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A Sliding Share Price Has Us Looking At Chart Industries, Inc.'s (NASDAQ:GTLS) P/E Ratio

To the annoyance of some shareholders, Chart Industries (NASDAQ:GTLS) shares are down a considerable 45% in the last month. Given the 61% drop over the last year, some shareholders might be worried that they have become bagholders. For those wondering, a bagholder is someone who keeps holding a losing stock indefinitely, without taking the time to consider its prospects carefully, going forward.

Assuming nothing else has changed, a lower share price makes a stock more attractive to potential buyers. While the market sentiment towards a stock is very changeable, in the long run, the share price will tend to move in the same direction as earnings per share. So, on certain occasions, long term focussed investors try to take advantage of pessimistic expectations to buy shares at a better price. 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). Investors have optimistic expectations of companies with higher P/E ratios, compared to companies with lower P/E ratios.

View our latest analysis for Chart Industries

How Does Chart Industries's P/E Ratio Compare To Its Peers?

We can tell from its P/E ratio of 25.37 that there is some investor optimism about Chart Industries. The image below shows that Chart Industries has a higher P/E than the average (17.7) P/E for companies in the machinery industry.

NasdaqGS:GTLS Price Estimation Relative to Market, March 10th 2020
NasdaqGS:GTLS Price Estimation Relative to Market, March 10th 2020

Its relatively high P/E ratio indicates that Chart Industries shareholders think it will perform better than other companies in its industry classification. The market is optimistic about the future, but that doesn't guarantee future growth. So investors should delve deeper. I like to check if company insiders have been buying or 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. And as that P/E ratio drops, the company will look cheap, unless its share price increases.

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Chart Industries's earnings per share fell by 21% in the last twelve months. But over the longer term (3 years), earnings per share have increased by 35%. And over the longer term (5 years) earnings per share have decreased 13% annually. This might lead to muted expectations.

Remember: P/E Ratios Don't Consider The Balance Sheet

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. 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.

Such spending might be good or bad, overall, but the key point here is that you need to look at debt to understand the P/E ratio in context.

Is Debt Impacting Chart Industries's P/E?

Chart Industries's net debt is 53% of its market cap. If you want to compare its P/E ratio to other companies, you should absolutely keep in mind it has significant borrowings.

The Verdict On Chart Industries's P/E Ratio

Chart Industries has a P/E of 25.4. That's higher than the average in its market, which is 15.1. With significant debt and no EPS growth last year, shareholders are betting on an improvement in earnings from the company. Given Chart Industries's P/E ratio has declined from 46.3 to 25.4 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 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 report on the analyst consensus forecasts could help you make a master move on this stock.

You might be able to find a better buy than Chart Industries. If you want a selection of possible winners, check out this free list of interesting companies that trade on a P/E below 20 (but have proven they can grow earnings).

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.