Today we're going to take a look at the well-established Knorr-Bremse AG (ETR:KBX). The company's stock saw a double-digit share price rise of over 10% in the past couple of months on the XTRA. The company's trading levels have approached the yearly peak, following the recent bounce in the share price. As a large-cap stock with high coverage by analysts, you could assume any recent changes in the company’s outlook is already priced into the stock. But what if there is still an opportunity to buy? Let’s take a look at Knorr-Bremse’s outlook and value based on the most recent financial data to see if the opportunity still exists.

See our latest analysis for Knorr-Bremse

Is Knorr-Bremse Still Cheap?

Knorr-Bremse is currently expensive based on our price multiple model, where we look at the company's price-to-earnings ratio in comparison to the industry average. In this instance, we’ve used the price-to-earnings (PE) ratio given that there is not enough information to reliably forecast the stock’s cash flows. We find that Knorr-Bremse’s ratio of 21.46x is above its peer average of 16.57x, which suggests the stock is trading at a higher price compared to the Machinery industry. Furthermore, Knorr-Bremse’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 levels around 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.

Can we expect growth from Knorr-Bremse?

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. Knorr-Bremse's earnings over the next few years are expected to increase by 36%, indicating a highly optimistic future ahead. This should lead to more robust cash flows, feeding into a higher share value.

What This Means For You

Are you a shareholder? KBX’s optimistic future growth appears to have been factored into the current share price, with shares trading above industry price multiples. At this current price, shareholders may be asking a different question – should I sell? If you believe KBX should trade below its current price, selling high and buying it back up again when its price falls towards the industry PE ratio can be profitable. But before you make this decision, take a look at whether its fundamentals have changed.