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An Intrinsic Calculation For Kellogg Company (NYSE:K) Suggests It's 35% Undervalued

Key Insights

  • Using the 2 Stage Free Cash Flow to Equity, Kellogg fair value estimate is US$111

  • Current share price of US$71.53 suggests Kellogg is potentially 35% undervalued

  • The US$72.89 analyst price target for K is 34% less than our estimate of fair value

In this article we are going to estimate the intrinsic value of Kellogg Company (NYSE:K) by taking the expected future cash flows and discounting them to their present value. One way to achieve this is by employing the Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) model. It may sound complicated, but actually it is quite simple!

Companies can be valued in a lot of ways, so we would point out that a DCF is not perfect for every situation. If you still have some burning questions about this type of valuation, take a look at the Simply Wall St analysis model.

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View our latest analysis for Kellogg

The Calculation

We're using the 2-stage growth model, which simply means we take in account two stages of company's growth. In the initial period the company may have a higher growth rate and the second stage is usually assumed to have a stable growth rate. To start off with, we need to estimate the next ten years of cash flows. 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.

A DCF is all about the idea that a dollar in the future is less valuable than a dollar today, so we need to discount the sum of these future cash flows to arrive at a present value estimate:

10-year free cash flow (FCF) forecast

2023

2024

2025

2026

2027

2028

2029

2030

2031

2032

Levered FCF ($, Millions)

US$1.08b

US$1.23b

US$1.38b

US$1.72b

US$1.87b

US$1.99b

US$2.09b

US$2.17b

US$2.25b

US$2.32b

Growth Rate Estimate Source

Analyst x5

Analyst x4

Analyst x4

Analyst x1

Analyst x1

Est @ 6.20%

Est @ 4.97%

Est @ 4.11%

Est @ 3.51%

Est @ 3.09%

Present Value ($, Millions) Discounted @ 6.9%

US$1.0k

US$1.1k

US$1.1k

US$1.3k

US$1.3k

US$1.3k

US$1.3k

US$1.3k

US$1.2k

US$1.2k

("Est" = FCF growth rate estimated by Simply Wall St)
Present Value of 10-year Cash Flow (PVCF) = US$12b

We now need to calculate the Terminal Value, which accounts for all the future cash flows after this ten year period. For a number of reasons a very conservative growth rate is used that cannot exceed that of a country's GDP growth. In this case we have used the 5-year average of the 10-year government bond yield (2.1%) to estimate future growth. In the same way as with the 10-year 'growth' period, we discount future cash flows to today's value, using a cost of equity of 6.9%.

Terminal Value (TV)= FCF2032 × (1 + g) ÷ (r – g) = US$2.3b× (1 + 2.1%) ÷ (6.9%– 2.1%) = US$50b

Present Value of Terminal Value (PVTV)= TV / (1 + r)10= US$50b÷ ( 1 + 6.9%)10= US$26b

The total value, or equity value, is then the sum of the present value of the future cash flows, which in this case is US$38b. The last step is to then divide the equity value by the number of shares outstanding. Compared to the current share price of US$71.5, the company appears quite good value at a 35% 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 Kellogg 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 6.9%, which is based on a levered beta of 0.800. 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.

SWOT Analysis for Kellogg

Strength

  • Debt is well covered by earnings and cashflows.

  • Dividends are covered by earnings and cash flows.

Weakness

  • Earnings declined over the past year.

  • Dividend is low compared to the top 25% of dividend payers in the Food market.

Opportunity

  • Annual earnings are forecast to grow for the next 3 years.

  • Trading below our estimate of fair value by more than 20%.

Threat

  • Annual earnings are forecast to grow slower than the American market.

Moving On:

Although the valuation of a company is important, it shouldn't be the only metric you look at when researching a company. It's not possible to obtain a foolproof valuation with a DCF model. 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. Can we work out why the company is trading at a discount to intrinsic value? For Kellogg, there are three further factors you should consider:

  1. Risks: Every company has them, and we've spotted 3 warning signs for Kellogg you should know about.

  2. Management:Have insiders been ramping up their shares to take advantage of the market's sentiment for K's future outlook? Check out our management and board analysis with insights on CEO compensation and governance factors.

  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. Simply Wall St updates its DCF calculation for every American stock every day, so if you want to find the intrinsic value of any other stock just search here.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.

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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