Should You Be Tempted To Buy Pointer Telocation Ltd (NASDAQ:PNTR) Because Of Its PE Ratio?
I am writing today to help inform people who are new to the stock market and want to begin learning about how to value company based on its current earnings and what are the drawbacks of this method.
Pointer Telocation Ltd (NASDAQ:PNTR) is trading with a trailing P/E of 6.2x, which is lower than the industry average of 21.3x. 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. Today, I will deconstruct the P/E ratio and highlight what you need to be careful of when using the P/E ratio.
Check out our latest analysis for Pointer Telocation
Breaking down the P/E 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 dollar of the company’s earnings.
P/E Calculation for PNTR
Price-Earnings Ratio = Price per share ÷ Earnings per share
PNTR Price-Earnings Ratio = $12.8 ÷ $2.081 = 6.2x
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 PNTR, such as size and country of operation. A common peer group is companies that exist in the same industry, which is what I use. Since PNTR’s P/E of 6.2 is lower than its industry peers (21.3), it means that investors are paying less for each dollar of PNTR’s earnings. This multiple is a median of profitable companies of 24 Commercial Services companies in US including Nutrition Management Services, Eco Energy Tech Asia and QPS Die Cutters and Finishers. You can think of it like this: the market is suggesting that PNTR is a weaker business than the average comparable company.
Assumptions to be aware of
Before you jump to conclusions it is important to realise that our assumptions rests on two assertions. Firstly, our peer group contains companies that are similar to PNTR. 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 PNTR, 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 PNTR to are fairly valued by the market. If this does not hold true, PNTR’s lower P/E ratio may be because firms in our peer group are overvalued by the market.
What this means for you:
You may have already conducted fundamental analysis on the stock as a shareholder, so its current undervaluation could signal a good buying opportunity to increase your exposure to PNTR. 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. Remember that basing your investment decision off one metric alone is certainly not sufficient. There are many things I have not taken into account in this article and the PE ratio is very one-dimensional. If you have not done so already, I urge you to complete your research by taking a look at the following:
Future Outlook: What are well-informed industry analysts predicting for PNTR’s future growth? Take a look at our free research report of analyst consensus for PNTR’s outlook.
Past Track Record: Has PNTR been consistently performing well irrespective of the ups and downs in the market? Go into more detail in the past performance analysis and take a look at the free visual representations of PNTR’s historicals for more clarity.
Other High-Performing Stocks: Are there other stocks that provide better prospects with proven track records? Explore our free list of these great stocks here.
To help readers see past 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. For errors that warrant correction please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com.
