While Louisiana-Pacific Corporation (NYSE:LPX) might not have the largest market cap around , it saw a double-digit share price rise of over 10% in the past couple of months on the NYSE. The recent share price gains has brought the company back closer to its yearly peak. With many analysts covering the mid-cap stock, we may expect any price-sensitive announcements have already been factored into the stock’s share price. But what if there is still an opportunity to buy? Let’s take a look at Louisiana-Pacific’s outlook and value based on the most recent financial data to see if the opportunity still exists.

See our latest analysis for Louisiana-Pacific

What Is Louisiana-Pacific Worth?

Louisiana-Pacific appears to be expensive according to our price multiple model, which makes a comparison between the company's price-to-earnings ratio and 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 Louisiana-Pacific’s ratio of 19.23x is above its peer average of 15.74x, which suggests the stock is trading at a higher price compared to the Forestry industry. If you like the stock, you may want to keep an eye out for a potential price decline in the future. Since Louisiana-Pacific’s share price is quite volatile, this could mean it can sink lower (or rise even further) in the future, giving us another chance to invest. This is based on its high beta, which is a good indicator for how much the stock moves relative to the rest of the market.

What kind of growth will Louisiana-Pacific generate?

Investors looking for growth in their portfolio may want to consider the prospects of a company before buying its shares. 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. However, with a relatively muted profit growth of 7.9% expected over the next couple of years, growth doesn’t seem like a key driver for a buy decision for Louisiana-Pacific, at least in the short term.

What This Means For You

Are you a shareholder? LPX’s future growth appears to have been factored into the current share price, with shares trading above industry price multiples. However, this brings up another question – is now the right time to sell? If you believe LPX 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.

Are you a potential investor? If you’ve been keeping tabs on LPX for some time, now may not be the best time to enter into the stock. The price has surpassed its industry peers, which means it is likely that there is no more upside from mispricing. 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.

It can be quite valuable to consider what analysts expect for Louisiana-Pacific from their most recent forecasts. At Simply Wall St, we have the analysts estimates which you can view by clicking here.

If you are no longer interested in Louisiana-Pacific, 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.