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Is Silicom Ltd (NASDAQ:SILC) A Buy At Its Current PE Ratio?

Silicom Ltd (NASDAQ:SILC) trades with a trailing P/E of 21.9x, which is lower than the industry average of 29.7x. Although some investors may jump to the conclusion that this is a great buying opportunity, understanding the assumptions behind the P/E ratio might change your mind. In this article, I will explain what the P/E ratio is as well as what you should look out for when using it. See our latest analysis for Silicom

What you need to know about the P/E ratio

NasdaqGS:SILC PE PEG Gauge Mar 1st 18
NasdaqGS:SILC PE PEG Gauge Mar 1st 18

The P/E ratio is a popular ratio used in relative valuation since earnings power is a key driver of investment value. By comparing a stock’s price per share to its earnings per share, we are able to see how much investors are paying for each dollar of the company’s earnings.

P/E Calculation for SILC

Price-Earnings Ratio = Price per share ÷ Earnings per share

SILC Price-Earnings Ratio = $63.8 ÷ $2.912 = 21.9x

On its own, the P/E ratio doesn’t tell you much; however, it becomes extremely useful 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 SILC, such as company lifetime and products sold. A common peer group is companies that exist in the same industry, which is what I use. At 21.9x, SILC’s P/E is lower than its industry peers (29.7x). This implies that investors are undervaluing each dollar of SILC’s earnings. As such, our analysis shows that SILC represents an under-priced stock.

Assumptions to be aware of

However, before you rush out to buy SILC, it is important to note that this conclusion is based on two key assumptions. Firstly, our peer group contains companies that are similar to SILC. If this isn’t the case, the difference in P/E could be due to other factors. For example, if you compared higher growth firms with SILC, then its P/E would naturally be lower since investors would reward its peers’ higher growth with a higher price. The second assumption that must hold true is that the stocks we are comparing SILC to are fairly valued by the market. If this does not hold true, SILC’s lower P/E ratio may be because firms in our peer group are overvalued by the market.


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.

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