KAR Auction Services Stock Price and Value Analysis

Should you buy KAR Auction Services stock? (NYSE:KAR). Let's see how it does in our automated value investing analysis system.

Advantages	Disadvantages	Neutral
None.	This stock looks overpriced. This company is less known than others. This company is making money at a modest rate. This company has wild ups and downs.	This company pays no dividend.

Inside the KAR Numbers

	KAR Price (KAR Auction Services stock price per share)	$13.44
× Present Value/Intrinsic Valuation The intrinsic value of a company is how much cash it can generate over its lifespan. If a business lasts for ten years and produces a million dollars of free cash profit every year, its intrinsic value is ten million dollars. The present value of an investment is the price you must pay right now to earn that intrinsic value in however many years you want to wait. This of course depends on the rate of return you want for your investment. You can't predict what a company will make in the future with perfect accuracy, but a company with a history of increasing its free cash flow every year is likely to do so over time. By projecting free cash flow into the future, you can calculate a fair price for the stock right now. While most stocks are priced fairly, sometimes they go on sale. This calculation will help you decide that. You still have to figure out if it's a good investment, but bargains exist. Close ^[?]	KAR Fair Price (based on intrinsic value)	$12.77
× Safety Margin Price The safety margin of a stock helps you avoid risk. Why? Because the discounted free cash flow analysis relies on estimates, discounting the fair price by a further safety margin gives you some wiggle room to be wrong about those estimates. Established companies with stable free cash flow growth need a small safety margin. Smaller and newer and riskier companies need a larger safety margin. A company with a lot of debt needs a larger safety margin and a company with a lot of equity needs less. By investing in multiple companies and keeping a sensible safety margin, you can be pleasantly surprised by great companies outperforming your expectations and minimize the possibility of stagnation (or even loss) by companies which underperform. Close ^[?]	KAR Safety Price (based on a variable margin of safety)	$7.66
× PE Ratio Versus Sector The PE ratio measures the reported earnings of a company to its current stock price. While earnings are easy to manipulate on the balance sheet, this ratio gives you a sense of what buyers are willing to pay for the stock—what they believe it will do in the future. Comparing a stock's PE to the average PE of companies in its industry gives you a sense of market sentiment about the stock and how well it fares financially. It's not the only number, nor the most important, but comparing similar companies is valuable. A ratio far above or below that of its peers is significant. Industries are more specific than sectors, so companies within most industries are more similar than are companies within an industry. Be aware that the size and customers of companies are important to their prospects. Close ^[?]	PE Ratio versus Sector	1662% higher than other Consumer Goods stocks
× PE Ratio Versus Industry The PE ratio measures the reported earnings of a company to its current stock price. While earnings are easy to manipulate on the balance sheet, this ratio gives you a sense of what buyers are willing to pay for the stock—what they believe it will do in the future. Comparing a stock's PE to the average PE of companies in its sector gives you a sense of market sentiment about the stock and how well it fares financially. It's not the only number, nor the most important, but comparing similar companies is valuable. A ratio far above or below that of its peers is significant. Be aware that sectors are very broad, with many types of companies in the same sector. Close ^[?]	PE Ratio versus Industry	0% lower than other Specialty Retail stocks
× Free Cash Flow Jitter The free cash flow jitter of a stock measures how much the company's free cash flow varies from its historical trend, on average. While it's always nice to make more money than you expected, a company with predictable free cash flow is stable and good. A company with wild swings in its free cash flow warrants further research. In general, the lower this number, the better. Close ^[?]	Free Cash Flow Jitter	69%

This stock has short interest! This means that people have shorted it.

Why does that matter? They've made a bet that price will decrease from where they bought it. Maybe there are financial problems, or maybe there's a value play.

As of the latest analysis, there are 8,951,846 shares shorted. With 113,797,555 shares available for purchase and an average trading volume over the past 10 trading days of 694,800, it would take at least 12.884 days for all of the short holders to cover their shorts.

What does this mean to you? At this volume, it'll take more than two trading weeks for shorts to cover. This may indicate a short squeeze play would work! If this stock has good fundamentals and it'll take a while for the short holders to cover, buying now could net you bigger short-term technical gains if and as the price rises.

Is KAR Auction Services Stock on Sale?

We believe that KAR Auction Services may be worth examining further. It's making money, which is a very positive sign. Is it on sale?

KAR Auction Services looks overpriced right now. If you're looking for a bargain in the stock market, you should probably look elsewhere for a great deal. This might still be a great stock to own—but it's not on sale right now.

Should You Buy KAR Stock?

Does KAR Auction Services have a coherent story? Does it have a plan to continue to make money? Is it worth your time? Only you can decide where to go from here. Our investment guide helps you ask the right questions, including how to buy stocks. Use these research links for more information.