Is Kinetik Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KNTK) Trading At A 46% Discount?

Key Insights

• The projected fair value for Kinetik Holdings is US$78.78 based on 2 Stage Free Cash Flow to Equity

• Kinetik Holdings is estimated to be 46% undervalued based on current share price of US$42.79

• Our fair value estimate is 83% higher than Kinetik Holdings' analyst price target of US$43.12

How far off is Kinetik Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KNTK) from its intrinsic value? Using the most recent financial data, we'll take a look at whether the stock is fairly priced by projecting its future cash flows and then discounting them to today's value. We will use the Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) model on this occasion. Don't get put off by the jargon, the math behind it is actually quite straightforward.

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.

View our latest analysis for Kinetik Holdings

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. To begin with, we have to get estimates of 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, so we discount the value of these future cash flows to their estimated value in today's dollars:

10-year free cash flow (FCF) forecast

	2025	2026	2027	2028	2029	2030	2031	2032	2033	2034
Levered FCF ($, Millions)	US$451.4m	US$529.0m	US$657.0m	US$754.0m	US$826.0m	US$887.1m	US$939.4m	US$984.9m	US$1.03b	US$1.06b
Growth Rate Estimate Source	Analyst x4	Analyst x3	Analyst x1	Analyst x1	Est @ 9.55%	Est @ 7.40%	Est @ 5.89%	Est @ 4.84%	Est @ 4.10%	Est @ 3.59%
Present Value ($, Millions) Discounted @ 8.9%	US$415	US$446	US$509	US$537	US$540	US$533	US$518	US$499	US$477	US$454

("Est" = FCF growth rate estimated by Simply Wall St)
Present Value of 10-year Cash Flow (PVCF) = US$4.9b

We now need to calculate the Terminal Value, which accounts for all the future cash flows after this ten year period. The Gordon Growth formula is used to calculate Terminal Value at a future annual growth rate equal to the 5-year average of the 10-year government bond yield of 2.4%. We discount the terminal cash flows to today's value at a cost of equity of 8.9%.

Terminal Value (TV)= FCF₂₀₃₄ × (1 + g) ÷ (r – g) = US$1.1b× (1 + 2.4%) ÷ (8.9%– 2.4%) = US$17b

Present Value of Terminal Value (PVTV)= TV / (1 + r)¹⁰= US$17b÷ ( 1 + 8.9%)¹⁰= US$7.2b

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$12b. The last step is to then divide the equity value by the number of shares outstanding. Compared to the current share price of US$42.8, the company appears quite undervalued at a 46% discount to where the stock price trades currently. Remember though, that this is just an approximate valuation, and like any complex formula - garbage in, garbage out.

dcf

The Assumptions

Now 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 Kinetik Holdings 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 8.9%, which is based on a levered beta of 1.409. 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 Kinetik Holdings

Strength

• Earnings growth over the past year exceeded the industry.

• Dividend is in the top 25% of dividend payers in the market.

Weakness

• Interest payments on debt are not well covered.

• Shareholders have been diluted in the past year.

Opportunity

• Annual revenue is forecast to grow faster than the American market.

• Good value based on P/E ratio and estimated fair value.

Threat

• Debt is not well covered by operating cash flow.

• Dividends are not covered by cash flow.

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

Next Steps:

Valuation is only one side of the coin in terms of building your investment thesis, and it ideally won't be the sole piece of analysis you scrutinize for a company. It's not possible to obtain a foolproof valuation with a DCF model. Preferably you'd apply different cases and assumptions and see how they would impact the company's valuation. For example, changes in the company's cost of equity or the risk free rate can significantly impact the valuation. Can we work out why the company is trading at a discount to intrinsic value? For Kinetik Holdings, there are three additional factors you should further research:

1. Risks: We feel that you should assess the 3 warning signs for Kinetik Holdings (1 is potentially serious!) we've flagged before making an investment in the company.

2. Future Earnings: How does KNTK'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 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.

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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.

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