How Does Banner's (NASDAQ:BANR) P/E Compare To Its Industry, After The Share Price Drop?
To the annoyance of some shareholders, Banner (NASDAQ:BANR) shares are down a considerable 34% in the last month. That drop has capped off a tough year for shareholders, with the share price down 38% in that time.
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. One way to gauge market expectations of a stock is to look at its Price to Earnings Ratio (PE Ratio). A high P/E implies that investors have high expectations of what a company can achieve compared to a company with a low P/E ratio.
View our latest analysis for Banner
Does Banner Have A Relatively High Or Low P/E For Its Industry?
We can tell from its P/E ratio of 8.55 that sentiment around Banner isn't particularly high. The image below shows that Banner has a lower P/E than the average (10.4) P/E for companies in the banks industry.
Banner's P/E tells us that market participants think it will not fare as well as its peers in the same industry. Many investors like to buy stocks when the market is pessimistic about their prospects. 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. If earnings are growing quickly, then the 'E' in the equation will increase faster than it would otherwise. Therefore, even if you pay a high multiple of earnings now, that multiple will become lower in the future. Then, a lower P/E should attract more buyers, pushing the share price up.
Banner maintained roughly steady earnings over the last twelve months. But EPS is up 8.5% over the last 5 years.
A Limitation: P/E Ratios Ignore Debt and Cash In The Bank
The 'Price' in P/E reflects the market capitalization of the company. In other words, it does not consider any debt or cash that the company may have on the balance sheet. Hypothetically, a company could reduce its future P/E ratio by spending its cash (or taking on debt) to achieve higher earnings.
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.
Is Debt Impacting Banner's P/E?
Banner's net debt equates to 27% of its market capitalization. While that's enough to warrant consideration, it doesn't really concern us.
The Bottom Line On Banner's P/E Ratio
Banner's P/E is 8.6 which is below average (14.7) in the US market. EPS grew over the last twelve months, and debt levels are quite reasonable. If you believe growth will continue - or even increase - then the low P/E may signify opportunity. Given Banner's P/E ratio has declined from 12.9 to 8.6 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.
When the market is wrong about a stock, it gives savvy investors an opportunity. If the reality for a company is not as bad as the P/E ratio indicates, then the share price should increase as the market realizes this. So this free visual report on analyst forecasts could hold the key to an excellent investment decision.
You might be able to find a better buy than Banner. 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.
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.
