Should You Be Tempted To Buy AEW UK REIT plc (LON:AEWU) Because Of Its PE Ratio?
AEW UK REIT plc (LSE:AEWU) is trading with a trailing P/E of 9.9x, which is lower than the industry average of 10.9x. While this makes AEWU appear like a great stock to buy, you might change your mind after I explain the assumptions behind the P/E ratio. Today, I will explain what the P/E ratio is as well as what you should look out for when using it. View our latest analysis for AEW UK REIT
Breaking down the Price-Earnings ratio
The P/E ratio is one of many ratios used in relative valuation. 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 pound of the company’s earnings.
P/E Calculation for AEWU
Price-Earnings Ratio = Price per share ÷ Earnings per share
AEWU Price-Earnings Ratio = £1.01 ÷ £0.101 = 9.9x
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. We want to compare the stock’s P/E ratio to the average of companies that have similar characteristics as AEWU, such as size and country of operation. A common peer group is companies that exist in the same industry, which is what I use. At 9.9x, AEWU’s P/E is lower than its industry peers (10.9x). This implies that investors are undervaluing each dollar of AEWU’s earnings. Therefore, according to this analysis, AEWU is an under-priced stock.
Assumptions to watch out for
Before you jump to the conclusion that AEWU is the perfect buying opportunity, it is important to realise that our conclusion rests on two assertions. The first is that our “similar companies” are actually similar to AEWU, or else the difference in P/E might be a result of other factors. For example, if you compared higher growth firms with AEWU, 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 AEWU to are fairly valued by the market. If this is violated, AEWU’s P/E may be lower than its peers as they are actually overvalued by investors.
What this means for you:
Are you a shareholder? If your personal research into the stock confirms what the P/E ratio is telling you, it might be a good time to add more of AEWU to your portfolio. But keep in mind that the usefulness of relative valuation depends on whether you are comfortable with making the assumptions I mentioned above.
Are you a potential investor? If you are considering investing in AEWU, looking at the PE ratio on its own is not enough to make a well-informed decision. You will benefit from looking at additional analysis and considering its intrinsic valuation along with other relative valuation metrics like PEG and EV/Sales.
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 AEW UK REIT 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.
