Does Huber+Suhner AG (VTX:HUBN) Generate Enough Cash?
Huber+Suhner AG (VTX:HUBN) shareholders, and potential investors, need to understand how much cash the business makes from its core operational activities, as well as how much is invested back into the business. This difference directly flows down to how much the stock is worth. Operating in the industry, HUBN is currently valued at CHF1.3b. I will take you through HUBN’s cash flow health and the risk-return concept based on the stock’s cash flow yield, using the most recent financial data. This will help you think about the company from a cash perspective, which is a crucial factor to investing.
See our latest analysis for Huber+Suhner
What is free cash flow?
Huber+Suhner generates cash through its day-to-day business, which needs to be reinvested into the company in order for it to continue operating. What remains after this expenditure, is known as its free cash flow, or FCF, for short.
There are two methods I will use to evaluate the quality of Huber+Suhner’s FCF: firstly, I will measure its FCF yield relative to the market index yield; secondly, I will examine whether its operating cash flow will continue to grow into the future, which will give us a sense of sustainability.
Free Cash Flow = Operating Cash Flows – Net Capital Expenditure
Free Cash Flow Yield = Free Cash Flow / Enterprise Value
where Enterprise Value = Market Capitalisation + Net Debt
Along with a positive operating cash flow, Huber+Suhner also generates a positive free cash flow. However, the yield of 1.79% is not sufficient to compensate for the level of risk investors are taking on. This is because Huber+Suhner’s yield is well-below the market yield, in addition to serving higher risk compared to the well-diversified market index.
Is Huber+Suhner’s yield sustainable?
Another important consideration is whether this return is likely to be maintained over the next couple of years. We can gauge this by looking at HUBN’s expected operating cash flows. In the next few years, the company is expected to grow its cash from operations at a double-digit rate of 53%, ramping up from its current levels of CHF65m to CHF99m in two years’ time. Although this seems impressive, breaking down into year-on-year growth rates, HUBN’s operating cash flow growth is expected to decline from a rate of 41% next year, to 8.7% in the following year. However the overall picture seems encouraging, should capital expenditure levels maintain at an appropriate level.
Next Steps:
Although its positive operating cash flow, and high future growth, is appealing, the low free cash flow yield is unattractive. This is because you would be better compensated in terms of cash yield, by investing in the market index, as well as take on lower diversification risk. However, cash is only one aspect of investing. Now you know to keep cash flows in mind, I suggest you continue to research Huber+Suhner to get a more holistic view of the company by looking at:
Valuation: What is HUBN worth today? Is the stock undervalued, even when its growth outlook is factored into its intrinsic value? The intrinsic value infographic in our free research report helps visualize whether HUBN is currently mispriced by the market.
Management Team: An experienced management team on the helm increases our confidence in the business – take a look at who sits on Huber+Suhner’s board and the CEO’s back ground.
Other High-Performing Stocks: If you believe you should cushion your portfolio with something less risky, scroll through our free list of these great stocks here.
To help readers see past the short term volatility of the financial market, we aim to bring you a long-term focused research analysis purely driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis does not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements.
The author is an independent contributor and at the time of publication had no position in the stocks mentioned. For errors that warrant correction please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com.
