General Motors Company (NYSE:GM) appears to be quite a value play. The company doesn’t pay a dividend, but easily could, and the the car maker has made significant restructuring efforts to clean up its balance sheet, and position operations better to capitalize on an expected increase in vehicle demand. Comparing the company to major U.S. and overseas peers, the stock could easily be undervalued by as much as 65%.
GM also has a relatively sturdy balance sheet, with cash of $26 billion and debt of $16 billion. What’s more is that the car maker doubled its credit facility towards the end of 2012 to bring its total cash and credit available to $42 billion. Part of this excess cash will go toward repurchasing 200 million shares from the U.S. government for $5.5 billion, reducing the U.S. Treasury’s stake in the company from 26.5% to 19% (read more about GM’s repayment plans).
One of the biggest issues for carmakers is their ability to innovate. As a result, there are inherent risks with every car maker that involves innovation (read more about this risk). As a result, GM plans to refresh 80% of its model lineup by 2014, which includes rolling out a new light truck platform, replacing its current seven year old GMT900 platform.
The other notable growth opportunity for General Motors Company (NYSE:GM) is China. Chinese auto sales more than doubled from 2007 to 2012, growing to 15.5 million from 6.7 million, making the country the largest auto market globally. What’s more is that the Chinese auto market is expected to grow by 10% in 2013, compared to only 8% for the U.S. market.
Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F), unlike General Motors Company (NYSE:GM), does pay a dividend, one that yields 2.97% (read about Ford as a dividend play). However, one big disadvantage to Ford is that its China market share is only around 3%, while GM’s is closer to 15%. Ford also saw its cash flow from operations decline 33% in 2012 on a year over year basis, and expects the pre-tax operating profit to remain flax in 2012.
What about its Japanese counterparts?
Honda Motor Co Ltd (ADR) (NYSE:HMC) has the maximum exposure to North America among the major Japanese automakers. Ward’s Automotive Reports states that Honda’s U.S. market share rose from 9% to 9.9% in 2012. This is a positive for the company, but the real growth story lies in emerging markets, thanks to rising prosperity in these regions.
Recent performance has also been poor for Honda. December-end quarterly results showed that earnings came in at $0.53 per share, compared to $0.34 for the same quarter last year, but still well below consensus of $0.62. This makes it the fourth quarter in a row that the company has missed consensus EPS estimates by 15% or more.
Toyota Motor Corporation (ADR) (NYSE:TM) is still struggling from a slightly tarnished brand name. Toyota has been hit with a string of recalls that have impacted it performance of late, and could well be a drag on the company through the near future. Since late 2009, Toyota recalled over 15 million vehicles across a total of 20 recalls, which is greater than any other automaker.
The company was also fined $17.3 million in 2012 by the U.S. Transportation Department for late responses related to vehicle defects (read more about why GM and Ford beat out overseas competitors). The car company missed consensus December-end quarterly EPS by 35%, and has seen 2013 consensus earnings expectations lowered by 11% over the past three months.
Dividend & valuation
Although GM doesn’t pay a dividend, the company easily could. Ford pays out 28% of its earnings in the form of dividends, which is a 2.97% dividend yield. If GM were to pay a dividend with a similar payout as Ford, then its dividend yield would also be 2.9%.
On an EV/EBITDA multiple basis, GM trades at only 1.4 times, however, Ford is at 6.8 times. Applying a 6.8 times multiple to GM’s EBITDA, there could be upside of over 200% for General Motors Company (NYSE:GM). What’s more is that GM trades below Ford and other major car companies on a price to sales multiple basis:
Price to sales
GM 0.3 times
Ford 0.4 times
Honda 0.7 times
Toyota 0.7 times
Don’t be fooled
After its bankruptcy, General Motors Company (NYSE:GM) has undergone notable restructuring, and now has a much healthier balance sheet and a plan for international expansion. The industry tailwinds are aligned to help propel all the major car companies, but I believe that GM has the best chance of seeing better than expected returns, given the fact that the company is undervalued. Another notable factor not baked into the stock is the potential for a dividend payout.
The article Crowning the Most Undervalued Car Company originally appeared on Fool.com and is written by Marshall Hargrave.
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