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Does Weis Markets, Inc.'s (NYSE:WMK) P/E Ratio Signal A Buying Opportunity?

This article is written for those who want to get better at using price to earnings ratios (P/E ratios). We'll look at Weis Markets, Inc.'s (NYSE:WMK) P/E ratio and reflect on what it tells us about the company's share price. Based on the last twelve months, Weis Markets's P/E ratio is 16.79. That is equivalent to an earnings yield of about 6.0%.

See our latest analysis for Weis Markets

How Do You Calculate A P/E Ratio?

The formula for P/E is:

Price to Earnings Ratio = Price per Share ÷ Earnings per Share (EPS)

Or for Weis Markets:

P/E of 16.79 = $38.84 ÷ $2.31 (Based on the year to June 2019.)

Is A High P/E Ratio Good?

The higher the P/E ratio, the higher the price tag of a business, relative to its trailing earnings. That is not a good or a bad thing per se, but a high P/E does imply buyers are optimistic about the future.

How Does Weis Markets's P/E Ratio Compare To Its Peers?

The P/E ratio indicates whether the market has higher or lower expectations of a company. If you look at the image below, you can see Weis Markets has a lower P/E than the average (21) in the consumer retailing industry classification.

NYSE:WMK Price Estimation Relative to Market, August 19th 2019
NYSE:WMK Price Estimation Relative to Market, August 19th 2019

Weis Markets's P/E tells us that market participants think it will not fare as well as its peers in the same industry. While current expectations are low, the stock could be undervalued if the situation is better than the market assumes. 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

If earnings fall then in the future the 'E' will be lower. Therefore, even if you pay a low multiple of earnings now, that multiple will become higher in the future. A higher P/E should indicate the stock is expensive relative to others -- and that may encourage shareholders to sell.

Weis Markets saw earnings per share decrease by 40% last year. But over the longer term (5 years) earnings per share have increased by 2.5%. And it has shrunk its earnings per share by 1.3% per year over the last three years. This might lead to low expectations.

Don't Forget: The P/E Does Not Account For Debt or Bank Deposits

One drawback of using a P/E ratio is that it considers market capitalization, but not the balance sheet. Thus, the metric does not reflect cash or debt held by the company. Hypothetically, a company could reduce its future P/E ratio by spending its cash (or taking on debt) to achieve higher earnings.

Such spending might be good or bad, overall, but the key point here is that you need to look at debt to understand the P/E ratio in context.

How Does Weis Markets's Debt Impact Its P/E Ratio?

Weis Markets has net cash of US$109m. This is fairly high at 10% 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 Bottom Line On Weis Markets's P/E Ratio

Weis Markets's P/E is 16.8 which is about average (17.2) in the US market. Although the recent drop in earnings per share would keep the market cautious, the net cash position means it's not surprising that expectations put the company roughly in line with the market average P/E.

Investors should be looking to buy stocks that the market is wrong about. 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. Although we don't have analyst forecasts, you might want to assess this data-rich visualization of earnings, revenue and cash flow.

Of course you might be able to find a better stock than Weis Markets. So you may wish to see this free collection of other companies that have grown earnings strongly.

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.

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. Thank you for reading.

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