Yahoo Finance A Sliding Share Price Has Us Looking At Flowserve Corporation's (NYSE:FLS) P/E Ratio
Unfortunately for some shareholders, the Flowserve (NYSE:FLS) share price has dived 55% in the last thirty days. Indeed the recent decline has arguably caused some bitterness for shareholders who have held through the 53% drop over twelve months.
All else being equal, a share price drop should make a stock more attractive to potential investors. In the long term, share prices tend to follow earnings per share, but in the short term prices bounce around in response to short term factors (which are not always obvious). So, on certain occasions, long term focussed investors try to take advantage of pessimistic expectations to buy shares at a better price. One way to gauge market expectations of a stock 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.
View our latest analysis for Flowserve
How Does Flowserve's P/E Ratio Compare To Its Peers?
Flowserve's P/E of 10.64 indicates relatively low sentiment towards the stock. We can see in the image below that the average P/E (13.7) for companies in the machinery industry is higher than Flowserve's P/E.
Its relatively low P/E ratio indicates that Flowserve shareholders think it will struggle to do as well as other companies in its industry classification. Many investors like to buy stocks when the market is pessimistic about their prospects. If you consider the stock interesting, further research is recommended. For example, I often monitor director buying and selling.
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. 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. Then, a lower P/E should attract more buyers, pushing the share price up.
In the last year, Flowserve grew EPS like Taylor Swift grew her fan base back in 2010; the 112% gain was both fast and well deserved. Even better, EPS is up 24% per year over three years. So you might say it really deserves to have an above-average P/E ratio. Unfortunately, earnings per share are down 12% a year, over 5 years.
A Limitation: P/E Ratios Ignore Debt and Cash In The Bank
One drawback of using a P/E ratio is that it considers market capitalization, but not the balance sheet. Thus, the metric does not reflect cash or debt held by the company. 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).
Flowserve's Balance Sheet
Net debt is 26% of Flowserve's market cap. While that's enough to warrant consideration, it doesn't really concern us.
The Verdict On Flowserve's P/E Ratio
Flowserve trades on a P/E ratio of 10.6, which is below the US market average of 12.2. The EPS growth last year was strong, and debt levels are quite reasonable. If it continues to grow, then the current low P/E may prove to be unjustified. Given analysts are expecting further growth, one might have expected a higher P/E ratio. That may be worth further research. Given Flowserve's P/E ratio has declined from 23.5 to 10.6 in the last month, we know for sure that the market is significantly less confident about the business today, than it was back then. For those who don't like to trade against momentum, that could be a warning sign, but a contrarian investor might want to take a closer look.
Investors have an opportunity when market expectations about a stock are wrong. 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 visualization of the analyst consensus on future earnings could help you make the right decision about whether to buy, sell, or hold.
Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking at a few good candidates. So take a peek at this free list of companies with modest (or no) debt, trading on a P/E 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.
