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Should You Be Tempted To Sell US Energy Corp (USEG) At Its Current PE Ratio?

US Energy Corp (NASDAQ:USEG) is trading with a trailing P/E of 57.4x, which is higher than the industry average of 14.2x. While USEG might seem like a stock to avoid or sell if you own it, it is important to understand the assumptions behind the P/E ratio before you make any investment decisions. Today, I will explain what the P/E ratio is as well as what you should look out for when using it. Check out our latest analysis for U.S. Energy

Breaking down the Price-Earnings ratio

NasdaqCM:USEG PE PEG Gauge Dec 6th 17
NasdaqCM:USEG PE PEG Gauge Dec 6th 17

P/E is often used for relative valuation since earnings power is a chief 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 USEG

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

USEG Price-Earnings Ratio = $1.24 ÷ $0.022 = 57.4x

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 USEG, such as company lifetime and products sold. A quick method of creating a peer group is to use companies in the same industry, which is what I will do. At 57.4x, USEG’s P/E is higher than its industry peers (14.2x). This implies that investors are overvaluing each dollar of USEG’s earnings. As such, our analysis shows that USEG represents an over-priced stock.

A few caveats

Before you jump to the conclusion that USEG should be banished from your portfolio, it is important to realise that our conclusion rests on two assertions. The first is that our “similar companies” are actually similar to USEG, or else the difference in P/E might be a result of other factors. For example, if you compared higher growth firms with USEG, 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 USEG to are fairly valued by the market. If this does not hold, there is a possibility that USEG’s P/E is lower because our peer group is overvalued by the market.

What this means for you:

Are you a shareholder? You may have already conducted fundamental analysis on the stock as a shareholder, so its current overvaluation could signal a potential selling opportunity to reduce your exposure to USEG. 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.

Are you a potential investor? If USEG has been on your watch list for a while, it is best you also consider its intrinsic valuation. Looking at PE on its own will not give you the full picture of the stock as an investment, so I suggest you should also look at other relative valuation metrics like EV/EBITDA or PEG.

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 U.S. Energy 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.

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