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It's really great to see that even after a strong run, NuVista Energy (TSE:NVA) shares have been powering on, with a gain of 32% in the last thirty days. But shareholders may not all be feeling jubilant, since the share price is still down 35% in the last year.
Assuming no other changes, a sharply higher share price makes a stock less attractive to potential buyers. In the long term, share prices tend to follow earnings per share, but in the short term prices bounce around in response to short term factors (which are not always obvious). So some would prefer to hold off buying when there is a lot of optimism towards a stock. Perhaps the simplest way to get a read on investors' expectations of a business is to look at its Price to Earnings Ratio (PE Ratio). A high P/E implies that investors have high expectations of what a company can achieve compared to a company with a low P/E ratio.
See our latest analysis for NuVista Energy
How Does NuVista Energy's P/E Ratio Compare To Its Peers?
NuVista Energy's P/E of 8.04 indicates relatively low sentiment towards the stock. If you look at the image below, you can see NuVista Energy has a lower P/E than the average (10.8) in the oil and gas industry classification.
NuVista Energy's P/E tells us that market participants think it will not fare as well as its peers in the same industry. Since the market seems unimpressed with NuVista Energy, it's quite possible it could surprise on the upside. If you consider the stock interesting, further research is recommended. For example, I often monitor director buying and selling.
How Growth Rates Impact P/E Ratios
Earnings growth rates have a big influence on P/E ratios. Earnings growth means that in the future the 'E' will be higher. That means even if the current P/E is high, it will reduce over time if the share price stays flat. And as that P/E ratio drops, the company will look cheap, unless its share price increases.
NuVista Energy shrunk earnings per share by 18% over the last year.
Don't Forget: The P/E Does Not Account For Debt or Bank Deposits
It's important to note that the P/E ratio considers the market capitalization, not the enterprise value. Thus, the metric does not reflect cash or debt held by the company. Hypothetically, a company could reduce its future P/E ratio by spending its cash (or taking on debt) to achieve higher earnings.
While growth expenditure doesn't always pay off, the point is that it is a good option to have; but one that the P/E ratio ignores.
So What Does NuVista Energy's Balance Sheet Tell Us?
Net debt totals a substantial 102% of NuVista Energy's market cap. This is a relatively high level of debt, so the stock probably deserves a relatively low P/E ratio. Keep that in mind when comparing it to other companies.