In This Article:
This article is for investors who would like to improve their understanding of price to earnings ratios (P/E ratios). To keep it practical, we'll show how Shi Shi Services Limited's (HKG:8181) P/E ratio could help you assess the value on offer. Based on the last twelve months, Shi Shi Services's P/E ratio is 7.32. That means that at current prices, buyers pay HK$7.32 for every HK$1 in trailing yearly profits.
View our latest analysis for Shi Shi Services
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 Shi Shi Services:
P/E of 7.32 = HKD0.34 ÷ HKD0.05 (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2019.)
Is A High Price-to-Earnings Ratio Good?
A higher P/E ratio means that investors are paying a higher price for each HKD1 of company earnings. All else being equal, it's better to pay a low price -- but as Warren Buffett said, 'It's far better to buy a wonderful company at a fair price than a fair company at a wonderful price'.
Does Shi Shi Services Have A Relatively High Or Low P/E For Its Industry?
We can get an indication of market expectations by looking at the P/E ratio. The image below shows that Shi Shi Services has a lower P/E than the average (15.6) P/E for companies in the consumer services industry.
Its relatively low P/E ratio indicates that Shi Shi Services shareholders think it will struggle to do as well as other companies in its industry classification. Since the market seems unimpressed with Shi Shi Services, it's quite possible it could surprise on the upside. 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. That's because companies that grow earnings per share quickly will rapidly increase the 'E' in the equation. That means unless the share price increases, the P/E will reduce in a few years. So while a stock may look expensive based on past earnings, it could be cheap based on future earnings.
It's great to see that Shi Shi Services grew EPS by 24% in the last year. And earnings per share have improved by 36% annually, over the last five years. With that performance, you might expect an above average P/E ratio.
A Limitation: P/E Ratios Ignore Debt and Cash In The Bank
It's important to note that the P/E ratio considers the market capitalization, not the enterprise value. In other words, it does not consider any debt or cash that the company may have on the balance sheet. In theory, a company can lower its future P/E ratio by using cash or debt to invest in growth.