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A Look At The Intrinsic Value Of Huazhu Group Limited (NASDAQ:HTHT)

Today we'll do a simple run through of a valuation method used to estimate the attractiveness of Huazhu Group Limited (NASDAQ:HTHT) as an investment opportunity by projecting its future cash flows and then discounting them to today's value. One way to achieve this is by employing the Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) model. Before you think you won't be able to understand it, just read on! It's actually much less complex than you'd imagine.

Remember though, that there are many ways to estimate a company's value, and a DCF is just one method. If you want to learn more about discounted cash flow, the rationale behind this calculation can be read in detail in the Simply Wall St analysis model.

View our latest analysis for Huazhu Group

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. 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.

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

2022

2023

2024

2025

2026

2027

2028

2029

2030

2031

Levered FCF (CN¥, Millions)

CN¥4.15b

CN¥4.42b

CN¥5.74b

CN¥6.66b

CN¥7.34b

CN¥7.90b

CN¥8.38b

CN¥8.78b

CN¥9.12b

CN¥9.43b

Growth Rate Estimate Source

Analyst x5

Analyst x4

Analyst x2

Analyst x2

Est @ 10.18%

Est @ 7.72%

Est @ 5.99%

Est @ 4.78%

Est @ 3.93%

Est @ 3.34%

Present Value (CN¥, Millions) Discounted @ 8.8%

CN¥3.8k

CN¥3.7k

CN¥4.5k

CN¥4.8k

CN¥4.8k

CN¥4.8k

CN¥4.6k

CN¥4.5k

CN¥4.3k

CN¥4.1k

("Est" = FCF growth rate estimated by Simply Wall St)
Present Value of 10-year Cash Flow (PVCF) = CN¥44b

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 8.8%.

Terminal Value (TV)= FCF2031 × (1 + g) ÷ (r – g) = CN¥9.4b× (1 + 2.0%) ÷ (8.8%– 2.0%) = CN¥140b

Present Value of Terminal Value (PVTV)= TV / (1 + r)10= CN¥140b÷ ( 1 + 8.8%)10= CN¥60b

The total value, or equity value, is then the sum of the present value of the future cash flows, which in this case is CN¥104b. To get the intrinsic value per share, we divide this by the total number of shares outstanding. Relative to the current share price of US$48.9, the company appears about fair value at a 1.2% 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

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. You don't have to agree with these inputs, I recommend redoing the calculations yourself and playing with them. 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 Huazhu Group 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 8.8%, which is based on a levered beta of 1.378. 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:

Whilst important, the DCF calculation is only one of many factors that you need to assess for a company. The DCF model is not a perfect stock valuation tool. 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 example, changes in the company's cost of equity or the risk free rate can significantly impact the valuation. For Huazhu Group, we've put together three important factors you should look at:

  1. Risks: For example, we've discovered 3 warning signs for Huazhu Group (1 is a bit unpleasant!) that you should be aware of before investing here.

  2. Future Earnings: How does HTHT'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 NASDAQGS 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. 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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