Yahoo Finance What Is Suez's (EPA:SEV) P/E Ratio After Its Share Price Tanked?
Unfortunately for some shareholders, the Suez (EPA:SEV) share price has dived 35% in the last thirty days. Even longer term holders have taken a real hit with the stock declining 14% in the last year.
Assuming nothing else has changed, a lower share price makes a stock more attractive to potential buyers. 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). The implication here is that long term investors have an opportunity when expectations of a company are too low. 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 implies that investors have high expectations of what a company can achieve compared to a company with a low P/E ratio.
View our latest analysis for Suez
Does Suez Have A Relatively High Or Low P/E For Its Industry?
We can tell from its P/E ratio of 20.63 that there is some investor optimism about Suez. The image below shows that Suez has a higher P/E than the average (17.0) P/E for companies in the integrated utilities industry.
That means that the market expects Suez will outperform other companies in its industry. 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 unless the share price falls, the P/E will increase in a few years. Then, a higher P/E might scare off shareholders, pushing the share price down.
Suez increased earnings per share by 3.3% last year. Unfortunately, earnings per share are down 7.4% a year, over 5 years.
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. That means it doesn't take debt or cash into account. Theoretically, a business can improve its earnings (and produce a lower P/E in the future) by investing in growth. That means taking on debt (or spending its cash).
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.
How Does Suez's Debt Impact Its P/E Ratio?
Suez has net debt worth a very significant 146% of its market capitalization. If you want to compare its P/E ratio to other companies, you must keep in mind that these debt levels would usually warrant a relatively low P/E.
The Verdict On Suez's P/E Ratio
Suez trades on a P/E ratio of 20.6, which is above its market average of 13.5. With relatively high debt, and reasonably modest earnings per share growth over twelve months, it's safe to say the market believes the company will improve its growth in the future. Given Suez's P/E ratio has declined from 31.5 to 20.6 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.
When the market is wrong about a stock, it gives savvy investors an opportunity. If the reality for a company is better than it expects, you can make money by buying and holding for the long term. 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 be able to find a better stock than Suez. 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.
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