Do You Like Educational Development Corporation (NASDAQ:EDUC) At This P/E Ratio?
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This article is written for those who want to get better at using price to earnings ratios (P/E ratios). To keep it practical, we’ll show how Educational Development Corporation’s (NASDAQ:EDUC) P/E ratio could help you assess the value on offer. Educational Development has a P/E ratio of 9.9, based on the last twelve months. That corresponds to an earnings yield of approximately 10%.
See our latest analysis for Educational Development
How Do I Calculate A Price To Earnings Ratio?
The formula for P/E is:
Price to Earnings Ratio = Share Price ÷ Earnings per Share (EPS)
Or for Educational Development:
P/E of 9.9 = $8.4 ÷ $0.85 (Based on the trailing twelve months to November 2018.)
Is A High Price-to-Earnings Ratio Good?
A higher P/E ratio implies that investors pay a higher price for the earning power of the business. 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 Growth Rates Impact P/E Ratios
P/E ratios primarily reflect market expectations around earnings growth rates. Earnings growth means that in the future the ‘E’ will be higher. 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.
Educational Development increased earnings per share by a whopping 38% last year. And earnings per share have improved by 48% annually, over the last five years. I’d therefore be a little surprised if its P/E ratio was not relatively high.
How Does Educational Development’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 Educational Development has a lower P/E than the average (20.8) in the retail distributors industry classification.
This suggests that market participants think Educational Development will underperform other companies in its industry. Since the market seems unimpressed with Educational Development, it’s quite possible it could surprise on the upside. If you consider the stock interesting, further research is recommended. For example, I often monitor director buying and selling.
Remember: P/E Ratios Don’t Consider The Balance Sheet
It’s important to note that the P/E ratio considers the market capitalization, not the enterprise value. That means it doesn’t take debt or cash into account. In theory, a company can lower its future P/E ratio by using cash or debt to invest in 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 Educational Development’s Debt Impact Its P/E Ratio?
Net debt totals 18% of Educational Development’s market cap. This could bring some additional risk, and reduce the number of investment options for management; worth remembering if you compare its P/E to businesses without debt.
The Verdict On Educational Development’s P/E Ratio
Educational Development trades on a P/E ratio of 9.9, which is below the US market average of 16.8. The EPS growth last year was strong, and debt levels are quite reasonable. The low P/E ratio suggests current market expectations are muted, implying these levels of growth will not continue.
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. We don’t have analyst forecasts, but you could get a better understanding of its growth by checking out this more detailed historical graph of earnings, revenue and cash flow.
Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking at a few good candidates. So take a peek at this free list of companies with modest (or no) debt, trading on a P/E below 20.
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.
