What Is Event Hospitality & Entertainment's (ASX:EVT) P/E Ratio After Its Share Price Tanked?
To the annoyance of some shareholders, Event Hospitality & Entertainment (ASX:EVT) shares are down a considerable 32% in the last month. Indeed the recent decline has arguably caused some bitterness for shareholders who have held through the 34% drop over twelve months.
Assuming nothing else has changed, a lower share price makes a stock more attractive to potential buyers. In the long term, share prices tend to follow earnings per share, but in the short term prices bounce around in response to short term factors (which are not always obvious). So, on certain occasions, long term focussed investors try to take advantage of pessimistic expectations to buy shares at a better price. 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). Investors have optimistic expectations of companies with higher P/E ratios, compared to companies with lower P/E ratios.
See our latest analysis for Event Hospitality & Entertainment
How Does Event Hospitality & Entertainment's P/E Ratio Compare To Its Peers?
We can tell from its P/E ratio of 13.61 that sentiment around Event Hospitality & Entertainment isn't particularly high. If you look at the image below, you can see Event Hospitality & Entertainment has a lower P/E than the average (18.6) in the entertainment industry classification.
Its relatively low P/E ratio indicates that Event Hospitality & Entertainment shareholders think it will struggle to do as well as other companies in its industry classification. Many investors like to buy stocks when the market is pessimistic about their prospects. It is arguably worth checking if insiders are buying shares, because that might imply they believe the stock is undervalued.
How Growth Rates Impact P/E Ratios
If earnings fall then in the future the 'E' will be lower. That means even if the current P/E is low, it will increase over time if the share price stays flat. So while a stock may look cheap based on past earnings, it could be expensive based on future earnings.
Event Hospitality & Entertainment saw earnings per share decrease by 6.9% last year. But over the longer term (5 years) earnings per share have increased by 3.5%. And it has shrunk its earnings per share by 4.0% per year over the last three years. This growth rate might warrant a low P/E ratio. So we might expect a relatively low P/E.
Don't Forget: The P/E Does Not Account For Debt or Bank Deposits
Don't forget that the P/E ratio considers market capitalization. In other words, it does not consider any debt or cash that the company may have on the balance sheet. Theoretically, a business can improve its earnings (and produce a lower P/E in the future) by investing in growth. That means taking on debt (or spending its cash).
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 Event Hospitality & Entertainment's Debt Impact Its P/E Ratio?
Event Hospitality & Entertainment has net debt worth 22% of its market capitalization. That's enough debt to impact the P/E ratio a little; so keep it in mind if you're comparing it to companies without debt.
The Verdict On Event Hospitality & Entertainment's P/E Ratio
Event Hospitality & Entertainment has a P/E of 13.6. That's below the average in the AU market, which is 14.9. Since it only carries a modest debt load, it's likely the low expectations implied by the P/E ratio arise from the lack of recent earnings growth. What can be absolutely certain is that the market has become significantly less optimistic about Event Hospitality & Entertainment over the last month, with the P/E ratio falling from 20.1 back then to 13.6 today. For those who don't like to trade against momentum, that could be a warning sign, but a contrarian investor might want to take a closer look.
Investors have an opportunity when market expectations about a stock are wrong. 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. So this free visual report on analyst forecasts could hold the key to an excellent investment decision.
Of course you might be able to find a better stock than Event Hospitality & Entertainment. 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.
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. Thank you for reading.
