Yahoo Finance Do You Like ACEA S.p.A. (BIT:ACE) At This P/E Ratio?
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The goal of this article is to teach you how to use price to earnings ratios (P/E ratios). We'll show how you can use ACEA S.p.A.'s (BIT:ACE) P/E ratio to inform your assessment of the investment opportunity. Looking at earnings over the last twelve months, ACEA has a P/E ratio of 13.22. In other words, at today's prices, investors are paying €13.22 for every €1 in prior year profit.
Check out our latest analysis for ACEA
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 ACEA:
P/E of 13.22 = €16.74 ÷ €1.27 (Based on the trailing twelve months to March 2019.)
Is A High P/E Ratio Good?
The higher the P/E ratio, the higher the price tag of a business, relative to its trailing 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.
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. A lower P/E should indicate the stock is cheap relative to others -- and that may attract buyers.
It's nice to see that ACEA grew EPS by a stonking 40% in the last year. And its annual EPS growth rate over 5 years is 12%. So we'd generally expect it to have a relatively high P/E ratio.
Does ACEA Have A Relatively High Or Low P/E For Its Industry?
One good way to get a quick read on what market participants expect of a company is to look at its P/E ratio. If you look at the image below, you can see ACEA has a lower P/E than the average (18.9) in the integrated utilities industry classification.
Its relatively low P/E ratio indicates that ACEA shareholders think it will struggle to do as well as other companies in its industry classification. Since the market seems unimpressed with ACEA, 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.
Don't Forget: The P/E Does Not Account For Debt or Bank Deposits
The 'Price' in P/E reflects the market capitalization of the company. 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.
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.
How Does ACEA's Debt Impact Its P/E Ratio?
ACEA's net debt is 76% of its market cap. This is enough debt that you'd have to make some adjustments before using the P/E ratio to compare it to a company with net cash.
The Bottom Line On ACEA's P/E Ratio
ACEA has a P/E of 13.2. That's below the average in the IT market, which is 15.8. While the EPS growth last year was strong, the significant debt levels reduce the number of options available to management. If the company can continue to grow earnings, then the current P/E may be unjustifiably low.
Investors should be looking to buy stocks that the market is wrong about. If it is underestimating a company, investors can make money by buying and holding the shares until the market corrects itself. So this free visualization of the analyst consensus on future earnings could help you make the right decision about whether to buy, sell, or hold.
But note: ACEA may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies with strong recent earnings growth (and a P/E ratio below 20).
We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.
If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading.
