Today we're going to take a look at the well-established Dow Inc. (NYSE:DOW). The company's stock received a lot of attention from a substantial price movement on the NYSE over the last few months, increasing to US$65.59 at one point, and dropping to the lows of US$55.53. Some share price movements can give investors a better opportunity to enter into the stock, and potentially buy at a lower price. A question to answer is whether Dow's current trading price of US$56.81 reflective of the actual value of the large-cap? Or is it currently undervalued, providing us with the opportunity to buy? Let’s take a look at Dow’s outlook and value based on the most recent financial data to see if there are any catalysts for a price change.

Check out our latest analysis for Dow

What's the opportunity in Dow?

Great news for investors – Dow is still trading at a fairly cheap price according to my price multiple model, where I compare the company's price-to-earnings ratio to the industry average. In this instance, I’ve used the price-to-earnings (PE) ratio given that there is not enough information to reliably forecast the stock’s cash flows. I find that Dow’s ratio of 10.3x is below its peer average of 22.76x, which indicates the stock is trading at a lower price compared to the Chemicals industry. What’s more interesting is that, Dow’s share price is quite volatile, which gives us more chances to buy since the share price could sink lower (or rise higher) in the future. This is based on its high beta, which is a good indicator for how much the stock moves relative to the rest of the market.

Can we expect growth from Dow?

Future outlook is an important aspect when you’re looking at buying a stock, especially if you are an investor looking for growth in your portfolio. Buying a great company with a robust outlook at a cheap price is always a good investment, so let’s also take a look at the company's future expectations. However, with a relatively muted profit growth of 7.9% expected over the next couple of years, growth doesn’t seem like a key driver for a buy decision for Dow, at least in the short term.

What this means for you:

Are you a shareholder? Even though growth is relatively muted, since DOW is currently trading below the industry PE ratio, it may be a great time to accumulate more of your holdings in the stock. However, there are also other factors such as capital structure to consider, which could explain the current price multiple.

Are you a potential investor? If you’ve been keeping an eye on DOW for a while, now might be the time to enter the stock. Its future profit outlook isn’t fully reflected in the current share price yet, which means it’s not too late to buy DOW. But before you make any investment decisions, consider other factors such as the track record of its management team, in order to make a well-informed investment decision.

With this in mind, we wouldn't consider investing in a stock unless we had a thorough understanding of the risks. To help with this, we've discovered 3 warning signs (1 is concerning!) that you ought to be aware of before buying any shares in Dow.

If you are no longer interested in Dow, you can use our free platform to see our list of over 50 other stocks with a high growth potential.

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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