Does Baxter International Inc’s (NYSE:BAX) PE Ratio Signal A Selling Opportunity?
This analysis is intended to introduce important early concepts to people who are starting to invest and want to begin learning about how to value company based on its current earnings and what are the drawbacks of this method.
Baxter International Inc (NYSE:BAX) is currently trading at a trailing P/E of 42.9, which is higher than the industry average of 40.7. While this might not seem positive, it is important to understand the assumptions behind the P/E ratio before you make any investment decisions. In this article, I will break down what the P/E ratio is, how to interpret it and what to watch out for.
See our latest analysis for Baxter International
What you need to know about the P/E ratio
P/E is often used for relative valuation since earnings power is a chief driver of investment value. By comparing a stock’s price per share to its earnings per share, we are able to see how much investors are paying for each dollar of the company’s earnings.
P/E Calculation for BAX
Price-Earnings Ratio = Price per share ÷ Earnings per share
BAX Price-Earnings Ratio = $72.98 ÷ $1.7 = 42.9x
The P/E ratio isn’t a metric you view in isolation and only becomes useful when you compare it against other similar companies. We preferably want to compare the stock’s P/E ratio to the average of companies that have similar features to BAX, such as capital structure and profitability. A quick method of creating a peer group is to use companies in the same industry, which is what I will do. At 42.9, BAX’s P/E is higher than its industry peers (40.7). This implies that investors are overvaluing each dollar of BAX’s earnings. This multiple is a median of profitable companies of 25 Medical Equipment companies in US including QT Vascular, Escalon Medical and Lantheus Holdings. You could think of it like this: the market is pricing BAX as if it is a stronger company than the average of its industry group.
A few caveats
However, you should be aware that this analysis makes certain assumptions. The first is that our “similar companies” are actually similar to BAX. If not, the difference in P/E might be a result of other factors. For example, Baxter International Inc could be growing more quickly than the companies we’re comparing it with. In that case it would deserve a higher P/E ratio. We should also be aware that the stocks we are comparing to BAX may not be fairly valued. So while we can reasonably surmise that it is optimistically valued relative to a peer group, it might be fairly valued, if the peer group is undervalued.
What this means for you:
Since you may have already conducted your due diligence on BAX, the overvaluation of the stock may mean it is a good time to reduce 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. Remember that basing your investment decision off one metric alone is certainly not sufficient. There are many things I have not taken into account in this article and the PE ratio is very one-dimensional. If you have not done so already, I highly recommend you to complete your research by taking a look at the following:
Future Outlook: What are well-informed industry analysts predicting for BAX’s future growth? Take a look at our free research report of analyst consensus for BAX’s outlook.
Past Track Record: Has BAX been consistently performing well irrespective of the ups and downs in the market? Go into more detail in the past performance analysis and take a look at the free visual representations of BAX’s historicals for more clarity.
Other High-Performing Stocks: Are there other stocks that provide better prospects with proven track records? Explore our free list of these great stocks here.
To help readers see past 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. For errors that warrant correction please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com.
