Q: Please analyze this one. I'm in the lucky position, having it long enough, that I'm still decently positive but questioning it's future. Worth holding for awhile or moving on? Thank you.
5i Research Answer:
AIF saw a sharp drop following its Q3 financial results reported in early November. The stock's struggles have been driven by the slowdown in the real estate market and particularly, concerns regarding commerical real estate. Valuation has now come down to a more reasonable 18.3x forward-earnings. Outlook for 2024 does forecast a bounce back with EPS growth of ~42% and sales growth of ~12%, then moderate growth across both in 2025. The potential bounce back and growth outlook is a decent reason to hold, but it is fair to expect AIF to struggle for a bit following the weak Q3 and negative market trends. We are fine holding AIF to see how sentiment regarding real estate fares in 2024 and how the company bounces back from the weak Q3.