Yahoo Finance Is The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) Expensive For A Reason? A Look At Its Intrinsic Value
Today we will run through one way of estimating the intrinsic value of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) by taking the expected future cash flows and discounting them to today's value. We will use the Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) model on this occasion. It may sound complicated, but actually it is quite simple!
We generally believe that a company's value is the present value of all of the cash it will generate in the future. However, a DCF is just one valuation metric among many, and it is not without flaws. Anyone interested in learning a bit more about intrinsic value should have a read of the Simply Wall St analysis model.
See our latest analysis for Williams Companies
What's The Estimated Valuation?
We are going to use a two-stage DCF model, which, as the name states, takes into account two stages of growth. The first stage is generally a higher growth period which levels off heading towards the terminal value, captured in the second 'steady growth' period. 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.
A DCF is all about the idea that a dollar in the future is less valuable than a dollar today, and so the sum of these future cash flows is then discounted to today's value:
10-year free cash flow (FCF) forecast
2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 | 2027 | 2028 | 2029 | 2030 | 2031 | 2032 | |
Levered FCF ($, Millions) | US$2.84b | US$3.04b | US$2.97b | US$3.12b | US$3.31b | US$3.40b | US$3.48b | US$3.57b | US$3.65b | US$3.72b |
Growth Rate Estimate Source | Analyst x6 | Analyst x5 | Analyst x2 | Analyst x2 | Analyst x1 | Est @ 2.73% | Est @ 2.51% | Est @ 2.35% | Est @ 2.24% | Est @ 2.16% |
Present Value ($, Millions) Discounted @ 12% | US$2.5k | US$2.4k | US$2.1k | US$2.0k | US$1.9k | US$1.8k | US$1.6k | US$1.5k | US$1.4k | US$1.3k |
("Est" = FCF growth rate estimated by Simply Wall St)
Present Value of 10-year Cash Flow (PVCF) = US$19b
The second stage is also known as Terminal Value, this is the business's cash flow after the first stage. 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 (2.0%) 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 12%.
Terminal Value (TV)= FCF2032 × (1 + g) ÷ (r – g) = US$3.7b× (1 + 2.0%) ÷ (12%– 2.0%) = US$40b
Present Value of Terminal Value (PVTV)= TV / (1 + r)10= US$40b÷ ( 1 + 12%)10= US$13b
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 US$32b. To get the intrinsic value per share, we divide this by the total number of shares outstanding. Compared to the current share price of US$31.5, the company appears slightly overvalued at the time of writing. Remember though, that this is just an approximate valuation, and like any complex formula - garbage in, garbage out.
Important Assumptions
We would point out that the most important inputs to a discounted cash flow are the discount rate and of course the actual 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 Williams Companies 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 1.586. 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 Williams Companies
Strength
Earnings growth over the past year exceeded its 5-year average.
Debt is well covered by cash flow.
Dividend is in the top 25% of dividend payers in the market.
Weakness
Earnings growth over the past year underperformed the Oil and Gas industry.
Interest payments on debt are not well covered.
Expensive based on P/E ratio and estimated fair value.
Opportunity
Annual earnings are forecast to grow for the next 4 years.
Threat
Dividends are not covered by earnings.
Annual earnings are forecast to grow slower than the American market.
Moving On:
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. Preferably you'd apply different cases and assumptions and see how they would impact the company's valuation. For instance, if the terminal value growth rate is adjusted slightly, it can dramatically alter the overall result. What is the reason for the share price exceeding the intrinsic value? For Williams Companies, we've compiled three pertinent factors you should assess:
Risks: Consider for instance, the ever-present spectre of investment risk. We've identified 3 warning signs with Williams Companies (at least 1 which is concerning) , and understanding these should be part of your investment process.
Future Earnings: How does WMB'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.
Other High Quality Alternatives: Do you like a good all-rounder? Explore our interactive list of high quality stocks to get an idea of what else is out there you may be missing!
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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