Advertisement
Canada markets close in 6 hours 17 minutes
  • S&P/TSX

    21,942.83
    +57.45 (+0.26%)
     
  • S&P 500

    5,083.72
    +35.30 (+0.70%)
     
  • DOW

    38,168.88
    +83.08 (+0.22%)
     
  • CAD/USD

    0.7319
    -0.0005 (-0.06%)
     
  • CRUDE OIL

    84.10
    +0.53 (+0.63%)
     
  • Bitcoin CAD

    87,452.04
    +977.23 (+1.13%)
     
  • CMC Crypto 200

    1,379.16
    -17.38 (-1.24%)
     
  • GOLD FUTURES

    2,354.50
    +12.00 (+0.51%)
     
  • RUSSELL 2000

    1,981.12
    -14.31 (-0.72%)
     
  • 10-Yr Bond

    4.6690
    -0.0370 (-0.79%)
     
  • NASDAQ

    15,815.87
    +204.11 (+1.31%)
     
  • VOLATILITY

    15.48
    +0.11 (+0.72%)
     
  • FTSE

    8,122.34
    +43.48 (+0.54%)
     
  • NIKKEI 225

    37,934.76
    +306.28 (+0.81%)
     
  • CAD/EUR

    0.6829
    +0.0008 (+0.12%)
     

How Does Trinseo S.A. (NYSE:TSE) Affect Your Portfolio Volatility?

If you're interested in Trinseo S.A. (NYSE:TSE), then you might want to consider its beta (a measure of share price volatility) in order to understand how the stock could impact your portfolio. Volatility is considered to be a measure of risk in modern finance theory. Investors may think of volatility as falling into two main categories. The first type is company specific volatility. Investors use diversification across uncorrelated stocks to reduce this kind of price volatility across the portfolio. The second type is the broader market volatility, which you cannot diversify away, since it arises from macroeconomic factors which directly affects all the stocks on the market.

Some stocks are more sensitive to general market forces than others. Some investors use beta as a measure of how much a certain stock is impacted by market risk (volatility). While we should keep in mind that Warren Buffett has cautioned that 'Volatility is far from synonymous with risk', beta is still a useful factor to consider. To make good use of it you must first know that the beta of the overall market is one. Any stock with a beta of greater than one is considered more volatile than the market, while those with a beta below one are either less volatile or poorly correlated with the market.

See our latest analysis for Trinseo

What TSE's beta value tells investors

Zooming in on Trinseo, we see it has a five year beta of 2. This is above 1, so historically its share price has been influenced by the broader volatility of the stock market. If the past is any guide, we would expect that Trinseo shares will rise quicker than the markets in times of optimism, but fall faster in times of pessimism. Many would argue that beta is useful in position sizing, but fundamental metrics such as revenue and earnings are more important overall. You can see Trinseo's revenue and earnings in the image below.

NYSE:TSE Income Statement, August 28th 2019
NYSE:TSE Income Statement, August 28th 2019

How does TSE's size impact its beta?

With a market capitalisation of US$1.3b, Trinseo is a small cap stock. However, it is big enough to catch the attention of professional investors. It has a relatively high beta, which is not unusual among small-cap stocks. Because it takes less capital to move the share price of a smaller company, actively traded small-cap stocks often have a higher beta that a similar large-cap stock.

What this means for you:

Since Trinseo tends to moves up when the market is going up, and down when it's going down, potential investors may wish to reflect on the overall market, when considering the stock. This article aims to educate investors about beta values, but it's well worth looking at important company-specific fundamentals such as Trinseo’s financial health and performance track record. I urge you to continue your research by taking a look at the following:

ADVERTISEMENT
  1. Future Outlook: What are well-informed industry analysts predicting for TSE’s future growth? Take a look at our free research report of analyst consensus for TSE’s outlook.

  2. Past Track Record: Has TSE been consistently performing well irrespective of the ups and downs in the market? Go into more detail in the past performance analysis and take a look at the free visual representations of TSE's historicals for more clarity.

  3. Other Interesting Stocks: It's worth checking to see how TSE measures up against other companies on valuation. You could start with this free list of prospective options.

We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.

If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. 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. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading.