John Bean Technologies Corporation (NYSE:JBT), might not be a large cap stock, but it saw a double-digit share price rise of over 10% in the past couple of months on the NYSE. The recent rally in share prices has nudged the company in the right direction, though it still falls short of its yearly peak. As a well-established company, which tends to be well-covered by analysts, you could assume any recent changes in the company's outlook is already priced into the stock. However, what if the stock is still a bargain? Let's take a look at John Bean Technologies's outlook and value based on the most recent financial data to see if the opportunity still exists.

Is John Bean Technologies Still Cheap?

According to our price multiple model, which makes a comparison between the company's price-to-earnings ratio and the industry average, the stock price seems to be justfied. In this instance, we've used the price-to-earnings (PE) ratio given that there is not enough information to reliably forecast the stock's cash flows. We find that John Bean Technologies's ratio of 23.39x is trading slightly above its industry peers' ratio of 21.65x, which means if you buy John Bean Technologies today, you'd be paying a relatively sensible price for it. And if you believe that John Bean Technologies should be trading at this level in the long run, then there should only be a fairly immaterial downside vs other industry peers. So, is there another chance to buy low in the future? Given that John Bean Technologies's share is fairly volatile (i.e. its price movements are magnified relative to the rest of the market) this could mean the price can sink lower, giving us an opportunity to buy later on. This is based on its high beta, which is a good indicator for share price volatility.

What does the future of John Bean Technologies look like?

Investors looking for growth in their portfolio may want to consider the prospects of a company before buying its shares. Although value investors would argue that it's the intrinsic value relative to the price that matter the most, a more compelling investment thesis would be high growth potential at a cheap price. John Bean Technologies' earnings growth are expected to be in the teens in the upcoming year, indicating a solid future ahead. This should lead to robust cash flows, feeding into a higher share value.

What This Means For You

Are you a shareholder? It seems like the market has already priced in JBT's positive outlook, with shares trading around industry price multiples. However, there are also other important factors which we haven't considered today, such as the financial strength of the company. Have these factors changed since the last time you looked at JBT? Will you have enough conviction to buy should the price fluctuate below the industry PE ratio?

Are you a potential investor? If you've been keeping tabs on JBT, now may not be the most advantageous time to buy, given it is trading around industry price multiples. However, the positive outlook is encouraging for JBT, which means it's worth diving deeper into other factors such as the strength of its balance sheet, in order to take advantage of the next price drop.

It can be quite valuable to consider what analysts expect for John Bean Technologies from their most recent forecasts. So feel free to check out our free graph representing analyst forecasts.

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

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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