In This Article:
This article is for investors who would like to improve their understanding of price to earnings ratios (P/E ratios). We'll apply a basic P/E ratio analysis to Allied Group Limited's (HKG:373), to help you decide if the stock is worth further research. Allied Group has a P/E ratio of 4.57, based on the last twelve months. That means that at current prices, buyers pay HK$4.57 for every HK$1 in trailing yearly profits.
View our latest analysis for Allied Group
How Do I Calculate A Price To Earnings Ratio?
The formula for price to earnings is:
Price to Earnings Ratio = Share Price ÷ Earnings per Share (EPS)
Or for Allied Group:
P/E of 4.57 = HK$39.30 ÷ HK$8.61 (Based on the year 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 HK$1 of company earnings. That is not a good or a bad thing per se, but a high P/E does imply buyers are optimistic about the future.
Does Allied Group 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. If you look at the image below, you can see Allied Group has a lower P/E than the average (6.6) in the consumer finance industry classification.
This suggests that market participants think Allied Group will underperform other companies in its industry. Since the market seems unimpressed with Allied Group, 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
Generally speaking the rate of earnings growth has a profound impact on a company's P/E multiple. That's because companies that grow earnings per share quickly will rapidly increase the 'E' in the equation. Therefore, even if you pay a high multiple of earnings now, that multiple will become lower in the future. Then, a lower P/E should attract more buyers, pushing the share price up.
Allied Group's earnings per share fell by 45% in the last twelve months. But over the longer term (5 years) earnings per share have increased by 5.4%.
Don't Forget: The P/E Does Not Account For Debt or Bank Deposits
One drawback of using a P/E ratio is that it considers market capitalization, but not the balance sheet. Thus, the metric does not reflect cash or debt held by the company. The exact same company would hypothetically deserve a higher P/E ratio if it had a strong balance sheet, than if it had a weak one with lots of debt, because a cashed up company can spend on growth.