Yahoo Finance Here's What Baby Bunting Group Limited's (ASX:BBN) P/E Is Telling Us
Want to participate in a short research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card!
The goal of this article is to teach you how to use price to earnings ratios (P/E ratios). We'll apply a basic P/E ratio analysis to Baby Bunting Group Limited's (ASX:BBN), to help you decide if the stock is worth further research. Based on the last twelve months, Baby Bunting Group's P/E ratio is 26.9. That corresponds to an earnings yield of approximately 3.7%.
View our latest analysis for Baby Bunting Group
How Do I Calculate A Price To Earnings Ratio?
The formula for P/E is:
Price to Earnings Ratio = Share Price ÷ Earnings per Share (EPS)
Or for Baby Bunting Group:
P/E of 26.9 = A$2.1 ÷ A$0.078 (Based on the year to December 2018.)
Is A High Price-to-Earnings Ratio Good?
A higher P/E ratio means that investors are paying a higher price for each A$1 of company earnings. That isn't necessarily good or bad, but a high P/E implies relatively high expectations of what a company can achieve in the future.
How Growth Rates Impact P/E Ratios
P/E ratios primarily reflect market expectations around earnings growth rates. That's because companies that grow earnings per share quickly will rapidly increase the 'E' in the equation. Therefore, even if you pay a high multiple of earnings now, that multiple will become lower in the future. And as that P/E ratio drops, the company will look cheap, unless its share price increases.
Baby Bunting Group's earnings per share fell by 11% in the last twelve months. But EPS is up 13% over the last 5 years.
How Does Baby Bunting Group's P/E Ratio Compare To Its Peers?
One good way to get a quick read on what market participants expect of a company is to look at its P/E ratio. The image below shows that Baby Bunting Group has a higher P/E than the average (13.2) P/E for companies in the specialty retail industry.
That means that the market expects Baby Bunting Group will outperform other companies in its industry. Clearly the market expects growth, but it isn't guaranteed. So further research is always essential. I often monitor director buying and selling.
A Limitation: P/E Ratios Ignore Debt and Cash In The Bank
The 'Price' in P/E reflects the market capitalization of the company. In other words, it does not consider any debt or cash that the company may have on the balance sheet. 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 Baby Bunting Group's Balance Sheet Tell Us?
Net debt totals just 2.5% of Baby Bunting Group's market cap. It would probably trade on a higher P/E ratio if it had a lot of cash, but I doubt it is having a big impact.
The Verdict On Baby Bunting Group's P/E Ratio
Baby Bunting Group trades on a P/E ratio of 26.9, which is above the AU market average of 16.3. With some debt but no EPS growth last year, the market has high expectations of future profits.
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 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.
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.
