Data sourced from SEC EDGAR filings and third-party price providers. Scores, valuations, and metrics are algorithmic estimates. This is not investment advice. See our Terms and Methodology.
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Data sourced from SEC EDGAR filings and third-party price providers. Scores, valuations, and metrics are algorithmic estimates. This is not investment advice. See our Terms and Methodology.
Costain Group plc is a leading British engineering and construction company headquartered in London, with over 160 years of history since its founding in 1865 by Richard Costain. The company specializes in delivering integrated infrastructure solutions across the full lifecycle of projects, encompassing design, consultancy, construction, and maintenance. It operates primarily in two divisions: Natural Resources, covering water, energy, defense, and nuclear; and Transportation, including roads, rail, and integrated transport. Costain focuses on sustainable development, emphasizing decarbonization, climate resilience, energy transition, and biodiversity net gain to address UK challenges like net zero emissions and infrastructure upgrades. Notable projects include the Channel Tunnel, Thames Barrier, Crossrail stations, HS2, and recent contracts such as a £1 billion deal with Sellafield Ltd for nuclear decommissioning and advanced nuclear fuels facilities. Generating most revenue in the UK, Costain plays a vital role in enhancing national infrastructure resilience, economic growth, and environmental sustainability through innovative engineering in critical sectors.
£2.17
+£0.06 (+3.09%)
EOD Jul 3, 2026
Operating margin is thin at 4.28%. Limited cushion if revenue slows or costs rise, not the profile of a wide-moat business.
Revenue declined 16.4% YoY. The question is whether this is cyclical or a structural shift.
Even for strong businesses, today's 16x P/E means the stock needs to keep delivering. There's no margin of safety if growth disappoints.
15.8x earnings, 12.0x FCF. Valuation is in a reasonable range. The main question is whether the business can re-accelerate or if current trajectory is already priced in.
Based on TTM earnings · Diluted shares
Profitability & Returns
Revenue (TTM)
£1.05B
▼ -16.4% YoY
Net Income (TTM)
£37M
▲ +21.9% YoY
Op. Margin
4.28%
▲ +1.8pp YoY
ROIC
12.73%
▲ +2.4pp YoY
Cash Flow & Balance Sheet
FCF (TTM)
£49M
▲ +44.3% YoY
Op. Cash Flow (TTM)
£50M
▲ +17.4% YoY
Net Debt
-£164M
Net Cash Position
Cash & Equiv.
£189M
3Y CAGR: -9.7%
3Y CAGR: +52.8%
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At a P/E of 15.8 and a price-to-free-cash-flow of 12.0, Costain Group (COST.XLON) trades below a two-stage DCF intrinsic value of about £6.39 per share, so at £2.17 the stock looks undervalued (194.5% below estimated intrinsic value). A high multiple is not the same as overvalued: fast-growing, high-quality businesses can deserve a premium. See the general approach in how to tell if a stock is overvalued.
On quality, Costain Group scores 77/100 on Intrinsiqq's quality scorecard (a solid business on these measures), weighing growth, margins, returns on capital, share count, and balance-sheet strength. It currently yields about 1.3%; see dividend safety for coverage and history. All figures are computed from SEC filings; read the full methodology. This is analysis, not investment advice.
Intrinsiqq's two-stage DCF estimates an intrinsic value of about £6.39 per share for COST.XLON, projecting its recent free cash flow forward with a growth rate that fades toward a long-run rate and discounting it back to today. Applying a 25% margin of safety gives a more conservative fair-value entry around £4.79. At today's £2.17, that puts the stock about 194.5% below estimated intrinsic value. The result is sensitive to the growth and discount-rate inputs, so it is best to run conservative, base and optimistic cases. You can adjust all of them yourself with the sliders on the DCF tab.
Costain Group scores 77 out of 100 on Intrinsiqq's quality score, a weighted blend of 8 metrics each scored 0 to 100, which makes it a solid business on these measures. Recent fundamentals include a 4.3% operating margin and a 12.7% return on invested capital. The score weighs revenue and free-cash-flow growth, operating margins, return on invested capital, share-count change, and balance-sheet strength, all computed from SEC filings, not opinion. Because valuation only means something relative to quality, the full metric-by-metric breakdown is on the quality scorecard.
Yes, Costain Group pays a regular dividend of about £0.03 per share per year (typically in quarterly installments), a yield of roughly 1.3% at the current price. That is a payout ratio of about 19.6% of earnings, so the dividend is amply covered by earnings. Costain Group has grown the dividend at roughly 157.6% a year over the past few years. A low headline yield is not the same as a weak dividend: what matters is how well earnings and free cash flow cover the payout and whether it is growing, not the percentage alone. For COST.XLON's full payout history, growth streak and dividend-safety score, see the dividends tab.
That depends on valuation and quality together, not either alone. COST.XLON currently trades below its estimated intrinsic value and scores 77/100 on quality (solid). It also yields about 1.3%. A cheap price is only a bargain if the business is durable, and a premium can be justified by genuine quality, so the two questions, "is it cheap?" and "is it good?", only make sense side by side. Read the valuation against the quality scorecard, run the DCF on your own assumptions, and decide for yourself. This is analysis from SEC filings, not investment advice.