How Does Marcus & Millichap's (NYSE:MMI) P/E Compare To Its Industry, After The Share Price Drop?
Unfortunately for some shareholders, the Marcus & Millichap (NYSE:MMI) share price has dived 40% in the last thirty days. Indeed the recent decline has arguably caused some bitterness for shareholders who have held through the 43% drop over twelve months.
All else being equal, a share price drop should make a stock more attractive to potential investors. While the market sentiment towards a stock is very changeable, in the long run, the share price will tend to move in the same direction as earnings per share. 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.
Check out our latest analysis for Marcus & Millichap
How Does Marcus & Millichap's P/E Ratio Compare To Its Peers?
Marcus & Millichap's P/E of 11.56 indicates relatively low sentiment towards the stock. If you look at the image below, you can see Marcus & Millichap has a lower P/E than the average (19.1) in the real estate industry classification.
Its relatively low P/E ratio indicates that Marcus & Millichap shareholders think it will struggle to do as well as other companies in its industry classification. 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. When earnings grow, the 'E' increases, over time. And in that case, the P/E ratio itself will drop rather quickly. And as that P/E ratio drops, the company will look cheap, unless its share price increases.
Marcus & Millichap saw earnings per share decrease by 12% last year. But EPS is up 8.9% over the last 5 years.
Remember: P/E Ratios Don't Consider The Balance Sheet
The 'Price' in P/E reflects the market capitalization of the company. Thus, the metric does not reflect cash or debt held by the company. 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.
Spending on growth might be good or bad a few years later, but the point is that the P/E ratio does not account for the option (or lack thereof).
How Does Marcus & Millichap's Debt Impact Its P/E Ratio?
Marcus & Millichap has net cash of US$377m. This is fairly high at 43% of its market capitalization. That might mean balance sheet strength is important to the business, but should also help push the P/E a bit higher than it would otherwise be.
The Verdict On Marcus & Millichap's P/E Ratio
Marcus & Millichap has a P/E of 11.6. That's below the average in the US market, which is 12.7. The recent drop in earnings per share would make investors cautious, the healthy balance sheet means the company retains potential for future growth. If that occurs, the current low P/E could prove to be temporary. Given Marcus & Millichap's P/E ratio has declined from 19.2 to 11.6 in the last month, we know for sure that the market is significantly less confident 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 a contrarian, it may signal opportunity.
Investors should be looking to buy stocks that the market is wrong about. If it is underestimating a company, investors can make money by buying and holding the shares until the market corrects itself. So this free visualization of the analyst consensus on future earnings could help you make the right decision about whether to buy, sell, or hold.
Of course you might be able to find a better stock than Marcus & Millichap. So you may wish to see this free collection of other companies that have grown earnings strongly.
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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