When Should You Buy Bonso Electronics International Inc (BNSO)?
Bonso Electronics International Inc (NASDAQ:BNSO) is currently trading at a trailing P/E of 4.2x, which is lower than the industry average of 25.9x. While BNSO might seem like an attractive stock to buy, it is important to understand the assumptions behind the P/E ratio before you make any investment decisions. In this article, I will explain what the P/E ratio is as well as what you should look out for when using it. View our latest analysis for Bonso Electronics International
Demystifying the P/E ratio
The P/E ratio is one of many ratios used in relative valuation. It compares a stock’s price per share to the stock’s earnings per share. A more intuitive way of understanding the P/E ratio is to think of it as how much investors are paying for each dollar of the company’s earnings.
P/E Calculation for BNSO
Price-Earnings Ratio = Price per share ÷ Earnings per share
BNSO Price-Earnings Ratio = 2.27 ÷ 0.543 = 4.2x
The P/E ratio itself doesn’t tell you a lot; however, it becomes very insightful when you compare it with other similar companies. We want to compare the stock’s P/E ratio to the average of companies that have similar characteristics as BNSO, such as size and country of operation. A common peer group is companies that exist in the same industry, which is what I use. At 4.2x, BNSO’s P/E is lower than its industry peers (25.9x). This implies that investors are undervaluing each dollar of BNSO’s earnings. Therefore, according to this analysis, BNSO is an under-priced stock.
Assumptions to be aware of
Before you jump to the conclusion that BNSO is the perfect buying opportunity, it is important to realise that our conclusion rests on two assertions. The first is that our “similar companies” are actually similar to BNSO, or else the difference in P/E might be a result of other factors. For example, if you compared higher growth firms with BNSO, then its P/E would naturally be lower since investors would reward its peers’ higher growth with a higher price. The second assumption that must hold true is that the stocks we are comparing BNSO to are fairly valued by the market. If this is violated, BNSO's P/E may be lower than its peers as they are actually overvalued by investors.
What this means for you:
Are you a shareholder? Since you may have already conducted your due diligence on BNSO, the undervaluation of the stock may mean it is a good time to top up on your current holdings. But at the end of the day, keep in mind that relative valuation relies heavily on critical assumptions I've outlined above.
Are you a potential investor? If you are considering investing in BNSO, looking at the PE ratio on its own is not enough to make a well-informed decision. You will benefit from looking at additional analysis and considering its intrinsic valuation along with other relative valuation metrics like PEG and EV/Sales.
PE is one aspect of your portfolio construction to consider when holding or entering into a stock. But it is certainly not the only factor. Take a look at our most recent infographic report on Bonso Electronics International for a more in-depth analysis of the stock to help you make a well-informed investment decision. Since we know a limitation of PE is it doesn't properly account for growth, you can use our free platform to see my list of stocks with a high growth potential and see if their PE is still reasonable.
To help readers see pass the short term volatility of the financial market, we aim to bring you a long-term focused research analysis purely driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis does not factor in the latest price sensitive company announcements.
The author is an independent contributor and at the time of publication had no position in the stocks mentioned.
