Is There An Opportunity With Baytex Energy Corp.’s (TSE:BTE) 46% Undervaluation?

Today we’ll do a simple run through of a valuation method used to estimate the attractiveness of Baytex Energy Corp. (TSE:BTE) as an investment opportunity by taking the forecast future cash flows of the company and discounting them back to today’s value. We will take advantage of the Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) model for this purpose. Believe it or not, it’s not too difficult to follow, as you’ll see from our example!

Remember though, that there are many ways to estimate a company’s value, and a DCF is just one method. If you still have some burning questions about this type of valuation, take a look at the Simply Wall St analysis model.

View our latest analysis for Baytex Energy

Step by step through the calculation

We use what is known as a 2-stage model, which simply means we have two different periods of growth rates for the company’s cash flows. Generally the first stage is higher growth, and the second stage is a lower growth phase. In the first stage we need to estimate the cash flows to the business over the next ten years. Where possible we use analyst estimates, but when these aren’t available we extrapolate the previous free cash flow (FCF) from the last estimate or reported value. We assume companies with shrinking free cash flow will slow their rate of shrinkage, and that companies with growing free cash flow will see their growth rate slow, over this period. We do this to reflect that growth tends to slow more in the early years than it does in later years.

Generally we assume that a dollar today is more valuable than a dollar in the future, and so the sum of these future cash flows is then discounted to today’s value:

10-year free cash flow (FCF) forecast

2021

2022

2023

2024

2025

2026

2027

2028

2029

2030

Levered FCF (CA$, Millions)

CA$191.4m

CA$167.2m

CA$160.6m

CA$156.9m

CA$155.2m

CA$154.6m

CA$155.0m

CA$156.0m

CA$157.4m

CA$159.1m

Growth Rate Estimate Source

Analyst x7

Analyst x6

Est @ -3.92%

Est @ -2.28%

Est @ -1.14%

Est @ -0.33%

Est @ 0.23%

Est @ 0.62%

Est @ 0.9%

Est @ 1.09%

Present Value (CA$, Millions) Discounted @ 12%

CA$171

CA$133

CA$114

CA$99.7

CA$88.0

CA$78.3

CA$70.1

CA$63.0

CA$56.7

CA$51.2

(“Est” = FCF growth rate estimated by Simply Wall St)
Present Value of 10-year Cash Flow (PVCF) = CA$925m

After calculating the present value of future cash flows in the initial 10-year period, we need to calculate the Terminal Value, which accounts for all future cash flows beyond the first stage. The Gordon Growth formula is used to calculate Terminal Value at a future annual growth rate equal to the 5-year average of the 10-year government bond yield of 1.5%. We discount the terminal cash flows to today’s value at a cost of equity of 12%.

Terminal Value (TV)= FCF2030 × (1 + g) ÷ (r – g) = CA$159m× (1 + 1.5%) ÷ (12%– 1.5%) = CA$1.5b

Present Value of Terminal Value (PVTV)= TV / (1 + r)10= CA$1.5b÷ ( 1 + 12%)10= CA$497m

The total value is the sum of cash flows for the next ten years plus the discounted terminal value, which results in the Total Equity Value, which in this case is CA$1.4b. In the final step we divide the equity value by the number of shares outstanding. Compared to the current share price of CA$1.4, the company appears quite undervalued at a 46% discount to where the stock price trades currently. The assumptions in any calculation have a big impact on the valuation, so it is better to view this as a rough estimate, not precise down to the last cent.

dcf

dcf

Important assumptions

The calculation above is very dependent on two assumptions. The first is the discount rate and the other is the cash flows. Part of investing is coming up with your own evaluation of a company’s future performance, so try the calculation yourself and check your own assumptions. The DCF also does not consider the possible cyclicality of an industry, or a company’s future capital requirements, so it does not give a full picture of a company’s potential performance. Given that we are looking at Baytex Energy as potential shareholders, the cost of equity is used as the discount rate, rather than the cost of capital (or weighted average cost of capital, WACC) which accounts for debt. In this calculation we’ve used 12%, which is based on a levered beta of 2.000. Beta is a measure of a stock’s volatility, compared to the market as a whole. We get our beta from the industry average beta of globally comparable companies, with an imposed limit between 0.8 and 2.0, which is a reasonable range for a stable business.

Next Steps:

Although the valuation of a company is important, it ideally won’t be the sole piece of analysis you scrutinize for a company. DCF models are not the be-all and end-all of investment valuation. Instead the best use for a DCF model is to test certain assumptions and theories to see if they would lead to the company being undervalued or overvalued. For instance, if the terminal value growth rate is adjusted slightly, it can dramatically alter the overall result. Why is the intrinsic value higher than the current share price? For Baytex Energy, we’ve put together three further items you should assess:

  1. Risks: For instance, we’ve identified 1 warning sign for Baytex Energy that you should be aware of.

  2. Future Earnings: How does BTE’s growth rate compare to its peers and the wider market? Dig deeper into the analyst consensus number for the upcoming years by interacting with our free analyst growth expectation chart.

  3. Other Solid Businesses: Low debt, high returns on equity and good past performance are fundamental to a strong business. Why not explore our interactive list of stocks with solid business fundamentals to see if there are other companies you may not have considered!

PS. The Simply Wall St app conducts a discounted cash flow valuation for every stock on the TSX every day. If you want to find the calculation for other stocks just search here.

This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. 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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