Here’s What Tantech Holdings Ltd’s (NASDAQ:TANH) P/E Ratio Is Telling Us
The goal of this article is to teach you how to use price to earnings ratios (P/E ratios). To keep it practical, we’ll show how Tantech Holdings Ltd’s (NASDAQ:TANH) P/E ratio could help you assess the value on offer. Based on the last twelve months, Tantech Holdings’s P/E ratio is 9.35. That is equivalent to an earnings yield of about 11%.
View our latest analysis for Tantech Holdings
How Do I Calculate A Price To Earnings Ratio?
The formula for price to earnings is:
Price to Earnings Ratio = Price per Share ÷ Earnings per Share (EPS)
Or for Tantech Holdings:
P/E of 9.35 = $1.62 ÷ $0.17 (Based on the year to June 2018.)
Is A High P/E Ratio Good?
A higher P/E ratio means that buyers have to pay a higher price for each $1 the company has earned over the last year. 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
If earnings fall then in the future the ‘E’ will be lower. That means unless the share price falls, the P/E will increase in a few years. Then, a higher P/E might scare off shareholders, pushing the share price down.
Tantech Holdings increased earnings per share by a whopping 147% last year. In contrast, EPS has decreased by 12%, annually, over 5 years.
How Does Tantech Holdings’s P/E Ratio Compare To Its Peers?
We can get an indication of market expectations by looking at the P/E ratio. We can see in the image below that the average P/E (18.6) for companies in the chemicals industry is higher than Tantech Holdings’s P/E.
This suggests that market participants think Tantech Holdings will underperform other companies in its industry. 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.
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. That means it doesn’t take debt or cash into account. Theoretically, a business can improve its earnings (and produce a lower P/E in the future), by taking on debt (or spending its remaining cash).
Such expenditure might be good or bad, in the long term, but the point here is that the balance sheet is not reflected by this ratio.
Tantech Holdings’s Balance Sheet
Since Tantech Holdings holds net cash of US$2.2m, it can spend on growth, justifying a higher P/E ratio than otherwise.
The Verdict On Tantech Holdings’s P/E Ratio
Tantech Holdings has a P/E of 9.4. That’s below the average in the US market, which is 17.6. The net cash position gives plenty of options to the business, and the recent improvement in EPS is good to see. The below average P/E ratio suggests that market participants don’t believe the strong growth will continue.
When the market is wrong about a stock, it gives savvy investors an opportunity. If it is underestimating a company, investors can make money by buying and holding the shares until the market corrects itself. Although we don’t have analyst forecasts, you might want to assess this data-rich visualization of earnings, revenue and cash flow.
You might be able to find a better buy than Tantech Holdings. If you want a selection of possible winners, check out this free list of interesting companies that trade on a P/E below 20 (but have proven they can grow earnings).
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.
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. Thank you for reading.
