LV Stock Valuation by Benjamin Graham's Formula

Feb 6

Benjamin Graham's stock valuation formula for growth companies is based on the principle that a stock is a part of a business, and that by analyzing the fundamentals of any company in the stock market, you should be able to derive its intrinsic value independent from its current stock price. Graham suggests that over the long-term, the stock price of a company and its intrinsic/fair value will converge towards each other until the stock price reflects the true value of the company. Finally, Graham recommends that after estimating the intrinsic value of a stock, investors should always purchase the stock with a "margin of safety," to protect oneself from assumptions and potential errors made in the valuation process.

Graham's stock valuation formula to calculate intrinsic value was originally shown in the 1962 edition of Security Analysis as follows:

V = EPS * (8.5 + 2g)

where:
V = intrinsic value per share (over the next 7-10 years)
EPS = earnings per share (over the trailing twelve months (TTM))
8.5 = price-to-earnings (P/E) base for a no-growth company
g = reasonably expected annual growth rate (over the next 7-10 years)

In 1974, Graham revised this formula, as published in The Intelligent Investor, to include a discount rate (aka required rate of return). This was after he concluded that the greatest contributing to stock values and prices over the past decade had been due to interest rates.

Graham's current stock valuation formula is shown below:

V = (EPS * (8.5 + 2g) * Z) / Y

where:
V = intrinsic value per share (over the next 7-10 years)
EPS = diluted earnings per share (over the trailing twelve months (TTM))
8.5 = price-to-earnings (P/E) base for a no-growth company (you can change it manually)
g = reasonably expected annual growth rate (calculated by 5-Yr EPS CAGR%) (you can change year period)
Z = average yield of XXX Bonds (4.4 is default on Graham's formula)
Y = current yield of XXX Bonds
Current bond yield values (Z and Y) are selected as an example from Turkey. You need to change it according to the country of stocks.

Buy price (BP) = Intrinsic value per share * (1 - Margin of safety %)
Margin of safety = selected 20% (you need to change it to 0, if you don’t want to use margin of safety and to see intrinsic value)

Buy price > Current market price: Consider buying the stock, as the current market price appears to be undervalued.
Buy price < Current market price: Consider selling or not buying the stock, as the current market price appears to be overvalued.

Keep in mind that this buy/sell recommendation is purely based on Graham's stock valuation formula and the current market price, and ignores all other fundamental, news, and market factors investors should examine as well before making an investment decision.

Buy price is calculated for 5 different P/E values in the script.
1. with fixed P/E
2. with current P/E
3. with forward P/E
4. with sector P/E (optional)
5. with index P/E (optional)
You can also do calculations by using different growth rate by selecting that option.
Different type of moving averages is also included in the script as an option.