Should You Be Tempted To Sell Materion Corporation (NYSE:MTRN) Because Of Its P/E Ratio?
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 Materion Corporation's (NYSE:MTRN) P/E ratio could help you assess the value on offer. Based on the last twelve months, Materion's P/E ratio is 79.87. That corresponds to an earnings yield of approximately 1.3%.
See our latest analysis for Materion
How Do You Calculate A P/E Ratio?
The formula for P/E is:
Price to Earnings Ratio = Price per Share ÷ Earnings per Share (EPS)
Or for Materion:
P/E of 79.87 = $59.26 ÷ $0.74 (Based on the year to September 2019.)
Is A High P/E Ratio Good?
A higher P/E ratio implies that investors pay a higher price for the earning power of the business. All else being equal, it's better to pay a low price -- but as Warren Buffett said, 'It's far better to buy a wonderful company at a fair price than a fair company at a wonderful price.
How Does Materion's P/E Ratio Compare To Its Peers?
One good way to get a quick read on what market participants expect of a company is to look at its P/E ratio. As you can see below, Materion has a much higher P/E than the average company (12.3) in the metals and mining industry.
Its relatively high P/E ratio indicates that Materion shareholders think it will perform better than other companies in its industry classification. The market is optimistic about the future, but that doesn't guarantee future growth. So investors should delve deeper. I like to check if company insiders have been buying or selling.
How Growth Rates Impact P/E Ratios
Companies that shrink earnings per share quickly will rapidly decrease the 'E' in the equation. Therefore, even if you pay a low multiple of earnings now, that multiple will become higher in the future. Then, a higher P/E might scare off shareholders, pushing the share price down.
Materion's earnings per share fell by 55% in the last twelve months. And it has shrunk its earnings per share by 15% per year over the last five years. This growth rate might warrant a below average P/E ratio.
A Limitation: P/E Ratios Ignore Debt and Cash In The Bank
Don't forget that the P/E ratio considers market capitalization. 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 Materion's Balance Sheet Tell Us?
Materion has net cash of US$92m. That should lead to a higher P/E than if it did have debt, because its strong balance sheets gives it more options.
The Verdict On Materion's P/E Ratio
Materion's P/E is 79.9 which suggests the market is more focussed on the future opportunity rather than the current level of earnings. Falling earnings per share is probably keeping traditional value investors away, but the relatively strong balance sheet will allow the company time to invest in growth. Clearly, the high P/E indicates shareholders think it will!
Investors should be looking to buy stocks that the market is wrong about. 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 visualization of the analyst consensus on future earnings could help you make the right decision about whether to buy, sell, or hold.
But note: Materion may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies with strong recent earnings growth (and a P/E ratio below 20).
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.
