Yahoo Finance A Sliding Share Price Has Us Looking At Mitchell Services Limited's (ASX:MSV) P/E Ratio
To the annoyance of some shareholders, Mitchell Services (ASX:MSV) shares are down a considerable 32% in the last month. Even longer term holders have taken a real hit with the stock declining 30% in the last year.
Assuming nothing else has changed, a lower share price makes a stock more attractive to potential buyers. In the long term, share prices tend to follow earnings per share, but in the short term prices bounce around in response to short term factors (which are not always obvious). So, on certain occasions, long term focussed investors try to take advantage of pessimistic expectations to buy shares at a better price. One way to gauge market expectations of a stock 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.
See our latest analysis for Mitchell Services
Does Mitchell Services Have A Relatively High Or Low P/E For Its Industry?
We can tell from its P/E ratio of 7.38 that sentiment around Mitchell Services isn't particularly high. If you look at the image below, you can see Mitchell Services has a lower P/E than the average (10.0) in the metals and mining industry classification.
This suggests that market participants think Mitchell Services will underperform other companies in its industry. Since the market seems unimpressed with Mitchell Services, it's quite possible it could surprise on the upside. It is arguably worth checking if insiders are buying shares, because that might imply they believe the stock is undervalued.
How Growth Rates Impact P/E Ratios
P/E ratios primarily reflect market expectations around earnings growth rates. Earnings growth means that in the future the 'E' will be higher. That means even if the current P/E is high, it will reduce over time if the share price stays flat. And as that P/E ratio drops, the company will look cheap, unless its share price increases.
Mitchell Services's earnings per share fell by 6.7% in the last twelve months.
A Limitation: P/E Ratios Ignore Debt and Cash In The Bank
Don't forget that the P/E ratio considers market capitalization. That means it doesn't take debt or cash into account. 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 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.
So What Does Mitchell Services's Balance Sheet Tell Us?
Net debt totals 11% of Mitchell Services's market cap. It would probably deserve a higher P/E ratio if it was net cash, since it would have more options for growth.
The Verdict On Mitchell Services's P/E Ratio
Mitchell Services's P/E is 7.4 which is below average (16.2) in the AU market. The debt levels are not a major concern, but the lack of EPS growth is likely weighing on sentiment. Given Mitchell Services's P/E ratio has declined from 10.9 to 7.4 in the last month, we know for sure that the market is more worried about the business today, than it was back then. For those who prefer to invest with the flow of momentum, that might be a bad sign, but for deep value investors this stock might justify some research.
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.
But note: Mitchell Services 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.
