Quanta Services scores just 0/6 on our valuation checks. See what other red flags we found in the full valuation breakdown.
A Discounted Cash Flow, or DCF, model estimates what a company might be worth by projecting its future cash flows and then discounting those back to today using a required return. It is essentially asking what future cash generated by the business is worth in today’s dollars.
For Quanta Services, the 2 Stage Free Cash Flow to Equity model starts with last twelve month free cash flow of about $1.55b. Analysts provide explicit forecasts out to 2030, where free cash flow is projected at $3.21b. Simply Wall St then extrapolates further years using gradually moderating growth assumptions. Each of these projected cash flows is discounted back to today in dollars, then summed to arrive at an equity value.
This process produces an estimated intrinsic value of about $407.77 per share, compared with a current share price around $585. On this basis, the DCF implies the stock is roughly 43.6% above the model’s estimate of fair value, suggesting limited valuation support at today’s level if those cash flow assumptions prove accurate.
Result: OVERVALUED
Our Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) analysis suggests Quanta Services may be overvalued by 43.6%. Discover 58 high quality undervalued stocks or create your own screener to find better value opportunities.
For a profitable company like Quanta Services, the P/E ratio is a useful way to gauge what you are paying for each dollar of earnings. It reflects how the market balances expectations for future growth and the risk of those earnings, with higher growth and lower perceived risk usually justifying a higher P/E, and slower growth or higher risk supporting a lower one.
Quanta Services currently trades on a P/E of 85.16x. That sits well above the Construction industry average P/E of 37.68x and also above the peer group average of 50.11x. Simply Wall St goes a step further with its proprietary “Fair Ratio” metric, which estimates what a company’s P/E might be given factors such as earnings growth, profit margins, industry, market cap and specific risks. For Quanta Services, this Fair Ratio is 41.12x.
This Fair Ratio is often more informative than a basic comparison with peers or the broad industry because it aims to put the company on a like for like footing by adjusting for its own growth profile and risk characteristics. Comparing 41.12x with the current 85.16x suggests the shares are trading well above the level implied by these fundamentals.
Result: OVERVALUED
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Earlier it was mentioned that there is an even better way to understand valuation. Narratives are introduced here as a simple way for you to attach a clear story about Quanta Services to specific numbers such as your assumed fair value, future revenue, earnings and margins, then link that story to a forecast and a fair value you can compare with today’s price.
On Simply Wall St’s Community page, Narratives are available as an accessible tool used by millions of investors. There you can see different fair value views for Quanta Services, such as a higher fair value around US$685 that sits toward the upper end of analyst expectations and a lower fair value closer to US$263 at the cautious end, and decide which storyline best fits your own expectations for projects, margins and risk.
Because Narratives are refreshed when new information such as earnings, news or guidance is added to the platform, your chosen story for Quanta Services and its associated fair value update automatically. This can help you judge whether the current share price around US$585 is above or below the fair value you believe in and, in turn, whether that points to patience or action for your own portfolio rules.
For Quanta Services however we will make it really easy for you with previews of two leading Quanta Services Narratives:
Fair value: US$685.00 per share
Implied discount to this fair value: 12.8% below the narrative fair value
Revenue growth assumption: 19.97% per year
Fair value: US$479.09 per share
Implied premium to this fair value: 22.2% above the narrative fair value
Revenue growth assumption: 12.22% per year
If you want to see these stories in full and compare your own expectations on revenue, margins and fair value with other investors, you can review the latest Community Narratives and supporting data for Quanta Services in one place with See what the community is saying about Quanta Services.
Do you think there's more to the story for Quanta Services? Head over to our Community to see what others are saying!
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.
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