In This Article:
This article is for investors who would like to improve their understanding of price to earnings ratios (P/E ratios). We'll look at Preferred Bank's (NASDAQ:PFBC) P/E ratio and reflect on what it tells us about the company's share price. Looking at earnings over the last twelve months, Preferred Bank has a P/E ratio of 10.25. That is equivalent to an earnings yield of about 9.8%.
View our latest analysis for Preferred Bank
How Do I Calculate A Price To Earnings Ratio?
The formula for P/E is:
Price to Earnings Ratio = Price per Share ÷ Earnings per Share (EPS)
Or for Preferred Bank:
P/E of 10.25 = $50.72 ÷ $4.95 (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2019.)
Is A High P/E Ratio Good?
A higher P/E ratio means that buyers have to pay a higher price for each $1 the company has earned over the last year. 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 Does Preferred Bank's P/E Ratio Compare To Its Peers?
We can get an indication of market expectations by looking at the P/E ratio. We can see in the image below that the average P/E (12.3) for companies in the banks industry is higher than Preferred Bank's P/E.
This suggests that market participants think Preferred Bank will underperform other companies in its industry. While current expectations are low, the stock could be undervalued if the situation is better than the market assumes. You should delve deeper. I like to check if company insiders have been buying or selling.
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. Then, a lower P/E should attract more buyers, pushing the share price up.
It's nice to see that Preferred Bank grew EPS by a stonking 34% in the last year. And it has bolstered its earnings per share by 24% per year over the last five years. With that performance, I would expect it to have an above average P/E ratio.
Remember: P/E Ratios Don't Consider The Balance Sheet
Don't forget that the P/E ratio considers market capitalization. Thus, the metric does not reflect cash or debt held by the company. Theoretically, a business can improve its earnings (and produce a lower P/E in the future) by investing in growth. That means taking on debt (or spending its cash).