In This Article:
Today, we'll introduce the concept of the P/E ratio for those who are learning about investing. We'll look at Fervi Spa's (BIT:FVI) P/E ratio and reflect on what it tells us about the company's share price. What is Fervi's P/E ratio? Well, based on the last twelve months it is 12.82. That is equivalent to an earnings yield of about 7.8%.
See our latest analysis for Fervi
How Do I Calculate A Price To Earnings Ratio?
The formula for price to earnings is:
Price to Earnings Ratio = Price per Share ÷ Earnings per Share (EPS)
Or for Fervi:
P/E of 12.82 = €11.20 ÷ €0.87 (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2019.)
Is A High Price-to-Earnings Ratio Good?
A higher P/E ratio means that investors are paying a higher price for each €1 of company earnings. That isn't a good or a bad thing on its own, but a high P/E means that buyers have a higher opinion of the business's prospects, relative to stocks with a lower P/E.
How Does Fervi's P/E Ratio Compare To Its Peers?
We can get an indication of market expectations by looking at the P/E ratio. We can see in the image below that the average P/E (17.3) for companies in the machinery industry is higher than Fervi's P/E.
Its relatively low P/E ratio indicates that Fervi shareholders think it will struggle to do as well as other companies in its industry classification. While current expectations are low, the stock could be undervalued if the situation is better than the market assumes. It is arguably worth checking if insiders are buying shares, because that might imply they believe the stock is undervalued.
How Growth Rates Impact P/E Ratios
P/E ratios primarily reflect market expectations around earnings growth rates. Earnings growth means that in the future the 'E' will be higher. And in that case, the P/E ratio itself will drop rather quickly. So while a stock may look expensive based on past earnings, it could be cheap based on future earnings.
Most would be impressed by Fervi earnings growth of 17% in the last year.
Don't Forget: The P/E Does Not Account For Debt or Bank Deposits
Don't forget that the P/E ratio considers market capitalization. That means it doesn't take debt or cash into account. In theory, a company can lower its future P/E ratio by using cash or debt to invest in growth.
Such spending might be good or bad, overall, but the key point here is that you need to look at debt to understand the P/E ratio in context.
Is Debt Impacting Fervi's P/E?
Fervi has net cash of €1.0m. That should lead to a higher P/E than if it did have debt, because its strong balance sheets gives it more options.