Should You Be Tempted To Sell WisdomTree Investments Inc (WETF) At Its Current Price?
WisdomTree Investments Inc (NASDAQ:WETF) is trading with a trailing P/E of 43.2x, which is higher than the industry average of 18.6x. While WETF 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. In this article, 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 WisdomTree Investments
Demystifying the P/E ratio
A common ratio used for relative valuation is the P/E ratio. It compares a stock’s price per share to the stock’s earnings per share. A more intuitive way of understanding the P/E ratio is to think of it as how much investors are paying for each dollar of the company’s earnings.
P/E Calculation for WETF
Price-Earnings Ratio = Price per share ÷ Earnings per share
WETF Price-Earnings Ratio = 9.91 ÷ 0.229 = 43.2x
The P/E ratio itself doesn’t tell you a lot; however, it becomes very insightful when you compare it with other similar companies. We preferably want to compare the stock’s P/E ratio to the average of companies that have similar features to WETF, such as capital structure and profitability. A quick method of creating a peer group is to use companies in the same industry, which is what I will do. WETF’s P/E of 43.2x is higher than its industry peers (18.6x), which implies that each dollar of WETF’s earnings is being overvalued by investors. As such, our analysis shows that WETF represents an over-priced stock.
Assumptions to watch out for
While our conclusion might prompt you to sell your WETF shares immediately, there are two important assumptions you should be aware of. The first is that our “similar companies” are actually similar to WETF, or else the difference in P/E might be a result of other factors. For example, if you compared higher growth firms with WETF, 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 WETF to are fairly valued by the market. If this does not hold true, WETF’s lower P/E ratio may be because firms in our peer group are overvalued by the market.
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 rebalance your portfolio and reduce your holdings in WETF. 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 WETF 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 WisdomTree Investments 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.
