Should We Worry About Avery Dennison Corporation's (NYSE:AVY) P/E Ratio?
The goal of this article is to teach you how to use price to earnings ratios (P/E ratios). We'll show how you can use Avery Dennison Corporation's (NYSE:AVY) P/E ratio to inform your assessment of the investment opportunity. Avery Dennison has a P/E ratio of 45.97, based on the last twelve months. That is equivalent to an earnings yield of about 2.2%.
Check out our latest analysis for Avery Dennison
How Do You Calculate Avery Dennison's P/E Ratio?
The formula for P/E is:
Price to Earnings Ratio = Price per Share ÷ Earnings per Share (EPS)
Or for Avery Dennison:
P/E of 45.97 = $129.31 ÷ $2.81 (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2019.)
Is A High Price-to-Earnings Ratio Good?
A higher P/E ratio means that investors are paying a higher price for each $1 of company earnings. That isn't necessarily good or bad, but a high P/E implies relatively high expectations of what a company can achieve in the future.
Does Avery Dennison Have A Relatively High Or Low P/E For Its Industry?
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, Avery Dennison has a higher P/E than the average company (19.1) in the packaging industry.
That means that the market expects Avery Dennison will outperform other companies in its industry. Clearly the market expects growth, but it isn't guaranteed. So investors should always consider the P/E ratio alongside other factors, such as whether company directors have been buying shares.
How Growth Rates Impact P/E Ratios
Companies that shrink earnings per share quickly will rapidly decrease the 'E' in the equation. That means even if the current P/E is low, it will increase over time if the share price stays flat. A higher P/E should indicate the stock is expensive relative to others -- and that may encourage shareholders to sell.
Avery Dennison saw earnings per share decrease by 20% last year. But EPS is up 3.8% over the last 5 years. And over the longer term (3 years) earnings per share have decreased 7.2% annually. This might lead to low expectations.
Remember: P/E Ratios Don't Consider The Balance Sheet
It's important to note that the P/E ratio considers the market capitalization, not the enterprise value. Thus, the metric does not reflect cash or debt held by the company. Hypothetically, a company could reduce its future P/E ratio by spending its cash (or taking on debt) to achieve higher earnings.
Spending on growth might be good or bad a few years later, but the point is that the P/E ratio does not account for the option (or lack thereof).
So What Does Avery Dennison's Balance Sheet Tell Us?
Avery Dennison has net debt worth 16% of its market capitalization. This could bring some additional risk, and reduce the number of investment options for management; worth remembering if you compare its P/E to businesses without debt.
The Bottom Line On Avery Dennison's P/E Ratio
Avery Dennison's P/E is 46.0 which is above average (18.9) in its market. With some debt but no EPS growth last year, the market has high expectations of future profits.
Investors have an opportunity when market expectations about a stock are wrong. 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.
You might be able to find a better buy than Avery Dennison. If you want a selection of possible winners, check out this free list of interesting companies that trade on a P/E below 20 (but have proven they can grow earnings).
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.
