Yahoo Finance Should You Be Tempted To Sell Swallowfield plc (LON:SWL) Because Of Its P/E Ratio?
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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 Swallowfield plc's (LON:SWL) P/E ratio could help you assess the value on offer. Swallowfield has a P/E ratio of 17.53, based on the last twelve months. That is equivalent to an earnings yield of about 5.7%.
View our latest analysis for Swallowfield
How Do I Calculate A Price To Earnings Ratio?
The formula for price to earnings is:
Price to Earnings Ratio = Share Price ÷ Earnings per Share (EPS)
Or for Swallowfield:
P/E of 17.53 = £1.93 ÷ £0.11 (Based on the year to January 2019.)
Is A High P/E Ratio Good?
The higher the P/E ratio, the higher the price tag of a business, relative to its trailing earnings. All else being equal, it's better to pay a low price -- but as Warren Buffett said, 'It's far better to buy a wonderful company at a fair price than a fair company at a wonderful price.'
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. Then, a higher P/E might scare off shareholders, pushing the share price down.
Swallowfield's earnings per share fell by 41% in the last twelve months. And EPS is down 9.2% a year, over the last 3 years. This could justify a low P/E.
How Does Swallowfield's P/E Ratio Compare To Its Peers?
The P/E ratio essentially measures market expectations of a company. You can see in the image below that the average P/E (17.5) for companies in the personal products industry is roughly the same as Swallowfield's P/E.
Its P/E ratio suggests that Swallowfield shareholders think that in the future it will perform about the same as other companies in its industry classification. The company could surprise by performing better than average, in the future. I would further inform my view by checking insider buying and selling., among other things.
Don't Forget: The P/E Does Not Account For Debt or Bank Deposits
It's important to note that the P/E ratio considers the market capitalization, not the enterprise value. In other words, it does not consider any debt or cash that the company may have on the balance sheet. Hypothetically, a company could reduce its future P/E ratio by spending its cash (or taking on debt) to achieve higher earnings.
While growth expenditure doesn't always pay off, the point is that it is a good option to have; but one that the P/E ratio ignores.
Is Debt Impacting Swallowfield's P/E?
Net debt totals just 6.1% of Swallowfield's market cap. The market might award it a higher P/E ratio if it had net cash, but its unlikely this low level of net borrowing is having a big impact on the P/E multiple.
The Bottom Line On Swallowfield's P/E Ratio
Swallowfield has a P/E of 17.5. That's around the same as the average in the GB market, which is 16.3. With modest debt, and a lack of recent growth, it would seem the market is expecting improvement in earnings.
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. So this free visual report on analyst forecasts could hold the key to an excellent investment decision.
Of course you might be able to find a better stock than Swallowfield. So you may wish to see this free collection of other companies that have grown earnings strongly.
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.
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. Thank you for reading.
