While Nine Entertainment Co. Holdings Limited (ASX:NEC) might not have the largest market cap around , it led the ASX gainers with a relatively large price hike in the past couple of weeks. While good news for shareholders, the company has traded much higher in the past year. As a stock with high coverage by analysts, you could assume any recent changes in the company’s outlook is already priced into the stock. However, could the stock still be trading at a relatively cheap price? Today we will analyse the most recent data on Nine Entertainment Holdings’s outlook and valuation to see if the opportunity still exists.

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Is Nine Entertainment Holdings Still Cheap?

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 27.71x is currently trading slightly above its industry peers’ ratio of 24.9x, which means if you buy Nine Entertainment Holdings today, you’d be paying a relatively sensible price for it. And if you believe Nine Entertainment Holdings should be trading in this range, then there isn’t really any room for the share price grow beyond the levels of other industry peers over the long-term. Although, there may be an opportunity to buy in the future. This is because Nine Entertainment Holdings’s beta (a measure of share price volatility) is high, meaning its price movements will be exaggerated relative to the rest of the market. If the market is bearish, the company’s shares will likely fall by more than the rest of the market, providing a prime buying opportunity.

View our latest analysis for Nine Entertainment Holdings

What kind of growth will Nine Entertainment Holdings generate?

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. Buying a great company with a robust outlook at a cheap price is always a good investment, so let’s also take a look at the company's future expectations. Nine Entertainment Holdings' earnings over the next few years are expected to double, indicating a very optimistic future ahead. This should lead to stronger cash flows, feeding into a higher share value.

What This Means For You

Are you a shareholder? It seems like the market has already priced in NEC’s positive outlook, 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 NEC? Will you have enough conviction to buy should the price fluctuate below the industry PE ratio?

Are you a potential investor? If you’ve been keeping an eye on NEC, now may not be the most advantageous time to buy, given it is trading around industry price multiples. However, the positive outlook is encouraging for NEC, 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 Nine Entertainment Holdings you should be aware of.

If you are no longer interested in Nine Entertainment Holdings, 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.