Let's talk about the popular U-Haul Holding Company (NYSE:UHAL). The company's shares saw significant share price movement during recent months on the NYSE, rising to highs of US$78.40 and falling to the lows of US$67.56. 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 U-Haul Holding's current trading price of US$74.08 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 U-Haul Holding’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 U-Haul Holding

What's The Opportunity In U-Haul Holding?

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 30.23x is currently trading slightly above its industry peers’ ratio of 29.75x, which means if you buy U-Haul Holding today, you’d be paying a relatively sensible price for it. And if you believe that U-Haul Holding should be trading at this level in the long run, then there should only be a fairly immaterial downside vs other industry peers. So, is there another chance to buy low in the future? Given that U-Haul Holding’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 an opportunity to buy later on. This is based on its high beta, which is a good indicator for share price volatility.

What does the future of U-Haul Holding look like?

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. Though in the case of U-Haul Holding, it is expected to deliver a relatively unexciting top-line growth of 7.5% in the next few years, which doesn’t help build up its investment thesis. Growth doesn’t appear to be a main reason for a buy decision for the company, at least in the near term.

What This Means For You

Are you a shareholder? It seems like the market has already priced in UHAL’s growth 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 UHAL? 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 tabs on UHAL, now may not be the most optimal time to buy, given it is trading around industry price multiples. However, the positive growth outlook may mean it’s worth diving deeper into other factors in order to take advantage of the next price drop.

Keep in mind, when it comes to analysing a stock it's worth noting the risks involved. For example - U-Haul Holding has 2 warning signs we think you should be aware of.

If you are no longer interested in U-Haul Holding, 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.