How Does Unum Group's (NYSE:UNM) P/E Compare To Its Industry, After The Share Price Drop?
Unfortunately for some shareholders, the Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) share price has dived 42% in the last thirty days. That drop has capped off a tough year for shareholders, with the share price down 53% in that time.
Assuming nothing else has changed, a lower share price makes a stock more attractive to potential buyers. 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. One way to gauge market expectations of a stock is to look at its Price to Earnings Ratio (PE Ratio). Investors have optimistic expectations of companies with higher P/E ratios, compared to companies with lower P/E ratios.
See our latest analysis for Unum Group
Does Unum Group Have A Relatively High Or Low P/E For Its Industry?
We can tell from its P/E ratio of 3.27 that sentiment around Unum Group isn't particularly high. We can see in the image below that the average P/E (10.8) for companies in the insurance industry is higher than Unum Group's P/E.
Its relatively low P/E ratio indicates that Unum Group shareholders think it will struggle to do as well as other companies in its industry classification. Since the market seems unimpressed with Unum Group, it's quite possible it could surprise on the upside. You should delve deeper. I like to check if company insiders have been buying or selling.
How Growth Rates Impact P/E Ratios
Earnings growth rates have a big influence on P/E ratios. 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. So while a stock may look expensive based on past earnings, it could be cheap based on future earnings.
In the last year, Unum Group grew EPS like Taylor Swift grew her fan base back in 2010; the 120% gain was both fast and well deserved. The cherry on top is that the five year growth rate was an impressive 27% per year. So I'd be surprised if the P/E ratio was not above average.
A Limitation: P/E Ratios Ignore Debt and Cash In The Bank
It's important to note that the P/E ratio considers the market capitalization, not the enterprise value. So it won't reflect the advantage of cash, or disadvantage of debt. In theory, a company can lower its future P/E ratio by using cash or debt to invest in 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.
Is Debt Impacting Unum Group's P/E?
Unum Group has net debt worth 56% of its market capitalization. This is enough debt that you'd have to make some adjustments before using the P/E ratio to compare it to a company with net cash.
The Bottom Line On Unum Group's P/E Ratio
Unum Group trades on a P/E ratio of 3.3, which is below the US market average of 15.1. The company has a meaningful amount of debt on the balance sheet, but that should not eclipse the solid earnings growth. If the company can continue to grow earnings, then the current P/E may be unjustifiably low. Given Unum Group's P/E ratio has declined from 5.6 to 3.3 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 invest in growth, this stock apparently offers limited promise, but the deep value investors may find the pessimism around this stock enticing.
Investors should be looking to buy stocks that the market is wrong about. 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 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 Unum Group. 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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