Yahoo Finance Is FDM Group (Holdings) PLC’s (LON:FDM) PE Ratio A Signal To Sell For Investors?
This article is intended for those of you who are at the beginning of your investing journey and want to begin learning about how to value company based on its current earnings and what are the drawbacks of this method.
FDM Group (Holdings) PLC (LON:FDM) trades with a trailing P/E of 28.4, which is higher than the industry average of 23.4. Although some investors may see this as unappealing, it is important to understand the assumptions behind the P/E ratio before making judgments. In this article, I will deconstruct the P/E ratio and highlight what you need to be careful of when using the P/E ratio.
Check out our latest analysis for FDM Group (Holdings)
Demystifying the P/E ratio
The P/E ratio is a popular ratio used in relative valuation since earnings power is a key driver of investment value. By comparing a stock’s price per share to its earnings per share, we are able to see how much investors are paying for each dollar of the company’s earnings.
P/E Calculation for FDM
Price-Earnings Ratio = Price per share ÷ Earnings per share
FDM Price-Earnings Ratio = £9.1 ÷ £0.321 = 28.4x
On its own, the P/E ratio doesn’t tell you much; however, it becomes extremely useful when you compare it with other similar companies. We want to compare the stock’s P/E ratio to the average of companies that have similar characteristics as FDM, such as size and country of operation. A common peer group is companies that exist in the same industry, which is what I use. Since FDM’s P/E of 28.4 is higher than its industry peers (23.4), it means that investors are paying more for each dollar of FDM’s earnings. This multiple is a median of profitable companies of 22 IT companies in GB including Triad Group, iEnergizer and Smartspace Software. You could think of it like this: the market is pricing FDM as if it is a stronger company than the average of its industry group.
A few caveats
However, it is important to note that our examination of the stock is based on certain assumptions. The first is that our “similar companies” are actually similar to FDM. If not, the difference in P/E might be a result of other factors. For example, if FDM Group (Holdings) PLC is growing faster than its peers, then it would deserve a higher P/E ratio. We should also be aware that the stocks we are comparing to FDM may not be fairly valued. So while we can reasonably surmise that it is optimistically valued relative to a peer group, it might be fairly valued, if the peer group is undervalued.
What this means for you:
You may have already conducted fundamental analysis on the stock as a shareholder, so its current overvaluation could signal a potential selling opportunity to reduce your exposure to FDM. Now that you understand the ins and outs of the PE metric, you should know to bear in mind its limitations before you make an investment decision. Remember that basing your investment decision off one metric alone is certainly not sufficient. There are many things I have not taken into account in this article and the PE ratio is very one-dimensional. If you have not done so already, I urge you to complete your research by taking a look at the following:
Future Outlook: What are well-informed industry analysts predicting for FDM’s future growth? Take a look at our free research report of analyst consensus for FDM’s outlook.
Past Track Record: Has FDM been consistently performing well irrespective of the ups and downs in the market? Go into more detail in the past performance analysis and take a look at the free visual representations of FDM’s historicals for more clarity.
Other High-Performing Stocks: Are there other stocks that provide better prospects with proven track records? Explore our free list of these great stocks here.
To help readers see past the short term volatility of the financial market, we aim to bring you a long-term focused research analysis purely driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis does not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements.
The author is an independent contributor and at the time of publication had no position in the stocks mentioned. For errors that warrant correction please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com.
