Ballard Power Systems Inc.

Sound bite for Twitter and StockTwits is: Clean energy stock. There does not seem to be any way to value this stock. It is not making any money. It does not even have momentum currently. It has been declining since hitting a peak in April of this year. See my spreadsheet on Ballard Power Systems Inc.

I do not own this stock of Ballard Power Systems Inc. (TSX-BLDP, NASDAQ-BLDP), but I used to. Back in 1997, I read about Ballard and fell in love with the idea of cars running with fuel cells. I could help save the environment and also make some money. It was very attractive. I sold this stock in 2006 because it had lost its attraction. It did not seem that Ballard fuel cells would be in any car anytime soon.

I was ahead in 2000, but the stock started to fall in October 2000 and never recovered. If I had kept to today, I would have lost some 78% of my investment. The stock hit a low in 2012 and has recovered from there. That is why the 5 year total return is 15.08% per year and the 10 year total return is at a negative 10.40% per year. All the returns are capital gains as the company pays no dividends.

For this spreadsheet, any green shows results that are less bad. For example, the growth for EPS over the past 5 and 10 years are 20.13% and 22.20% per year. However for the 5 years, the EPS went from a loss of $0.40 to a loss of $0.13. The 10 years was a loss of $1.60 to a loss of $0.13. They loss is less now, but to me the EPS is just less bad.

I cannot do a price check using Price/Earnings per Share Ratios. Most past P/E Ratios are negative. There is no check using dividends yield as there has never been dividends.

The closes I can get to a current Graham Price is on of $0.70 CDN$. The 10 year low, median and high median Price/Graham Price Ratios are 0.32, 0.59 and 0.90. The current P/GP Ratio is 5.26 based on a stock price of $3.68 CDN$. This stock price testing suggests that the stock is relatively expensive. However, there is a problem coming up with a Graham price.

The 10 year median Price/Book Value per Share Ratio is 1.88 US$. This is a rather normal value for this ratio. The current P/B Ratio is 4.27. This is a very high value for this ratio. The current P/B Ratio is based on Book Value of $120M US$, BVPS of $0.68 US$ and a stock price of $2.91 US$. The current ratio is some 126% above the 10 year median ratio. This stock price testing suggests that the stock is relatively expensive. Of course the problem is that Book Value is dropping. The BVPS has dropped 8% per year over the past 5 years by 18% per year over the past 10 years.

The 10 year median Price/Sales (Revenue) Ratio is 3.06 US$. The current P/S Ratio is 4.75 based on a stock price of $2.91 US$, 2017 Revenue estimate of $108M US$, and Revenue per Share of $0.61 US$. The current P/S Ratio is some 55% above the 10 year median P/S Ratio. This stock price testing suggests that the stock is relatively expensive.

There does not seem to be many analysts following this stock. There are 3 with one Buy recommendation and 2 Hold recommendations. The consensus recommendation would be a Hold. The 12 month stock price is $2.38 US$. This implies a loss of 18.26% and all capital loss.

Karen Thomas of Motley Fool likes this stock. It has done well over the very short term in capital gains returns. Sarah Dixon on Clayton News Review gives another and more technical review of this stock.

Ballard Power Systems, Inc. is a global leader in PEM (proton exchange membrane) fuel cell technology. They provide clean energy fuel cell products enabling optimized power systems for a range of applications. Ballard offers smarter solutions for a clean energy future. Its web site is here Ballard Power Systems Inc.

The last stock I wrote about was about was Savaria Corporation (TSX-SIS, OTC-SISXF)... learn more. The next stock I will write about will be Loblaw Companies Ltd. (TSX-L, OTC-LBLCF)... learn more on Wednesday, August 9, 2017 around 5 pm. Today on my other blog I will write about Dividend Changes... learn more on Tuesday, August 8, 2017 around 5 pm.

This blog is meant for educational purposes only, and is not to provide investment advice. Before making any investment decision, you should always do your own research or consult an investment professional. I do research for my own edification and I am willing to share. I write what I think and I may or may not be correct.

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