Should You Think About Buying Coca-Cola HBC AG (LON:CCH) Now?

Coca-Cola HBC AG (LON:CCH) led the LSE gainers with a relatively large price hike in the past couple of weeks. The recent jump in the share price has meant that the company is trading at close to its 52-week high. 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, what if the stock is still a bargain? Let’s take a look at Coca-Cola HBC’s outlook and value based on the most recent financial data to see if the opportunity still exists.

View our latest analysis for Coca-Cola HBC

What Is Coca-Cola HBC Worth?

According to our price multiple model, which makes a comparison between the company's price-to-earnings ratio and the industry average, the stock price seems to be justfied. We’ve used the price-to-earnings ratio in this instance because there’s not enough visibility to forecast its cash flows. The stock’s ratio of 18.19x is currently trading slightly below its industry peers’ ratio of 19.76x, which means if you buy Coca-Cola HBC today, you’d be paying a decent price for it. And if you believe Coca-Cola HBC should be trading in this range, then there isn’t much room for the share price to grow beyond the levels of other industry peers over the long-term. Furthermore, Coca-Cola HBC’s share price also seems relatively stable compared to the rest of the market, as indicated by its low beta. This may mean it is less likely for the stock to fall lower from natural market volatility, which suggests less opportunities to buy moving forward.

What does the future of Coca-Cola HBC look like?

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. With profit expected to grow by 45% over the next couple of years, the future seems bright for Coca-Cola HBC. It looks like higher cash flow is on the cards for the stock, which should feed into a higher share valuation.

What This Means For You

Are you a shareholder? CCH’s optimistic future growth appears to have been factored into the current share price, with shares trading around industry price multiples. However, there are also other important factors which we haven’t considered today, such as the track record of its management team. Have these factors changed since the last time you looked at CCH? Will you have enough confidence to invest in the company should the price drop below the industry PE ratio?

Are you a potential investor? If you’ve been keeping an eye on CCH, now may not be the most optimal time to buy, given it is trading around industry price multiples. However, the optimistic forecast is encouraging for CCH, which means it’s worth diving deeper into other factors such as the strength of its balance sheet, in order to take advantage of the next price drop.

In light of this, if you'd like to do more analysis on the company, it's vital to be informed of the risks involved. Case in point: We've spotted 1 warning sign for Coca-Cola HBC you should be aware of.

If you are no longer interested in Coca-Cola HBC, you can use our free platform to see our list of over 50 other stocks with a high growth potential.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.

This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. 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.