Today we're going to take a look at the well-established Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO). The company's stock saw significant share price movement during recent months on the NASDAQGS, rising to highs of US$49.37 and falling to the lows of US$39.27. Some share price movements can give investors a better opportunity to enter into the stock, and potentially buy at a lower price. A question to answer is whether Cisco Systems' current trading price of US$42.80 reflective of the actual value of the large-cap? Or is it currently undervalued, providing us with the opportunity to buy? Let’s take a look at Cisco Systems’s outlook and value based on the most recent financial data to see if there are any catalysts for a price change.

View our latest analysis for Cisco Systems

Is Cisco Systems Still Cheap?

Great news for investors – Cisco Systems is still trading at a fairly cheap price according to my price multiple model, where I compare the company's price-to-earnings ratio 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 Cisco Systems’s ratio of 14.88x is below its peer average of 24.19x, which indicates the stock is trading at a lower price compared to the Communications industry. Cisco Systems’s share price also seems relatively stable compared to the rest of the market, as indicated by its low beta. If you believe the share price should eventually reach its industry peers, a low beta could suggest it is unlikely to rapidly do so anytime soon, and once it’s there, it may be hard to fall back down into an attractive buying range.

What kind of growth will Cisco Systems generate?

Investors looking for growth in their portfolio may want to consider the prospects of a company before buying its shares. 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 a double-digit 17% over the next couple of years, the outlook is positive for Cisco Systems. 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? Since CSCO is currently below the industry PE ratio, it may be a great time to accumulate more of your holdings in the stock. With an optimistic outlook on the horizon, it seems like this growth has not yet been fully factored into the share price. However, there are also other factors such as financial health to consider, which could explain the current price multiple.

Are you a potential investor? If you’ve been keeping an eye on CSCO for a while, now might be the time to make a leap. Its buoyant future profit outlook isn’t fully reflected in the current share price yet, which means it’s not too late to buy CSCO. But before you make any investment decisions, consider other factors such as the strength of its balance sheet, in order to make a well-informed investment decision.

Diving deeper into the forecasts for Cisco Systems mentioned earlier will help you understand how analysts view the stock going forward. So feel free to check out our free graph representing analyst forecasts.

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

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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.

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