Find out why United Parks & Resorts's -34.7% return over the last year is lagging behind its peers.
A Discounted Cash Flow model estimates what a business is worth by projecting the cash it can generate in the future and then discounting those cash flows back to today in $ terms.
For United Parks & Resorts, the latest twelve month free cash flow is about $162.9 million. Analysts expect this to rise steadily, with projections of around $239 million in 2026 and $260 million in 2027, and Simply Wall St extends those forecasts further so that free cash flow is estimated to reach roughly $369.4 million by 2035. These projections are fed into a 2 Stage Free Cash Flow to Equity model, which allows for a period of higher growth before assuming conditions normalise over the longer term.
On this basis, the model estimates an intrinsic value of $58.44 per share. Compared with the current share price, this implies the stock is trading at a 39.1% discount, suggesting that the market is pricing United Parks & Resorts well below what its cash generation profile might justify.
Result: UNDERVALUED
Our Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) analysis suggests United Parks & Resorts is undervalued by 39.1%. Track this in your watchlist or portfolio, or discover 901 more undervalued stocks based on cash flows.
For profitable companies like United Parks & Resorts, the price to earnings (PE) ratio is a straightforward way to gauge what investors are paying for each dollar of current profits. In general, faster growing, lower risk businesses deserve a higher PE multiple, while slower growth or higher uncertainty usually justifies a lower one.
United Parks & Resorts currently trades on a PE of about 10.7x. That is well below both the wider Hospitality industry average of roughly 21.9x and the peer group average of around 23.8x. This suggests the market is applying a sizeable discount to its earnings. To move beyond simple comparisons, Simply Wall St also calculates a proprietary Fair Ratio of 16.6x, which reflects what a reasonable PE might be given the company’s earnings growth outlook, profit margins, risk profile, industry positioning and market capitalization.
This Fair Ratio is more informative than looking at peers alone because it tailors the valuation benchmark to United Parks & Resorts specific fundamentals rather than assuming all Hospitality stocks deserve the same multiple. Comparing the current 10.7x PE to the 16.6x Fair Ratio points to the shares trading materially below what these fundamentals might warrant.
Result: UNDERVALUED
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Earlier we mentioned that there is an even better way to understand valuation, so let us introduce you to Narratives, a simple framework on Simply Wall St’s Community page that lets you turn your view of United Parks & Resorts into a clear story. You can then link that story to a set of revenue, earnings and margin forecasts, and translate those forecasts into a Fair Value you can compare with today’s share price to decide whether to buy, hold or sell. The Narrative automatically refreshes as new news or earnings arrive. For example, a bullish investor might build a Narrative where Orlando’s new park, digital upselling and real estate partnerships support a higher 2028 earnings path and a Fair Value closer to the optimistic 81 dollar target. A more cautious investor could emphasise weather risks, weaker pricing power and softer recurring revenue and land nearer the 46 dollar bear case. Both perspectives coexist transparently on the platform so you can see, test and refine the story that best fits your own assumptions.
Do you think there's more to the story for United Parks & Resorts? 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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