Yahoo Finance What Is Bouvet's (OB:BOUVET) P/E Ratio After Its Share Price Rocketed?
Bouvet (OB:BOUVET) shareholders are no doubt pleased to see that the share price has had a great month, posting a 33% gain, recovering from prior weakness. That brought the twelve month gain to a very sharp 54%.
All else being equal, a sharp share price increase should make a stock less attractive to potential investors. 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.
See our latest analysis for Bouvet
How Does Bouvet's P/E Ratio Compare To Its Peers?
We can tell from its P/E ratio of 24.47 that there is some investor optimism about Bouvet. As you can see below, Bouvet has a higher P/E than the average company (22.0) in the it industry.
Bouvet's P/E tells us that market participants think the company will perform better than its industry peers, going forward. Clearly the market expects growth, but it isn't guaranteed. So further research is always essential. 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. That's because companies that grow earnings per share quickly will rapidly increase the 'E' in the equation. 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.
Bouvet increased earnings per share by an impressive 19% over the last twelve months. And earnings per share have improved by 26% annually, over the last five years. This could arguably justify a relatively high 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. So it won't reflect the advantage of cash, or disadvantage of debt. In theory, a company can lower its future P/E ratio by using cash or debt to invest in growth.
Such spending might be good or bad, overall, but the key point here is that you need to look at debt to understand the P/E ratio in context.
So What Does Bouvet's Balance Sheet Tell Us?
The extra options and safety that comes with Bouvet's kr345m net cash position means that it deserves a higher P/E than it would if it had a lot of net debt.
The Verdict On Bouvet's P/E Ratio
Bouvet's P/E is 24.5 which is above average (11.7) in its market. Its net cash position supports a higher P/E ratio, as does its solid recent earnings growth. So it does not seem strange that the P/E is above average. What is very clear is that the market has become significantly more optimistic about Bouvet over the last month, with the P/E ratio rising from 18.5 back then to 24.5 today. If you like to buy stocks that have recently impressed the market, then this one might be a candidate; but if you prefer to invest when there is 'blood in the streets', then you may feel the opportunity has passed.
Investors should be looking to buy stocks that the market is wrong about. People often underestimate remarkable growth -- so investors can make money when fast growth is not fully appreciated. We don't have analyst forecasts, but shareholders might want to examine this detailed historical graph of earnings, revenue and cash flow.
But note: Bouvet 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).
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.
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. Thank you for reading.
