Yahoo Finance Here's What InterContinental Hotels Group PLC's (LON:IHG) P/E Is Telling Us
This article is for investors who would like to improve their understanding of price to earnings ratios (P/E ratios). We'll apply a basic P/E ratio analysis to InterContinental Hotels Group PLC's (LON:IHG), to help you decide if the stock is worth further research. What is InterContinental Hotels Group's P/E ratio? Well, based on the last twelve months it is 31.26. That corresponds to an earnings yield of approximately 3.2%.
Check out our latest analysis for InterContinental Hotels Group
How Do You Calculate A P/E Ratio?
The formula for P/E is:
Price to Earnings Ratio = Share Price (in reporting currency) ÷ Earnings per Share (EPS)
Or for InterContinental Hotels Group:
P/E of 31.26 = USD65.76 (Note: this is the share price in the reporting currency, namely, USD ) ÷ USD2.10 (Based on the year to December 2019.)
Is A High Price-to-Earnings 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.
How Does InterContinental Hotels Group's P/E Ratio Compare To Its Peers?
The P/E ratio essentially measures market expectations of a company. As you can see below, InterContinental Hotels Group has a higher P/E than the average company (26.5) in the hospitality industry.
InterContinental Hotels Group'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 investors should delve deeper. I like to check if company insiders have been buying or selling.
How Growth Rates Impact P/E Ratios
Companies that shrink earnings per share quickly will rapidly decrease the 'E' in the equation. That means even if the current P/E is low, it will increase over time if the share price stays flat. A higher P/E should indicate the stock is expensive relative to others -- and that may encourage shareholders to sell.
InterContinental Hotels Group saw earnings per share improve by -8.2% last year. But earnings per share are down 3.8% per year over the last three years.
Remember: P/E Ratios Don't Consider The Balance Sheet
Don't forget that the P/E ratio considers market capitalization. That means it doesn't take debt or cash into account. 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.
Spending on growth might be good or bad a few years later, but the point is that the P/E ratio does not account for the option (or lack thereof).
So What Does InterContinental Hotels Group's Balance Sheet Tell Us?
Net debt totals 17% of InterContinental Hotels Group's market cap. That's enough debt to impact the P/E ratio a little; so keep it in mind if you're comparing it to companies without debt.
The Bottom Line On InterContinental Hotels Group's P/E Ratio
InterContinental Hotels Group trades on a P/E ratio of 31.3, which is above its market average of 18.6. Given the debt is only modest, and earnings are already moving in the right direction, it's not surprising that the market expects continued improvement.
Investors should be looking to buy stocks that the market is wrong about. As value investor Benjamin Graham famously said, 'In the short run, the market is a voting machine but in the long run, it is a weighing machine. So this free report on the analyst consensus forecasts could help you make a master move on this stock.
But note: InterContinental Hotels Group 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.
