Yahoo Finance What Does Bouvet ASA's (OB:BOUVET) P/E Ratio Tell You?
This article is written for those who want to get better at using price to earnings ratios (P/E ratios). To keep it practical, we'll show how Bouvet ASA's (OB:BOUVET) P/E ratio could help you assess the value on offer. Looking at earnings over the last twelve months, Bouvet has a P/E ratio of 18.91. That is equivalent to an earnings yield of about 5.3%.
See our latest analysis for Bouvet
How Do You Calculate A P/E Ratio?
The formula for price to earnings is:
Price to Earnings Ratio = Price per Share ÷ Earnings per Share (EPS)
Or for Bouvet:
P/E of 18.91 = NOK333.000 ÷ NOK17.612 (Based on the year to December 2019.)
(Note: the above calculation results may not be precise due to rounding.)
Is A High P/E Ratio Good?
A higher P/E ratio implies that investors pay a higher price for the earning power of the business. 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 Bouvet 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. As you can see below Bouvet has a P/E ratio that is fairly close for the average for the it industry, which is 18.4.
That indicates that the market expects Bouvet will perform roughly in line with other companies in its industry. If the company has better than average prospects, then the market might be underestimating it. Checking factors such as director buying and selling. could help you form your own view on if that will happen.
How Growth Rates Impact P/E Ratios
Probably the most important factor in determining what P/E a company trades on is the earnings growth. Earnings growth means that in the future the 'E' will be higher. 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.
Bouvet increased earnings per share by an impressive 19% over the last twelve months. And it has bolstered its earnings per share by 26% per year over the last five years. With that performance, you might expect an above average P/E ratio.
Remember: P/E Ratios Don't Consider The Balance Sheet
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. 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.
Such expenditure might be good or bad, in the long term, but the point here is that the balance sheet is not reflected by this ratio.
So What Does Bouvet's Balance Sheet Tell Us?
Bouvet has net cash of kr345m. This is fairly high at 10% of its market capitalization. That might mean balance sheet strength is important to the business, but should also help push the P/E a bit higher than it would otherwise be.
The Verdict On Bouvet's P/E Ratio
Bouvet has a P/E of 18.9. That's higher than the average in its market, which is 9.5. With cash in the bank the company has plenty of growth options -- and it is already on the right track. So it does not seem strange that the P/E is above average.
Investors have an opportunity when market expectations about a stock are wrong. If the reality for a company is better than it expects, you can make money by buying and holding for the long term. Although we don't have analyst forecasts you could get a better understanding of its growth by checking out this more detailed historical graph of earnings, revenue and cash flow.
Of course you might be able to find a better stock than Bouvet. So you may wish to see this free collection of other companies that have grown earnings strongly.
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.
