Is Polar Capital Holdings plc’s (AIM:POLR) PE Ratio A Signal To Sell For Investors?
Polar Capital Holdings plc (AIM:POLR) is currently trading at a trailing P/E of 24.9x, which is higher than the industry average of 17x. While POLR might seem like a stock to avoid or sell if you own it, it is important to understand the assumptions behind the P/E ratio before you make any investment decisions. Today, I will break down what the P/E ratio is, how to interpret it and what to watch out for. View our latest analysis for Polar Capital Holdings
Breaking down the Price-Earnings ratio
A common ratio used for relative valuation is the P/E ratio. It compares a stock’s price per share to the stock’s earnings per share. A more intuitive way of understanding the P/E ratio is to think of it as how much investors are paying for each pound of the company’s earnings.
P/E Calculation for POLR
Price-Earnings Ratio = Price per share ÷ Earnings per share
POLR Price-Earnings Ratio = 4.43 ÷ 0.178 = 24.9x
The P/E ratio itself doesn’t tell you a lot; however, it becomes very insightful when you compare it with other similar companies. Our goal is to compare the stock’s P/E ratio to the average of companies that have similar attributes to POLR, such as company lifetime and products sold. A common peer group is companies that exist in the same industry, which is what I use. Since POLR's P/E of 24.9x is higher than its industry peers (17x), it means that investors are paying more than they should for each dollar of POLR's earnings. As such, our analysis shows that POLR represents an over-priced stock.
Assumptions to watch out for
Before you jump to the conclusion that POLR should be banished from your portfolio, it is important to realise that our conclusion rests on two assertions. Firstly, our peer group contains companies that are similar to POLR. If this isn’t the case, the difference in P/E could be due to other factors. For example, if you compared lower risk firms with POLR, then investors would naturally value it at a lower price since it is a riskier investment. The second assumption that must hold true is that the stocks we are comparing POLR to are fairly valued by the market. If this does not hold true, POLR’s lower P/E ratio may be because firms in our peer group are overvalued by the market.
What this means for you:
Are you a shareholder? You may have already conducted fundamental analysis on the stock as a shareholder, so its current overvaluation could signal a potential selling opportunity to reduce your exposure to POLR. Now that you understand the ins and outs of the PE metric, you should know to bear in mind its limitations before you make an investment decision.
Are you a potential investor? If you are considering investing in POLR, basing your decision on the PE metric at one point in time is certainly not sufficient. I recommend you do additional analysis by looking at its intrinsic valuation and using other relative valuation ratios like PEG or EV/EBITDA.
PE is one aspect of your portfolio construction to consider when holding or entering into a stock. But it is certainly not the only factor. Take a look at our most recent infographic report on Polar Capital Holdings for a more in-depth analysis of the stock to help you make a well-informed investment decision. Since we know a limitation of PE is it doesn't properly account for growth, you can use our free platform to see my list of stocks with a high growth potential and see if their PE is still reasonable.
To help readers see pass 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.
