Yahoo Finance A Sliding Share Price Has Us Looking At Metro Performance Glass Limited's (NZSE:MPG) P/E Ratio
To the annoyance of some shareholders, Metro Performance Glass (NZSE:MPG) shares are down a considerable 33% in the last month. That drop has capped off a tough year for shareholders, with the share price down 58% in that time.
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 Metro Performance Glass
Does Metro Performance Glass Have A Relatively High Or Low P/E For Its Industry?
Metro Performance Glass's P/E of 9.13 indicates relatively low sentiment towards the stock. If you look at the image below, you can see Metro Performance Glass has a lower P/E than the average (12.0) in the building industry classification.
This suggests that market participants think Metro Performance Glass will underperform other companies in its industry. Since the market seems unimpressed with Metro Performance Glass, it's quite possible it could surprise on the upside. You should delve deeper. I like to check if company insiders have been buying or selling.
How Growth Rates Impact P/E Ratios
If earnings fall then in the future the 'E' will be lower. That means even if the current P/E is low, it will increase over time if the share price stays flat. So while a stock may look cheap based on past earnings, it could be expensive based on future earnings.
Metro Performance Glass shrunk earnings per share by 73% over the last year. And EPS is down 24% a year, over the last 5 years. This growth rate might warrant a below average P/E ratio.
Remember: P/E Ratios Don't Consider The Balance Sheet
One drawback of using a P/E ratio is that it considers market capitalization, but not the balance sheet. Thus, the metric does not reflect cash or debt held by the company. In theory, a company can lower its future P/E ratio by using cash or debt to invest in growth.
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.
Metro Performance Glass's Balance Sheet
Metro Performance Glass's net debt is considerable, at 226% of its market cap. This is a relatively high level of debt, so the stock probably deserves a relatively low P/E ratio. Keep that in mind when comparing it to other companies.
The Bottom Line On Metro Performance Glass's P/E Ratio
Metro Performance Glass's P/E is 9.1 which is below average (15.6) in the NZ market. The P/E reflects market pessimism that probably arises from the lack of recent EPS growth, paired with significant leverage. What can be absolutely certain is that the market has become more pessimistic about Metro Performance Glass over the last month, with the P/E ratio falling from 13.7 back then to 9.1 today. For those who prefer invest in growth, this stock apparently offers limited promise, but the deep value investors may find the pessimism around this stock enticing.
Investors have an opportunity when market expectations about a stock are wrong. 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.
But note: Metro Performance Glass may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies with strong recent earnings growth (and a P/E ratio below 20).
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.
