturing steel and supplying aluminium & copper products. Its segments include Iron & Steel, Welding, Aluminium & Copper, Machinery and Engineering.

Kobe Steel Ltd is a Japan-based company that is primarily engaged in iron and steel, aluminum and copper, construction machinery, nonconstruction machinery, and engineering businesses. Its iron and steel business involves production of steel products, steel casting and forging, and manufacturing of titanium and steel powder. Its aluminum and copper segment manufactures aluminum and copper products. Its construction machinery segment develops and manufactures construction equipment. The nonconstruction machinery segment offers industrial machinery, compressors and equipment for the nuclear and other energy industries. The engineering segment provides solutions to plants, power stations, and water treatment companies. Japan and China account for the majority of the company’s revenue.

Stock Code 5406
Stock Valuation Below

Kobe Steel Price to Cash Flow

Price to Cash Flow is an alternative method to value shares. This is because accounting profits can be subject to manipulation. Therefore, some investors prefer to value a company based on cash flows generated by the operating activities of the company. It also acts as a reality check to valuation measures such as Price to Earnings and Price to Sales. If a company generates high profits and sales but not operating cash flows, it could be heading for trouble because it is cash that pays the operating expenses. However, the Price to Cash Flow ratio of most firms are volatile and should not be used in isolation to determine the valuation of the stock.
At the price of JPY1097.00 as at 01 Aug 2018, Kobe Steel Ltd is trading at a Price to Cash Flow Ratio of 2.2 times last 12 months cash flow.  This is a 34.0% discount to its historical average Price to Cash Flow Ratio of 3.4 times.
Is the stock undervalued? One should not just look at one indicator to determine the fair value of a stock.
ProThinker believes in using a combination of valuation methods to decide whether a stock is over or undervalued? The five ratios we use are Price to Earnings, Price to Sales, Price to Cash Flow, Price to Book and Dividend Yield. We use multiple methods to value a stock because each has its benefits as well as shortcomings. Price to Earnings and Price to Cash Flow Ratios relate stock price to profitability but are meaningless when the comany has negative earnings or cash flows. Price to Sales Ratio is more stable because sales are never negative. However, this does not tell us whether the company is able to sell profitably. Price to Book Ratio gives us an indication as to how much we are paying for the company’s assets but it is not directly related to the company’s profitability. Dividend Yield cannot be used for companies that are paying little to no dividends.
While it is important to value stocks based on multiple valuation methods, this often leads to differing views on valuation. One indicator may suggest that a stock is overvalued while another suggest that it is undervalued. This does not help an investor who needs to make a definite decision whether to buy, hold or sell the stock. That is why we advocate the use of a Composite Valuation Indicator, which is derived from the best combination of the five indicators above. A Composite Valuation Indicator will give you ONE conclusion on whether a stock is under or over valued.
To find out more about our valuation methodology, click here. 
Source of Data: Charts are from ProThinker Stock Report. Company description, historical financial statements data and price data are from gurufocus.com. Estimates are from gurufocus and/or 4-traders.com – Thomson Reuters.
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