What Is Boot Barn Holdings's (NYSE:BOOT) P/E Ratio After Its Share Price Tanked?
To the annoyance of some shareholders, Boot Barn Holdings (NYSE:BOOT) shares are down a considerable 68% in the last month. And that drop will have no doubt have some shareholders concerned that the 62% share price decline, over the last year, has turned them into 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.
All else being equal, a share price drop should make a stock more attractive to potential investors. 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). The implication here is that long term investors have an opportunity when expectations of a company are too low. 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). A high P/E ratio means that investors have a high expectation about future growth, while a low P/E ratio means they have low expectations about future growth.
View our latest analysis for Boot Barn Holdings
Does Boot Barn Holdings Have A Relatively High Or Low P/E For Its Industry?
Boot Barn Holdings's P/E of 5.85 indicates relatively low sentiment towards the stock. The image below shows that Boot Barn Holdings has a lower P/E than the average (7.4) P/E for companies in the specialty retail industry.
Its relatively low P/E ratio indicates that Boot Barn Holdings shareholders think it will struggle to do as well as other companies in its industry classification. Since the market seems unimpressed with Boot Barn Holdings, it's quite possible it could surprise on the upside. If you consider the stock interesting, further research is recommended. For example, I often monitor director buying and 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. Earnings growth means that in the future the 'E' will be higher. That means unless the share price increases, the P/E will reduce in a few years. A lower P/E should indicate the stock is cheap relative to others -- and that may attract buyers.
Notably, Boot Barn Holdings grew EPS by a whopping 34% in the last year. And it has bolstered its earnings per share by 26% per year over the last five years. I'd therefore be a little surprised if its P/E ratio was not relatively high.
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. 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 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 Boot Barn Holdings's Balance Sheet Tell Us?
Net debt is 36% of Boot Barn Holdings's market cap. While it's worth keeping this in mind, it isn't a worry.
The Bottom Line On Boot Barn Holdings's P/E Ratio
Boot Barn Holdings's P/E is 5.8 which is below average (11.8) in the US market. The EPS growth last year was strong, and debt levels are quite reasonable. If it continues to grow, then the current low P/E may prove to be unjustified. Since analysts are predicting growth will continue, one might expect to see a higher P/E so it may be worth looking closer. What can be absolutely certain is that the market has become more pessimistic about Boot Barn Holdings over the last month, with the P/E ratio falling from 18.4 back then to 5.8 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.
When the market is wrong about a stock, it gives savvy investors an opportunity. 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 Boot Barn Holdings. 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.
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