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A Rising Share Price Has Us Looking Closely At Interface, Inc.'s (NASDAQ:TILE) P/E Ratio

Interface (NASDAQ:TILE) shareholders are no doubt pleased to see that the share price has bounced 34% in the last month alone, although it is still down 45% over the last quarter. But shareholders may not all be feeling jubilant, since the share price is still down 46% in the last year.

Assuming no other changes, a sharply higher share price makes a stock less 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 deep value investors might steer clear when expectations of a company are too high. One way to gauge market expectations of a stock is to look at its Price to Earnings Ratio (PE Ratio). A high P/E implies that investors have high expectations of what a company can achieve compared to a company with a low P/E ratio.

See our latest analysis for Interface

Does Interface Have A Relatively High Or Low P/E For Its Industry?

Interface's P/E of 6.71 indicates relatively low sentiment towards the stock. We can see in the image below that the average P/E (22.4) for companies in the commercial services industry is higher than Interface's P/E.

NasdaqGS:TILE Price Estimation Relative to Market May 4th 2020
NasdaqGS:TILE Price Estimation Relative to Market May 4th 2020

Its relatively low P/E ratio indicates that Interface shareholders think it will struggle to do as well as other companies in its industry classification. While current expectations are low, the stock could be undervalued if the situation is better than the market assumes. You should delve deeper. I like to check if company insiders have been buying or selling.

How Growth Rates Impact P/E Ratios

P/E ratios primarily reflect market expectations around earnings growth rates. When earnings grow, the 'E' increases, over time. That means unless the share price increases, the P/E will reduce in a few years. A lower P/E should indicate the stock is cheap relative to others -- and that may attract buyers.

In the last year, Interface grew EPS like Taylor Swift grew her fan base back in 2010; the 59% gain was both fast and well deserved. The sweetener is that the annual five year growth rate of 29% is also impressive. With that kind of growth rate we would generally expect a high P/E ratio.

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. In other words, it does not consider any debt or cash that the company may have on the balance sheet. In theory, a company can lower its future P/E ratio by using cash or debt to invest in growth.

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.

So What Does Interface's Balance Sheet Tell Us?

Interface has net debt worth 99% 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 Interface's P/E Ratio

Interface trades on a P/E ratio of 6.7, which is below the US market average of 14.4. While the EPS growth last year was strong, the significant debt levels reduce the number of options available to management. If the company can continue to grow earnings, then the current P/E may be unjustifiably low. What we know for sure is that investors are becoming less uncomfortable about Interface's prospects, since they have pushed its P/E ratio from 5.0 to 6.7 over the last month. If you like to buy stocks that could be turnaround opportunities, then this one might be a candidate; but if you're more sensitive to price, then you may feel the opportunity has passed.

When the market is wrong about a stock, it gives savvy investors an opportunity. 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 report on the analyst consensus forecasts could help you make a master move on this stock.

Of course you might be able to find a better stock than Interface. 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.

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