It's great to see Consilium (STO:CONS B) shareholders have their patience rewarded with a 177% share price pop in the last month. That's tops off a massive gain of 122% in the last year.
Assuming no other changes, a sharply higher share price makes a stock less attractive to potential buyers. While the market sentiment towards a stock is very changeable, in the long run, the share price will tend to move in the same direction as earnings per share. The implication here is that deep value investors might steer clear when expectations of a company are too high. 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 ratio means that investors have a high expectation about future growth, while a low P/E ratio means they have low expectations about future growth.
View our latest analysis for Consilium
Does Consilium Have A Relatively High Or Low P/E For Its Industry?
We can tell from its P/E ratio of 18.11 that sentiment around Consilium isn't particularly high. If you look at the image below, you can see Consilium has a lower P/E than the average (24.8) in the electronic industry classification.
Consilium'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 Consilium, 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
Earnings growth rates have a big influence on P/E ratios. If earnings are growing quickly, then the 'E' in the equation will increase faster than it would otherwise. That means even if the current P/E is high, it will reduce over time if the share price stays flat. A lower P/E should indicate the stock is cheap relative to others -- and that may attract buyers.
Consilium's earnings made like a rocket, taking off 345% last year. Having said that, if we look back three years, EPS growth has averaged a comparatively less impressive 5.2%.
Remember: P/E Ratios Don't Consider The Balance Sheet
Don't forget that the P/E ratio considers market capitalization. So it won't reflect the advantage of cash, or disadvantage of debt. 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.