While Vesuvius plc (LON:VSVS) might not have the largest market cap around , it maintained its current share price over the past couple of month on the LSE, with a relatively tight range of UK￡4.58 to UK￡4.97. However, does this price actually reflect the true value of the small-cap? Or is it currently undervalued, providing us with the opportunity to buy? Let’s take a look at Vesuvius’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 Vesuvius

What Is Vesuvius Worth?

Great news for investors – Vesuvius is still trading at a fairly cheap price according to our price multiple model, where we compare the company's price-to-earnings ratio 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 Vesuvius’s ratio of 10.67x is below its peer average of 18.87x, which indicates the stock is trading at a lower price compared to the Machinery industry. However, given that Vesuvius’s share is fairly volatile (i.e. its price movements are magnified relative to the rest of the market) this could mean the price can sink lower, giving us another chance to buy in the future. This is based on its high beta, which is a good indicator for share price volatility.

Can we expect growth from Vesuvius?

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 34% over the next couple of years, the future seems bright for Vesuvius. 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 VSVS 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 VSVS 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 VSVS. 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 assessment.