Yahoo Finance Do You Like Mineral Resources Limited (ASX:MIN) At This P/E Ratio?
This article is written for those who want to get better at using price to earnings ratios (P/E ratios). We’ll look at Mineral Resources Limited’s (ASX:MIN) P/E ratio and reflect on what it tells us about the company’s share price. Mineral Resources has a price to earnings ratio of 9.84, based on the last twelve months. That means that at current prices, buyers pay A$9.84 for every A$1 in trailing yearly profits.
Check out our latest analysis for Mineral Resources
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 Mineral Resources:
P/E of 9.84 = A$14.3 ÷ A$1.45 (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2018.)
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 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. That means even if the current P/E is high, it will reduce over time if the share price stays flat. So while a stock may look expensive based on past earnings, it could be cheap based on future earnings.
Notably, Mineral Resources grew EPS by a whopping 35% in the last year. And its annual EPS growth rate over 5 years is 1.3%. So we’d generally expect it to have a relatively high P/E ratio.
How Does Mineral Resources’s P/E Ratio Compare To Its Peers?
We can get an indication of market expectations by looking at the P/E ratio. As you can see below Mineral Resources has a P/E ratio that is fairly close for the average for the metals and mining industry, which is 9.8.
Mineral Resources’s P/E tells us that market participants think its prospects are roughly in line with its industry. If the company has better than average prospects, then the market might be underestimating it. Checking factors such as the tenure of the board and management could help you form your own view on if that will happen.
Don’t Forget: The P/E Does Not Account For Debt or Bank Deposits
Don’t forget that the P/E ratio considers market capitalization. In other words, it does not consider any debt or cash that the company may have on the balance sheet. Theoretically, a business can improve its earnings (and produce a lower P/E in the future), by taking on debt (or spending its remaining cash).
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).
Is Debt Impacting Mineral Resources’s P/E?
The extra options and safety that comes with Mineral Resources’s AU$1.1m net cash position means that it deserves a higher P/E than it would if it had a lot of net debt.
The Bottom Line On Mineral Resources’s P/E Ratio
Mineral Resources’s P/E is 9.8 which is below average (15.2) in the AU market. It grew its EPS nicely over the last year, and the healthy balance sheet implies there is more potential for growth. The below average P/E ratio suggests that market participants don’t believe the strong growth will continue.
When the market is wrong about a stock, it gives savvy investors an opportunity. If it is underestimating a company, investors can make money by buying and holding the shares until the market corrects itself. 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.
To help readers see past the short term volatility of the financial market, we aim to bring you a long-term focused research analysis purely driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis does not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements.
The author is an independent contributor and at the time of publication had no position in the stocks mentioned. For errors that warrant correction please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com.
